US nurse and her child kidnapped in Haiti, State Department monitoring situation
Alix Dorsainvil, an American nurse working in Haiti, has been kidnapped along with her child, El Roi Haiti, a Christian aid charity she worked forsaid in a statement.
According to El Roi Haiti, Dorsainvil was working in acommunity ministry near the capital city of Port-au-Prince when she was kidnapped on Thursday (July 27).Dorsainvil is understood to be the wife ofthe organisation's director and founder, Sandro Dorsainvil.
"We can confirm that Alix Dorsainvil, our director’s wife, and their child were kidnapped on the morning of Thursday, July 27th from our campus near Port au Prince while serving in our community ministry," the charity said in a statement released.
Although the age and gender of the child are not known, the charity requested people to not speculate anything regarding the abduction on social media.
"Please refrain from speculating on social media about this situation in order to protect Alix and her child during this time."
"Alix is a deeply compassionate and loving person who considers Haiti her home and the Haitian people her friends and family," the statement from El Roi Haiti added.
US monitoring the situation
According to a BBC report, the US State Department is aware of the kidnapping and remains in "regular contact" with Haitian authorities.
“The US Department of State and our embassies and consulates abroad have no higher priority than the safety and security of US citizens overseas,” the spokesperson said.
Notably,Dorsainvil hailed from New Hampshire and moved to the Caribbean country after her husband invited her to a Haitian school to provide nursing for the children, according to a video posted on the organisation's website.
Haiti has been facing a grave humanitarian crisis as brutal gang violence continues to drive the economy to the gutter. Earlier this month, the United Nations agency World Food Programme (WFP), responsible for providing emergency food assistance to the crisis-stricken country, said it will be unable to provide its full servicedue to a cut in funding.
WFP said it has been forced to cut the number of people receiving the aid by 25 per cent in July, meaning at least 100,000 vulnerable Haitians will be without WFP support.
The abduction comes days after the US issued a level-four "do not travel" advisory because of the unrest in the country. All non-emergency government personnel and their family members have also been ordered to leave Haiti.
(With inputs from agencies)
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