Kidnapped Irish woman Gena Heraty will be ‘trying to negotiate her way out', says employer
Haiti
, is probably 'trying to negotiate her way out' and will be 'putting on a brave face', according to the organisation which employs her.
Ms Heraty, a missionary who is director of the Sainte-Hélène orphanage run by Nos Petits Frères et Soeurs (NPFS, Our Little Brothers and Sisters) in Kenscoff,
was taken with seven others, including a three-year-old child,
on Sunday, about 10km outside the capital, Port-au-Prince.
The
Co Mayo woman,
who has lived in Haiti since 1993, oversees the running of the orphanage and is the co-ordinator of its special needs programme.
The Irish Times learned on Tuesday that two people representing NPFS had
spoken to the gang leader holding Ms Heraty via intermediaries and were awaiting further contact.
READ MORE
Jessica Mullins, chairwoman of the board of trustees for NPH Ireland, the charity's Irish branch, said while Ms Heraty had great resilience, there's 'no doubt there's also an element of fear there'.
She said Ms Heraty would be 'putting on a brave face', not just for herself, but for everybody else and would probably be 'trying to negotiate her way out'.
'It would be a tough environment to work in and to grow up in,' Ms Mullins told RTÉ's Morning Ireland. 'It's rife with poverty, civil unrest. It just shows her resilience. She has showed up every day regardless of how volatile or how tough things get on the ground over in Haiti.'
Work in Haiti 'isn't a job' for Ms Heraty, 'it's a vocation', she said. 'It's her true mission in life and she really is an amazing person and just serves with love and compassion and dignity. She's probably one of the most selfless people I've ever met.'
Executive director of the centre for global health, Dr Louise Ivers, agreed with this character assessment of Ms Heraty, saying she was 'completely committed' to the children and young people who she takes care of in Haiti.
'She's committed to that place and to the community and to especially the children with disabilities in her house that she cares for, she's a mother to them. She's not naive. She knows the situation.
'Everybody there knows the situation and it takes a tremendous amount of resolve and commitment to doing the right thing and doing a good thing,' infectious diseases expert Dr Ivers told Newstalk Breakfast.
'Gena has been there for over 30 years. She's part of the community, she's fluent in Haitian Creole, she's a well-known entity around, she is really part of the fabric of the organisation and the area where she's living.'
Hait is a 'relentlessly challenging' and 'very, very dangerous place', said Dr Ivers, adding there had been 350 reported kidnappings in the country so far this year. 'There's been thousands of people killed by gangs, by the police, by security forces and by vigilante groups who have taken to just trying to defend their own communities themselves.'
On Tuesday, Tánaiste Simon Harris raised Ms Heraty's case with the EU's high representative for foreign affairs and security policy, Kaja Kallas. Arising from the conversation, an EU diplomat in Haiti will be the point of contact in the case.
Mr Harris added he had been in constant contact with the Heraty family and would continue to provide them with supports. Furthermore, 'different avenues at both political and diplomat level continue to be exhausted' in a bid to free the hostages.
The abduction has come during a period of deep crisis for Haiti, where law and order has collapsed and crime gangs, rather than the government, have control of vast parts of the country. It is believed the gang who led the kidnapping are associates - and come under the control and protection of - the Viv Ansanm group in the town of Kenscoff.
Viv Ansanm, which means Live Together, was one of two major crime syndicates in Haiti sanctioned by the United Nations last month, with the EU having since amended its Haiti sanctions list to include the two groups.
