Recently, fellow Dispatch blogger Vanessa Valenti wrote about child abductions in Haiti, explaining that “while both boys and girls have been kidnapped, it seems that females are a large target, and often raped and sexually abused.” Vanessa goes on to say that the gangs who kidnap the children often end up murdering them, despite the family paying their requested ransom.
Now, another heartbreaking story about Haiti’s children:
The 5-year-old teetered on broomstick legs — he weighed less than 20 pounds, even after days of drinking enriched milk. Nearby, a 4-year-old girl hung from a strap attached to a scale, her wide eyes lifeless, her emaciated arms dangling weakly. …
U.N. World Food Program country director Myrta Kaulard said she fears more deaths from malnutrition in other isolated parts of Haiti, and search and medical teams were fanning out in the northwest and along the southwestern peninsula to check.