The slaying of three deaf women in Haiti sparks outrage over the apparent vulnerability of its marginalized disabled citizens. The nation remains shocked and shamed over the brutal killings of Jesula Gelin, Vanessa Previl and Monique Vincent in Cabaret, Haiti on March 19, 2016.
Gelin, Previl and Vincent worked as street vendors and lived in the coastal village of Leveque, according to Yahoo! News. Leveque is a community established by U.S. religious organizations after families were displaced by the 2010 earthquake. Homes are reserved for deaf people and their families.
The three women were stocking up on supplies in Port-au-Prince and were known to be hard working women who prayed together and belonged in a small network of deaf artisans. They were abducted as they headed home on foot late at night due to a bridge collapse that prevented them from taking public transportation. Their bodies were found in a ditch the next morning.
According to ABC News, they were beaten, stabbed, burned and had their tongues cut out. The barbaric killings prompted rare public protests from advocacy groups in the country. Mickelson Jean, leader of a Haitian deaf association, said, "These murders are an act of absolute barbarism and we must have justice."
The slayings highlight a massive flaw in the Haitian justice system where discrimination against the disabled remains rampant. Michel Pean, a blind activist and Haiti's first secretary of state for the integration of disabled people, expressed his outrage over the recent violence against the handicapped. He said, "This case is very important. The disabled have made advances in Haiti, but there's still far, far too much stigma and impunity."
Violence against handicapped members of society - specifically the deaf and blind - are results of several issues. According to Seattle Times, superstition plays a major part in stigma and discrimination. Some believe that the disabled are cursed or are werewolf-type creatures called "lougawou".
Gelin's husband, Micheler Castor, believes that his wife and her friends were murdered for their tongues. It was believed that chances of winning at the lottery were greatly increased should the player carry body parts from fresh corpses.
Police held three members of a family suspected of killing the three deaf women. Two women and a man are in custody while two men considered main suspects are currently being pursued.
