Eight people, including an Irish missionary and a 3-year-old child, are still missing after gunmen stormed a Saint-Hélène orphanage in Haiti on Sunday. The attack is the latest in a violent wave of kidnappings in the country, where more than 240 children are cared for by an international charity.
Gena Heraty, a veteran Irish missionary who has worked in Haiti since 1993, was among those taken. She had previously been threatened with death when suspects broke into the orphanage in 2013. The kidnappings mark the latest high-profile incident involving foreign missionaries, following a similar attack in 2021 where 17 people were held captive for 61 days.
Haiti’s Institute of Social Welfare and Research is working with UNICEF to relocate children and staff from the affected orphanage. Ireland’s deputy prime minister has called for the safe release of those taken. At least 175 people have been reported kidnapped in Haiti this year, with many incidents occurring in Port-au-Prince.
The Saint-Hélène orphanage, run by international charity Nos Petits Frères et Sœurs, is one of several targets in an area controlled by a powerful gang federation known as “Viv Ansanm”. The US has designated the group as a foreign terrorist organization.
Source: https://edition.cnn.com/2025/08/04/americas/irish-missionary-haiti-gunmen-intl-latam