A coalition of multiple gangs, Viv Ansanm is intent on taking control of Haiti, with the US declaring them a terrorist group and a threat to US national security.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Times
6 hours ago
- Irish Times
Pope Leo calls for release of Gena Heraty and eight others kidnapped in Haiti
Pope Leo XIV has called for the immediate release of nine hostages, including Irish woman Gena Heraty , saying the situation in Haiti has become 'increasingly desperate.' Ms Heraty, originally from Co Mayo, was taken by a gang with eight others, including a three-year-old child, on August 3rd in Kenscoff, Port-au-Prince. The missionary aged in her 50s, who has lived in Haiti since 1993, was abducted from the Sainte-Hélène orphanage, which she oversees, run by Nos Petits Frères et Soeurs (NPFS, Our Little Brothers and Sisters). Speaking after the Sunday Angelus prayer in St Peter's Square on Sunday, Pope Leo described the circumstances faced by the Haitian people as 'increasingly desperate'. READ MORE 'There are constant reports of murders, violence of all kinds, human trafficking, forced exile, and kidnappings. 'I make a heartfelt appeal to all responsible to release the hostages immediately, and I ask for the concrete support of the international community in creating social and institutional conditions that will allow Haitians to live in peace,' he said. Pope Leo XIV described the situation for Haitians as increasingly desperate amid unchecked gang violence. Photograph:The abduction comes during a period of crisis in Haiti, where 1.3 million people are displaced by violence. Earlier this summer, UN human rights chief Volker Türk said this crisis has 'plummeted to a new low' as gangs extend their reach, carrying out killings, rapes and kidnappings. In the first five months of this year, 316 people were kidnapped for ransom, according to United Nations figures, while 2,680 were killed. It is believed the gang who led the kidnapping of Ms Heraty are associates of the Viv Ansanm group, one of two major crime syndicates in Haiti sanctioned by the United Nations last month. Contact has previously been made between NPFS and the gang through intermediaries. Efforts are ongoing to secure the safe return of the hostages with Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Harris saying last week that different avenues at both political and diplomatic levels 'continue to be exhausted'.
RTÉ News
4 days ago
- RTÉ News
Heraty kidnapping comes amid crisis and violence in Haiti
The kidnapping of Irish woman Gena Heraty along with seven others from an orphanage in Haiti last weekend comes against the backdrop of a rise in violence, kidnappings and exploitation in a country falling further into gang control. The UN estimates 90% of the capital Port-au-Prince is controlled by organised criminal groups. This expansion of gang activity in the country of nearly 12 million people has seen the state's capacity to govern rapidly shrink. Here, Ken Donnelly examines the current situation in Haiti and recalls Gena Heraty's outlook on the Caribbean nation in her own words. At 1am on 7 July 2021, a group of 28 gunmen stormed the presidential palace in Haiti's capital Port-au-Prince and assassinated Haitian President Jovenel Moïse. Haiti has not had a president in the more than four years since. While gang violence has been a constant presence for decades, the killing of Mr Moïse left a power vacuum which has allowed criminal groups to gain a further stronghold across the country. The unelected Transitional Presidential Council which has run the country in the intervening years has struggled to maintain control with much of the country now run by paramilitary groups and vigilantes. The Viv Ansanm group, formed in recent years as a coalition of the main gang factions in the capital, has repeatedly tried to overthrow the government and has launched consistent attacks. In the first six months of this year, 3,137 people have been killed in armed violence in Haiti. A UN report on violence in Haiti earlier this year outlined how gang members continued to resort to murders, gang rapes and kidnappings to maintain their control over populations living in areas under their influence. Cases of sexual slavery, sexual exploitation, child trafficking and exploitation were also documented in the report. Gang activities have also restricted access to basic services including health care and education while hundreds of buildings, including a hospital and three schools, have been ransacked, vandalised or burned by gangs in the first quarter of this year. The UN report also described an increasingly violent environment in which many children lack role models and perceive gang members as examples of social and economic success in their neighbourhoods. "There are more kidnappings in Haiti than anywhere else in the world at the moment." As of 30 June, more than 1.3m people in Haiti were displaced, an increase of 85% since September 2024. It is against this background of armed violence, humanitarian crisis and political instability that the kidnapping of Irish woman Gena Heraty must be understood. Ms Heraty was abducted along with seven others and a child from an orphanage in the Kenscoff area of Haiti last weekend. Efforts are ongoing to secure the release of all those kidnapped. In the first half of the year alone, at least 346 people have been kidnapped in Haiti, with 1,494 people kidnapped last year. These figures are likely to be underestimations as many families of kidnapping victims choose not to report them to police and opt to negotiate directly with kidnappers. "There are more kidnappings in Haiti than anywhere else in the world at the moment." Those were the words of Ms Heraty herself, speaking in June 2023 to Miriam O'Callaghan on RTÉ radio. Just ten days ago, five UNICEF employees were released after being held by a gang