The Irish foreign ministry is urging Haitian authorities to take necessary steps to secure the release of a group of individuals, including an Irish missionary and a three-year-old child, who were kidnapped by armed men who attacked a local orphanage. According to a statement from the government, Irish foreign minister Simon Harris spoke with his Haitian counterpart and both agreed to work together to ensure the release of the group. Harris emphasized the urgency for the immediate release of Gena Heraty, who oversees the orphanage.
The kidnapping occurred last weekend in Kenscoff, a mountainous community near the capital Port-au-Prince, which has experienced violent gang attacks since the beginning of the year. The orphanage, run by the international charity Nos Petits Freres et Soeurs, is currently holding eight people, including the three-year-old boy, six staff members, and Heraty. The charity has not yet been able to negotiate a ransom for their release and is hoping for their fast and safe return.
Heraty, who has been living in Haiti since 1993, runs the orphanage that cares for up to 270 children. Unfortunately, she is not the first foreign missionary to be kidnapped in Haiti, as armed gangs have targeted religious, charitable, and medical aid groups in recent years. The majority of kidnapping victims are Haitian citizens who are kidnapped and held for ransom.
According to estimates from BINUH, more than 3,100 people were killed and 336 kidnapped for ransom in the first half of this year. The conflict with powerful gangs has displaced nearly 1.3 million residents. BINUH considers Kenscoff a strategically important area, overlooking the suburb of Petion-Ville which is one of the capital’s last holdouts and the site of multiple embassies and banking institutions. Haitian authorities have repeatedly called for more resources to combat the gangs, but a UN-backed mission that began over a year ago has had limited success so far.
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/aug/05/ireland-haiti-kidnap-orphanage
