The anguish of having a loved one among those kidnapped has increased for some time in the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area. For dozens upon dozens of families, the blow falls: silence, a destination never reached, and the call demanding a ransom. In recent days, schoolchildren have been falling into the kidnappers’ net. A few days ago in Silo, Delmas 33. In Bourdon, a doctor, his wife, and child. A well-known journalist. This Friday, three children on their way to school and the driver of the vehicle in Bois-Verna, according to several sources cited in the media.

The proportion of unreported cases is even greater. There are police officers languishing in the kidnappers’ prisons. And police officers who are themselves kidnappers roaming the streets. In the Martissant neighborhood, at the southern entrance to Port-au-Prince, prices are being placed on human beings, on their freedom. The trade in human beings, just a short distance from Croix-des-Bossales, where slave traders once dropped anchor with our ancestors on board, is thriving. The routes leading to the places where victims are held captive are neither blocked nor controlled. The feared slide also appears to be becoming a lasting reality. Kidnapping victims are subjects of negotiation. They are also regarded as human shields, means of pressure to obtain “amnesty.” Nothing is simple. And fear continues to stalk the hours…