for three weeks. Kenscoff - a site of increased violence A native of Carrowrevagh near Westport in Co Mayo, Ms Heraty oversees the Sainte-Hélène orphanage in the commune of Kenscoff, about 10km southeast of the capital Port-au-Prince. Since the start of this year, Kenscoff has found itself in the crosshairs of the Viv Ansanm gang, which has already taken control of several other localities. The UN has noted a specific targeting of Kenscoff this year with at least 262 people having been killed there in attacks between January and March. The UN said gang members displayed "extreme brutality, aiming to instill fear within the population". I think if I was a worrier I wouldn't be able to do what I do every day. I wouldn't get in the car." "They executed men, women, and children inside their homes and shot others on roads and paths as they tried to flee the violence, including an infant. "Sexual violence was also committed against at least seven women and young girls during the planning and execution of the attacks," the UN said in a flash report on violence in Kenscoff. Speaking in June 2023, Ms Heraty said she did not worry about her own safety, despite the immense danger faced every day. "Everybody is pretty much traumatised, because you don't know when you get in your car in the morning that you are going to make it to work safely. "We know lots of people that have been kidnapped, we know people that have been shot, we know people that have had guns pulled on them, we know people who have been kidnapped, and they haven't come back. "I worry about the people that I work with. Do I worry about myself? No. "That's not to say I think nothing will happen to me. I think if I was a worrier I wouldn't be able to do what I do every day. I wouldn't get in the car." Ms Heraty recalled situation where a local bus was stopped by gang members who boarded the bus, emptied a bag of sweet potatoes that one woman had in her possession and trampled on them. The woman complained to the gang members, asking how she would feed her kids. The gang members then shot the woman dead on the bus. "That was awful, it was terrible, but the sad thing is that there are so many people being killed. "There are more people being killed in Haiti than in Ukraine," Ms Heraty said. Organisations continue to fight for 'a just Haiti' Ms Heraty dedicates herself to the care of children with disabilities who have been abandoned, and works at a facility operated by the humanitarian organisation Nos Petits Frères et Soeurs (NPH). Throughout her conversation with Miriam O'Callaghan, Ms Heraty was keen to shift the focus away from her and towards the plight of those she cares for and works with. "These children had been abandoned, typically in hospitals, because in Haiti there are no services, there is no social welfare. "You have to try and imagine somebody with a child with severe disabilities, they don't have access to healthcare, they don't have access to wheelchairs. "They are abandoned not because the parents don't care about them, but because they don't have the resources. "My basic rule of thumb was if I was in the place of this child, what would I want?" Ms Heraty said that her and her team would take precautions and would avoid places which have had reports of shootings. The majority of kidnappings in Haiti occur on roads, boats or at victims' homes. It is common for gangs to stop public transport vehicles and abduct those onboard. Ms Heraty said while she could choose to work from her home, she worried specifically about staff that are on the road every single day. "I don't consider myself a saint, I consider myself very lucky because I have found something in life that I absolutely love, and the positive side of it also is that I am actually doing some good." "Several of them have been held up, guns put to them, and they are traumatised. I am not one to exaggerate, but they are traumatised." People being kidnapped from their place of work is less common. However, this is precisely what happened to Ms Heraty last week. Members of a gang entered the Sainte-Hélène orphanage located in Tèt Bwa-Pen in Obleon in Kenscoff at 3am on the morning of 3 August. They abducted eight people including Ms Heraty and a three-year-old child in what the NPH described as a "heinous" act. In response to the kidnapping, staff at hospitals run by NPH and a separate organisation, the St Luke Foundation, announced they would be closing all of their institutions across Haiti until the kidnapped individuals are freed unconditionally. "We say NO to impunity, NO to indifference, NO to the banalization of terror. "We will not back down. We will continue to fight for a just Haiti, where there is respect for human dignity and life," the organisations said in a statement. It is clear from her previous statements and testimonies from friends and family that Ms Heraty is equally committed to the cause of justice and progress in Haiti, despite the wave of violence and political instability. "When I'm getting ready to go back to Haiti I'll be as excited as I was the first day. Because I love what I'm doing, I love the children, I love the people I work with," Ms Heraty said, speaking at the end of her interview with Miriam O'Callaghan. "If you are lucky in life you find something that you enjoy doing. "I don't consider myself a saint, I consider myself very lucky because I have found something in life that I absolutely love, and the positive side of it also is that I am actually doing some good. "What's nicer than seeing things progress? It's beautiful. "Yes, I'm in danger from time to time, and compared to Ireland yes. "But compared to the men and the women that I'm working with. Can you imagine having a child with severe disabilities in the middle of all of that? "They're the ones that give me inspiration. I'm not going to get discouraged when I'm living with people like that."
