American Nurse Kidnapped in Haiti

Dorsainvil, a nurse who works in Haiti, and her son were kidnapped Thursday morning while serving in their community ministry on the campus of El Roi Haiti, a Christian humanitarian aid organization, near the capital, Port-au-Prince. The nurse is the wife of the director of that organization, Sandro Dorsainvil. Roi Haiti has 390 students enrolled from preschool to 12th grade, according to its website.

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In response to the incident, a U.S. State Department spokesperson acknowledged reports of the kidnapping of two U.S. citizens in Haiti and the U.S. Government has started communication with Haitian authorities.

According to U.S. authorities, they are working closely with inter-institutional partners to address the situation and ensure the safe return of the kidnapped nurse and her child.

The U.S. State Department ordered the departure of non-emergency government personnel from Haiti, given the deteriorating security situation in the country. The move was announced following a travel warning from the U.S. Embassy in Haiti advising U.S. citizens to leave the country immediately due to recent armed clashes between criminal groups and police in Port-au-Prince.

Regarding the force that Kenya will deploy in Haiti, on the other hand, the African country indicated that taking on this challenge is not enough for it to be executed, nor does it mean that it will be immediately. The Security Council of the United Nations must ratify this decision and a protocol must be followed.

Kenya's proposal to deploy a contingent of 1,000 officers, who will train and assist the Haitian police to restore normality to the country and protect its strategic facilities, will crystallize once a mandate is obtained from the UN Security Council and other Kenyan constitutional processes are completed.

Haitian authorities recorded 1,014 kidnappings in the country from January to June of this year: 256 women, 13 girls and 24 boys, according to a United Nations report on Haiti.

The Roi Haiti described the nurse as a “deeply compassionate and caring person who considers Haiti her home and the Haitian people her friends and family.” “Alix has worked tirelessly as our school and community nurse to bring relief to the suffering while loving and serving the people of Haiti in the name of Jesus”, the statement from El Roi Haiti read.

Dorsainvil, a nurse from New Hampshire, moved to Haiti after her husband invited her to the Haitian school to provide nursing care to the children, Dorsainvil explained in an undated video on the organization’s website.