SW News: There is still no news of Fr Antoine Macaire Christian Noah, the Claretian missionary who was kidnapped in Haiti on Feb. 7. His congregation and other Church agencies have expressed deep concern over the lack of information about the abducted Catholic priest.

The priest was abducted while he was traveling to his parish. The country has been plagued by violence as armed gangs rule the roost ever since the assassination of President Jovenal Moise in 2021. Internecine conflicts have aggravated the economic crisis and the transportation of essential items and humanitarian aid materials.

Gang violence is preventing the holding of fresh elections. There is a political crisis and the people are concerned about rising gas and potable water prices. There is also a spurt in the number of kidnappings and murders.

A few days after the Claretian missionary was kidnapped, members of an armed gang abducted three worshippers while they were leaving a church in Port-au-Prince, the capital. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has described the situation as a living nightmare. According to BBC reports, a couple and another person were abducted after the service at the First Baptist Church in the capital.

Armed gangs unleash violence on schools and educational institutions and the situation is really serious that the education system risks collapsing. As of February, close to 30 schools in the urban areas of Haiti were forced to close because of the violence. More than a quarter of educational institutions in the country have been closed since October last year. This enhances the risk of children being forcibly conscripted by the gangs to fight for them.

The United Nations Fund says that 19,000 people in Haiti are on the verge of starvation and almost half of the 12 million population needs help. Cholera is also spreading in the country at an alarming rate because of the scarcity of clean potable water. So far there are 22500 suspected cases and 457 people have succumbed to the disease.