After 13 years in Haiti, a Brazilian inter-congregational mission in a displaced persons camp on the outskirts of Port-au-Prince is about to close permanently due to violence in the region.
The Nazareth Inter-Congregational Missionary Community was founded by the National Conference of Bishops of Brazil (CNBB) and the Conference of Religious of Brazil (CRB) after the earthquake devastated Haiti in 2010.
The mission operated in Corail Cesse-Lesse, outside Port-au-Prince.
Over the years, the missionaries provided numerous social services to the local community and attended to their religious needs.
A central part of their work was to monitor the development of malnourished children.
They worked with the mothers to help them earn an income and provided learning activities for the children.
It all ended on January 14, when a criminal gang entered the mission building and stole equipment and money from the nuns.
“They took control of the whole neighborhood and looted all the houses and stores. Then they broke into our mission,” said Sister Ideneide do Rêgo.
She and another nun were held at gunpoint while the criminals searched for valuable goods.
A few hours later, during the night of the same day, another group of armed men entered the building.
The nuns described the second gang as “even more violent than the first.”
Even the missionaries’ car was stolen.
“The community leaders came to us as soon as the men left and told us to flee immediately.”
“They told us that the gang would come back, find no more money and kidnap us,” Sister Rêgo said.
Church workers are a particular target of kidnappers in Haiti, as their parishes or dioceses end up paying the ransom demanded by the criminals.
Local women helped the nuns pack and took them on motorcycles to another neighborhood.
After a few days, they managed to escape to the Dominican Republic and take a plane back to Brazil.
“They are now receiving psychological care in Brazil. It was a very traumatic situation,” confirms Sister Eliane Cordeiro de Souza, president of CRB.
“We have been in contact with the local leaders and the mothers who participated in our projects.”
“We are considering how to continue with the mission. But it is practically impossible to continue it,” she said.
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