Irish missionary between nine kidnapping from the Hayiti Orphanage

Officials said nine people, including an Irish missionary and a three -year -old, were kidnapped from an orphanage near the capital of Haiti, officials said.

Gina Hirati, the director of the facility, was among those who were taken from the orphanage run by St. Helen in Kinskov during the early hours of the morning, according to Mayor Massilon Jean.

Seven employees and a child were also transferred from the orphanage, which is interested in more than 240 children, some with disabilities.

The attackers stormed the orphanage at approximately 15:30 local time (07:30 GMT) “without opening the fire”, Jean said, describing it as a “planned work”.

Jean said that the attackers had penetrated a wall to enter the property, before heading to the building where Mrs. Hirati was staying.

It is believed that the gang members are responsible for the attack, according to the Haiti Lu Nevilist newspaper.

A source told the news agency to Agence France Presse that our young brothers and sisters have lived in Haiti since 1993, describing the organization that runs the orphanage – our brothers and young sisters – early Sunday to confirm that it was among those who were kidnapped.

The source said that no ransom requests or requests were submitted.

Ireland’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it was aware of the case and was providing consular assistance.

Gina Hirati, who was born in Leskarny, Mayo, has won many awards for her humanitarian work, including the Orientas Award for Human Dignity.

The Irish Times previously told that she had no intention to leave Haiti, despite the increasing violence in gangs and threats for their safety.

“Children are why you are still here. We are in this together.”

Since early 2025, Commune Kenscoff, on the southern suburbs of Port or Prince, was one of the city’s areas with continuous incursions and raids by criminal gangs in Haiti, which already control most of the capital and large spaces in the interior of the country.

Haiti police, along with the Kenyan police allies and foreign contractors who use drones, have repeatedly expelled the gangs from their positions and bases, but they did not succeed in pushing them back.

Gang and kidnapping are also common in other areas of Port-UU-PRINCE around and around, as the United Nations says armed groups control about 85 % of the city.

On July 7, six employees of UNICEF were kidnapped during an accredited mission in an area controlled by armed groups in Port or Prince. Although one of the employees was released the next day, five others were detained by a three -week gang.

In the first half of 2025, UN numbers show that nearly 350 people were kidnapped in Haiti. The United Nations Office for Human Rights said at least 3,141 people were killed in the same period.

The head of the United Nations Human Rights, Volcker Turk, warned that an increase in gang violence threatens to increase the nation’s stability, as 1.3 million people recorded displacement due to turmoil from June.

The United Nations said that the families “are struggling to remain in temporary shelters while facing the risks of health and protection.”