23902: Benodin (news) Notre Dame student presumed dead in Haiti (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Robert Benodin <r.benodin@worldnet.att.net>

Notre Dame student presumed dead in Haiti
Associated Press
December 15, 2004
 http://www.indystar.com/articles/8/202347-4608-093.html
SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- A graduate student at the University of Notre Dame was
missing and presumed dead after he was shot by an armed gang in Haiti, a
school official said.
Jean Joseph Dorvil, 29, was shot Saturday near Port-au-Prince when he did
not stop at a checkpoint manned by supporters of ousted President
Jean-Bertrand Aristide, the university said Tuesday.
Dorvil was traveling with two foreign nationals to visit the Arcahaie area.
Notre Dame spokesman Matthew Storin said there was little hope that he had
survived.
The checkpoint was in an area that has been plagued by violence since
Aristide loyalists increased protests to demand his return from exile in
South Africa.
Dorvil, a native of Haiti, was the administrator of a program to research,
treat and eliminate lymphatic filariasis, a disease that causes the
disfiguring condition elephantiasis. The program is a joint venture
involving Notre Dame and medical agencies in the United States and Haiti.
The program is funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
Since Aristide fled the country Feb. 29 amid a three-week rebellion, Haiti's
U.S.-backed government has struggled to stem violence committed by
gangsters, pro-Aristide gangs, anti-Aristide gangs and former soldiers who
led the revolt. The ex-soldiers have grown frustrated with the government,
which has yet to formally reinstate the army.