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| Posted Monday, December 24, 2007 |
| As Christmas approaches, Haiti's president marks the annual
ritual with plea to end kidnapping |
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti - President Rene Preval asked kidnappers to stop targeting
youngsters during a somber holiday address Sunday in this impoverished Caribbean nation.
 |
Courtesey of Haiti National Police to wehaitians.com |
Preval made his plea before handing gifts to 500 disabled children at the national
palace in Port-au-Prince. Standing beside Haitian music stars and an aide dressed as Santa
Claus, he first implored and then threatened criminals to stop abducting children.
"Gangs, for me, please give the kids a chance," he said. "If you don't
give the kids a chance, (the police) will make you."
Although the total number of abductions is down from previous years, Haiti has suffered
a spate of kidnappings in the run-up to the holiday season. At least 41 people have been
kidnapped since Nov. 1 as criminals seek money for Christmas gifts. Many of the victims
are children, seized by gangs or abducted by relatives.
The country is still reeling from the case of a 7-year-old boy who was killed and
mutilated last month after his parents could not pay a $680 ransom.
| Wehaitians.com, the scholarly journal of
democracy and human rights |
