‘Gena is tough – she'll put on a brave face', says charity pal of Irish woman kidnapped in Haiti amid call for EU help
RESCUE BID 'Gena is tough – she'll put on a brave face', says charity pal of Irish woman kidnapped in Haiti amid call for EU help
THE Irish woman kidnapped in Haiti has been described as 'a tough and very resilient person' as the Irish government ask the EU to step in and help in her rescue.
Gena Heraty runs the Saint Helene orphanage in the Kenscoff area near Port au Prince, Haiti where crime gangs have taken over the country.
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Kidnapped Gena was among staff members and a child who were abducted
Credit: PA
The Westport woman was kidnapped over the weekend along with seven others and a child from the orphanage.
The orphanage is run by the Nos Petits Freres et Soeurs (Our Little Brothers and Sisters) who are working with the authorities to try and free Gena.
Chairperson of the humanitarian organisation Jessica Mullins described Gena as an 'amazing person' who is following her vocation to help children in the impoverished country.
Jessica said: 'Gena is tough. She will definitely be putting on a brave face for everyone else because it wasn't just Gena that was taken – there was seven other people including that three year old child that was taken with her.
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'I have no doubt Gena is trying to put on a brave face for everyone and also probably herself trying to negotiate her way out.
'No doubt there is also an element of fear there.'
Irish woman Gena Heraty has spent over 30 years working in Haiti to help children in the country where gangs have taken over.
The charity leader said that Gena has great resilience which is shown by her sticking with her work in Haiti despite the explosion in crime and poverty that has taken over the country in recent years.
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Jessica said: 'For Gena, this isn't a job. It's a vocation. One of her colleagues said to us that it is her true mission in life.
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'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.'
Tanaiste Simon Harris has raised the kidnapping of Gena Heraty with the EU's High Representative for Foreign Affairs Kaja Kallas.
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Ms Kallas has organised for an EU rep to work on the case and open discussions with Haiti and liaise directly with Ireland.
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