Alix Dorsainvil, the 31-year-old nurse from New Hampshire who was freed with her daughter after nearly two weeks in captivity in Port-Au-Prince, Haiti, said in a recent video message that she forgives her captors and thanked the thousands of Haitians who marched in the streets to press for her release.
“And for all those who stood up and marched demanding my freedom, thank you so much,” Dorsainvil said in a message posted on YouTube on Aug. 17.
Speaking Haitian Creole with English subtitles, Dorsainvil also discussed her captors, who haven’t been identified publicly. No arrests have been reported in the case. Dorsainvil and her daughter were freed unharmed Aug. 8 after being abducted on July 27 from the campus of El Roi Haiti Outreach International, the Christian nonprofit she works for.
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“While in there [in captivity], a gangster came in and said, ‘Nurse Alix, the people of Duvivier are marching for you,’” Dorsainvil said. “This encouraged me a lot because I knew you were standing with me during that difficult time.”
She also delivered a message to her captors.
“For the gangsters, I have a message for you,” Dorsainvil said. “I want you guys to know that everything I said during my time in captivity was sincere. They were not the manipulative words of someone desperate to escape, but simply the truth. Especially when I told you my clinic doors are always open to you or anyone in need when you’re sick, or wounded, without any problem.”
Her abduction stirred an outcry in Haiti and beyond.
“Thousands of Haitians united their voices and risked their lives to march for the release of Alix and her child as well as other Haitian captives,” El Roi said in a recent statement. “To the many people and communities in Haiti that expressed support for Alix and her daughter during this time, we want to say thank you for the courage you’ve shown in the midst of your own challenges.”
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The group thanked “private and public sector partners and resources who helped us navigate this crisis” and US law enforcement and State Department representatives “who worked tirelessly behind the scenes in support of Alix and her family.”
Dorsainvil is married to Sandro Dorsainvil, the group’s director.
Haiti has spiraled into turmoil and gang violence since the July 2021 assassination of former president Jovenel Moïse and a devastating earthquake the following month.
Officials said kidnapping victims “regularly include US citizens,” and local police “generally lack the resources to respond effectively to serious criminal incidents.”
Late last month, the State Department issued a “do not travel” advisory for Haiti and ordered all nonemergency government employees and their families to leave the country, citing widespread gang violence and attacks targeting US travelers.
American citizens were urged to evacuate “as soon as possible by commercial or other privately available transportation options.”
Officials said kidnappings often involve ransom negotiations, and families have paid thousands of dollars to get family members back. It wasn’t immediately known if anyone had paid a ransom to secure the release of Alix Dorsainvil and her child.
“Even if ransom is paid and the victims are released, this particular event leaves a scar in their hearts that will never go away,” Dorsainvil said in her message.
Material from prior Globe stories was used in this report.
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Travis Andersen can be reached at travis.andersen@globe.com.