“The People Walking in Darkness Have Seen a Great Light”
[Oct. 24. 2021] Similar incidents like the kidnap of 19 American and Canadian missionaries that took place on the 16th of October (local time) have occurred constantly this year in Haiti, the Caribbean.
According to a report earlier this month by the Centre for Human Rights Analysis and Research (CARDH), a non-profit organization in Haiti, a total of 628, including 29 foreigners, were kidnapped in Haiti from January to September this year. 31 in July, 73 in August, and 117 in September, the number of cases continues to increase.
According to UN statistics quoted by the AP on the 19th, the number of kidnappings reported to Haiti police between January and August this year was 328. This is a significant increase from the total reported 234 cases in 2020, but it is estimated that the actual number will be much higher if unreported cases are included.
The New York Times, an American daily, said, “There are very few Haitians who are safe from kidnapping including children, street vendors, and even priests preaching.” The ransom varies from hundreds of dollars to millions of dollars depending on the kidnapped.
As large-scale natural disasters in Haiti followed, including the death of 2,200 in the earthquake in August, activists, and missionaries who came in for relief work were also targeted by kidnapping. The kidnapped mission group was sent from a Christian charity in Ohio, USA, and was helping the reconstruction project after the earthquake, the organization said.
In June, a Korean missionary couple was also kidnapped outside of the capital, Port-au-Prince, and released 16 days later.
With 60% of the population living in poverty, Haiti has never been a safe country. A series of earthquakes and hurricanes, extreme poverty, and political turmoil followed, further exacerbating security.
Poverty and rising unemployment caused by natural disasters have led to increased crime, and as security has deteriorated, international aid organizations that have saved Haiti from the crisis have withdrawn one by one. Political chaos added to this created a de facto anarchy and deepened the chaos.
Experts say it was in the early 2000s that Haitian gangs began to rise. The then-President Jean Bertrand Aristide had disbanded the army for fear of a repeat military coup, and it was difficult to respond to the security situation with insufficient police personnel, so civilians began to arm themselves, the AP explained.
The situation is particularly serious around the capital, Port-au-Prince. Up to 40% of Port-au-Prince is now gang-controlled, the AP reported. According to British consulting firm Control Risks, nine out of 10 Haiti kidnappings take place in the metropolitan area, which already has more kidnappings than large cities like Mexico City or Sao Paulo, Brazil, Reuters reported.
After the assassination of President Jobnel Moise in July, the government led by Prime Minister Ariel Henri has effectively given up on a burgeoning crime scene. Pierre Esperance, a local human rights activist, told Reuters, “The government, which has been in operation for three months, is powerless in the current situation. There is no plan or method to deal with security instability. The police force has not been strengthened. (Source: Yeonhap News, Newsdirectory3).
The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep, darkness, a light has dawned. For to us, a child is born, to us, a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. (Isaiah 9:2,6)
Father God, let Your great light shine on Haiti, where gangs are on the rise in the chaos of the assassination of the president, even before the recovery from the aftermath of a series of earthquakes. Let the gangs who have kidnapped missionaries who came to help with reconstructing the collapsed country stop their evil deeds and build the country together. Let the Haitian government, which is unable to take any measures earnestly, seek Almighty God so that the nation may be restored into a land of the peace serving Jesus Christ as King.
Prayer 24·365
prayer@prayer24365.org
