Americans: Who will save us? TRAPPED IN HAITI HELLHOLE
US missionaries trapped in Haiti say they are worried no one is coming to rescue them as gang violence and lawlessness tear the country apart, leaving dead bodies piled up in the streets.
Jill Dolan and her family are sheltering in place at a makeshift motel in capital Port-au-Prince — where most of the violence has been concentrated — awaiting an evacuation, while gunfire can be heard outside day and night.
Dolan, who helps run an orphanage through her Love A Neighbor organization, said she is in contact with the US Embassy, but little help has been offered.
“Really what they say is like, ‘Be safe.’ I’m just like, ‘OK, well that’s not really helpful,’ ” Dolan said. “My fear is that we will be caught in the middle of something really dangerous. We’re already on the front lines . . . The gunfire never stops.”
Civil order has broken down in the capital, with gunmen from bloodthirsty street gangs and looters roaming the streets.
Thousands have already fled amid the chaos and reports have described bodies piling up in the streets as there is no one to pick up the corpses, causing the city to smell strongly of death.
Lynn, who asked The Post to omit her surname, and Miriam Cinotti do mission work with Dolan and are stranded in a different area of Haiti, which has declared a state of emergency.
Airports closed
Their area hasn’t been overrun yet, but they are worried and trying to leave. But the country’s two international airports are closed due to the violence.
The US military executed an airlift of embassy personnel over the weekend and has been deployed to provide additional security at the facility.
“We’re worried because we’re in a country where we don’t know what’s going to happen. It’s unpredictable what’s going on, we don’t know,” Lynn said, expressing concern over her husband’s condition as a diabetic and his ability to get medication.
Haiti erupted in violence Feb. 29 as gangs began to attack and burn down police stations and government buildings, throwing the country into bedlam.
Gangs tried to seize control of the main Toussaint Louverture International Airport, which has been closed since last week. They have stormed prisons and released roughly 4,000 inmates, and blockaded major roads.
The main port in Port-auPrince has been closed, leading to food and water shortages. Schools, banks, government offices, gas stations and many hospitals are also closed. The few hospitals still operating are running out of medicine.
Gang leader Jimmy Chérizier, a k a “Barbecue,” has claimed responsibility for the attacks and is pledging to capture Haitian government officials. He blocked Prime Minister Ariel Henry from returning from a trip to Kenya, where he was negotiating for that country’s police to help secure Haiti against gangs like Chérizier’s.
The State Department did not respond to a request for comment.