JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A local Jacksonville woman is among an unknown number of Americans who are stuck in Haiti after gangs took control of the country’s only international airport.
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Miriam Cinotti - better known as Doodle - is there for a mission trip with several other Americans. She is part of the family that owns the well-known Cinotti’s Bakery in Jacksonville Beach.
Doodle and her husband, Mike Cinotti, have been going to Haiti since 2010 for different ministries related to feeding the homeless, helping the elderly, sponsoring schools, and running an orphanage. And Doodle was helping kids on this most recent trip.
Luckily, Doodle says she is safe in a remote area away from the violence. But both say they are ready for her to come home.
“Things like knowing where she’s at, knowing who she’s with, and our faith helps us to know that, that everything’s gonna be okay,” Mike Cinotti said. “But I do want her to get home pretty soon. It’s time.”
Doodle and Mike have been communicating every day since she has been in Haiti. But, that’s especially important now.
“No one wants to be stuck or feels trapped in any way, shape, or form,” Doodle said. “And that’s what we are all feeling right now.”
Since February 23rd, doodle has been in a remote area helping orphaned kids. She was supposed to leave last week, but all the flights have been canceled.
“We’re literally – we have no way no way out,” Doodle said. “And we’ve been looking to see when the nearest flights, you know, when we can book again, and they’re not even given us a date. There’s nothing on the calendar that lets us get out of here.
More than a week ago, gangs started attacking the international airport in Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince.
Doodle says she is far from this area.
“We’re in the south of Haiti, which is very safe - we are in no danger,” Doodle said.
While Doodle is not in danger, her friend is.
“This is day 12 of waiting,” Jill Dolan said. “We’re, we just want to go home, we just want to be safe. But being here on the front lines in the danger zone is really awful.”
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Jill Dolan works at the same ministry as Doodle – Mission of Grace. She was supposed to fly out of the capital on February 29th, but since the attacks, she has been sheltering in place.
“it’s not something we thought we would ever go through,” Dolan said.
Dolan says she’s been in touch with the U.S. Embassy, but it’s still a waiting game to get home.
“They’ve been helpful in some ways, but in a lot of ways they’re just like, ‘be safe,’” Dolan said. “Well, that’s kind of a joke….It’s very disheartening for sure. Our daughter’s getting married in about a week now. And we really were hoping to make it to her wedding.”
Dolan says every delay has a price tag. It’s $400 a night for her family of five to stay at the hotel they’re at. 12 extra days they did not plan for.
Now, all they must hold onto is hope.
“We don’t know what to believe; we just we just have hope that it’s going to end soon and we can get on,” Doodle said.
Doodle says she has reached out to the U.S. Embassy and local politicians to help get home, but she is still waiting.
Action News Jax has also reached out. The U.S. Embassy responded with the following statement:
“The U.S. Department of State and our embassies and consulates abroad have no higher priority than the safety and security of U.S. citizens overseas. Our primary role is to keep the U.S. citizen community informed of safety and security developments. The U.S. Embassy in Port-Au-Prince Haiti issued a Security Alert to inform U.S. citizens of the current security situation. We will continue to provide information to U.S. citizens in Haiti through alerts, our Embassy and Consulate websites, and travel.state.gov. U.S. citizens in Haiti who wish to inform the U.S. government of their whereabouts and provide updated contact information should complete the Crisis Intake Form. The Department of State’s Travel Advisory for Haiti remains at Level 4 – Do Not Travel, and we have advised U.S. citizens not to travel to Haiti since March 5, 2020.”
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