Sunday World
5 days ago
- Sunday World
Haitian gang holding Gena Heraty hostage demand ‘significant' ransom sum
It is understood that intermediaries for the Nos Petits Frères et Soeurs (NPFS)-run orphanage have told the criminals their demands are 'unrealistic' The Haitian gang holding Irishwoman Gena Heraty hostage have demanded a 'significant sum' for her release, it has been reported. According to the Irish Times, the ransom demand is 'far beyond the resources' of the organisation the Mayo woman works for. It is understood that intermediaries for the Nos Petits Frères et Soeurs (NPFS)-run orphanage have told the criminals their demands 'are unrealistic'. As a result, there's not expected to be any significant progress in releasing Ms Heraty and other hostages taken by the gang. Gena Heraty News in 90 Seconds - Aug 7th Ms Heraty's family, based in Westport, Co Mayo, was being kept informed of developments by the Department of Foreign Affairs. Since she was kidnapped in the early hours of Sunday, at least two people have spoken directly to the gang, including to its leader, on behalf of NPF, the Times reports The two intermediaries are familiar with the area of Kenscoff, where the kidnapping occurred and have a 'forensic knowledge of Haitian society and the crime gangs who control most of the country'. Gena Heraty has been living in Haiti for 32 years and is director of the special needs programme at an orphanage. The Co Mayo woman was taken alongside seven others, including a three-year-old child, on Sunday. Yesterday, it was reported that the leader of the Haitian gang that had kidnapped the Irish charity worker and her colleagues have made contact with the with the organisation she works for. The family of the Westport native previously stated they were 'absolutely devastated' by the news of her abduction in the Caribbean island nation. 'The situation is evolving and deeply worrying,' a family statement read. 'We are working closely with NPFS in Haiti and Ireland, the Irish Government, and international partners who are doing everything possible to ensure the safe and immediate release of Gena and her colleagues. 'NPFS Haiti is working actively to ensure the ongoing safety and well-being of all the children and workers at the orphanage in Kenscoff during this challenging time. "We ask that you keep Gena and her colleagues in your hearts as we pray for their safe return." Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs, Simon Harris said he has spoken to the family of Ms Heraty and said her kidnapping is 'deeply worrying'. Speaking on Monday, the Tánaiste said: 'The kidnapping of Irish citizen Gena Heraty, along with seven of her colleagues and a three-year-old child from the grounds of an orphanage in Kenscoff, Haiti, is deeply worrying. 'Gena has served the people of Haiti for over 30 years. 'She has dedicated her life to supporting the most vulnerable people in Haiti and it is imperative that she is released immediately. 'This morning, I had a good conversation with Gena's sister, Noreen, and I assured her that all is being done to ensure Gena's release. 'My Department is in close contact with the Heraty family, local authorities and Nos Petits Frères et Soeurs, the organisation Gena works for. The country's two ambassadors are also in close contact. "We will continue to leave no stone unturned to ensure Gena and her colleagues are released.' Recent turmoil in Haiti has seen crime gangs seize control over areas of the country in place of the current government. According to the United Nations, gangs control 90pc of Haiti's capital Port-au-Prince, and recent months has seen attacks launched on previously peaceful communities. The UN recorded 185 victims of kidnapping in Haiti between April and June of this year, and said that gangs commit this crime to 'subjugate' people in areas under their control.
