Blood has once again flowed on Haitian soil, a land scarred for too long by insecurity and the terror of armed gangs. On Sunday, March 31, two sisters from the Congregation of the Little Sisters of Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus were brutally killed in Mirebalais, a city located about 50 kilometers northeast of Port-au-Prince. They were Sister Evanette Onesaire and Sister Jeanne Siliane Voltaire, both teachers at a local public school.
While gangs were sowing chaos by attacking businesses, police stations, and the city's prison, the two religious sisters had taken refuge in their residence near the school. But this hiding place was not enough to protect them. Armed men burst into the house and opened fire, killing the two sisters and three other people, including a cook and a laundress. The total number of victims was not specified in initial reports.
The congregation's Superior General, Sister Denise Desil, deeply shaken, shared that this tragedy was an immense loss. "They were good sisters, faithful to their mission, close to the children, devoted to their vocation." Sister Onesaire had just celebrated 50 years of religious life, while Sister Voltaire had celebrated her silver jubilee last year. To this day, the bodies of the religious sisters remain on site, with authorities and the congregation striving to repatriate them with dignity despite the ongoing unrest.
The Archbishop of Port-au-Prince, Msgr. Max Leroy Mésidor, also publicly confirmed the death of the two sisters and denounced this tragedy as a terrible loss for the entire Haitian Catholic community. The Holy See has been informed.
For several weeks, the city of Mirebalais has been the scene of a surge of violence of unprecedented intensity. According to Haitian media relayed by Agenzia Fides, the streets are said to be littered with corpses, and even the Mirebalais University Hospital was reportedly attacked. During the assault on March 31, the gangs also freed more than 500 detainees, who then dispersed into the streets, contributing to the climate of widespread insecurity.
The armed groups responsible for these attacks are said to belong to two well-known gangs: "400 Mawozo" and another calling itself "Taliban". These two factions are members of a coalition called Viv Ansam, which exerts control over large portions of the northern part of the capital.
All of Haiti is buckling under the yoke of this endemic violence. It is estimated that nearly 12,000 armed gang members have taken control of many urban areas, including in Port-au-Prince. In recent days, the violence has spread to other cities, as noted in a BBC report.
On April 2, thousands of angry citizens took to the streets of the capital to protest the authorities' powerlessness in the face of this terror. Gunfire erupted during these protests, the largest since the transitional presidential council was established a year ago. The next day, Fritz Alphonse Jean, head of that same council, announced new measures in an attempt to curb this infernal spiral.
But on the ground, religious communities are left to fend for themselves. In Rivière-Froide, in the southwestern suburbs of Port-au-Prince, the congregation's motherhouse is surrounded. "We are prisoners in our own home," Sister Denise Desil stated recently, forced with her sisters to disguise themselves as civilians to move around and avoid kidnappings.
In a simple and sincere appeal, she concluded:
"Pray for us."
May our prayers accompany these consecrated souls who fell in the fulfillment of their mission, and may the Lord restore to Haiti the peace that the world cannot give.