HAITI: ‘Everyone is at risk’

Haiti’s growing security crisis is taking a deadly toll on the Church and civilians alike, according to a missionary Sister.

Sister Helena Queijo told Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) that Haiti’s population is “suffering greatly” because of the increased violence around the capital, Port-au-Prince.

The Spiritan Sister – who left Haiti two weeks ago after nine years ministering there – said that people “might be in their homes in the capital and the bandits come and force them out.

“If they are lucky, they won’t kill them, but they have to flee and remain hidden for a long time.

“Many people have lost their property and their homes.”

Sister Queijo added: “Schools have been invaded by gangs, as [have] the Church’s hospital and the school and residence of the Spiritans in Port-au-Prince.

“The Saint Francis de Sales Hospital was attacked and the Sisters were forced to remove their habits so that they could hide among the general population and escape.

“Even the Missionaries of Charity, who do so much for the people, had to evacuate their patients and leave.”

Sister Queijo said that “violence is not new” – but the situation has deteriorated dramatically in the past few years, with armed gangs controlling most of the capital and many major cities.

She said that a gang rampaged through the city of Mirebalais at the start of April, killing dozens of people, including two religious Sisters.

Sister Queijo added that abductions are also common and “everyone is at risk due to the insecurity and instability – nobody is free from the risk of being robbed and kidnapped.

“All [the gangs] want is money.”

She highlighted that there has been an increase in the number of IDPs (internally displaced persons) fleeing the violence and seeking help from the Sisters – saying that her congregation “never lets them go away empty-handed”.

ACN help in Haiti includes Mass stipends for priests, subsistence aid for religious Sisters, and vital support for seminarians and catechists.