PORT-AU-PRINCE — After nearly a month, kidnappers released the couple from Florida on April 13, bringing much joy in Leogane, the pair’s intended destination.
In a short video published by journalist Luckson Saint-Vil, the couple — Jean Dickens Toussaint, originally from Léogâne, and Abigail Toussaint — are seen standing in a small crowd receiving ochan, a song of greeting, from a rara band.
Looking weary, yet relieved, the couple smiled and waved as the drums beat and voices chanted.
Details of any conditions met for their release have not yet been revealed.
The pair was visiting the country from Florida to participate in the pre-Lenten rara festival. They were aboard a bus on March 18 when kidnappers in Martissant, a major crossing in and out of the capital, captured them and several others.
The Martissant kidnappers demanded $3,000 in ransom at first, then $200,000 each in exchange for their release. At this time, no information is available on whether that ransom amount was paid nor the whereabouts of the other people kidnapped.
“When they asked for the 200K for each person, we were in shock and we felt defeated,” Christie Desormes, the couple’s niece, told The Haitian Times. “There’s this belief that if you come to America, you’re rich and that’s not the case.”
Soon after, the family launched a change.org petition to demand the couple’s release. Desormes wanted to show her support in numbers on behalf of her aunt and uncle as she sought help from state and federal agencies. She posted on social media to spread the word and call their local representatives.
Desormes said her aunt and uncle, who have a 2-year-old, often visited Haiti in years past. But between COVID restrictions and the assassination of President Jovenel Moise in recent years, the Tamarac couple preferred to stay in the United States.
Jean-Dickens, an accountant, and Abigail, a social worker, are among 29 foreign nationals abducted so far this year in Haiti, according to data collected by the Center for Analysis of Research in Human Rights (CARDH). The watchdog group reported that for the first three months of the year, 389 people were abducted. The figure is 173% than in 2021 and 72% higher than 2022 for the same period. That is, 141 kidnappings in 2021 and 225 in 2022.
