Outrage as kidnapping explosion puts Haiti on a ‘descent into hell’

People pray against an epidemic of kidnappings sweeping Haiti, amid deepening political unrest and economic misery, during a mass in Port-au-Prince, Haiti on April 15. [Reuters]

A wave of kidnappings is sweeping Haiti. But even in a country growing inured to horrific abductions, the case of five-year-old Olslina Janneus sparked outrage.

Olslina was snatched off the streets of the capital Port-au-Prince in late January as she was playing. The child’s corpse, bearing signs of strangulation, turned up a week later, according to her mother, Nadege Saint Hilaire, a peanut vendor who said she couldn’t pay the $4,000 (Sh432,400) ransom. Saint Hilaire’s cries filled the airwaves as she spoke to a few local radio stations seeking help raising funds to cover funeral costs.