Haiti remembers those killed in earthquake - Summary

Wed, 12 Jan 2011

Port-au-Prince- A funeral service in the ruins of Port-au- Prince cathedral Wednesday launched ceremonies to remember the 230,000 people killed in a quake that devastated Haiti a year ago.

Thousands, many of them dressed in white, gathered in the early morning for mass at the site of the cathedral, which was destroyed in the January 12, 2010 quake along with much of the city and its surroundings. Archbishop Joseph Serge Miot was among those killed in the quake.

All archbishops and bishops in Haiti conducted mass together, and the service was attended among others by Haitian presidential candidate Mirlande Manigat and by Haitian-American rapper Wyclef Jean.

Haitians and members of international aid organizations marked the anniversary in other cities and towns.

At 4:53 pm (2153 GMT), the precise time of the disaster a year ago, the whole country is set to grind to a halt, with white balloons being let off in areas devastated by the quake.

Edmond Mulet, commander of the UN Mission for the Stabilization of Haiti (MINUSTAH), highlighted the United Nation's support for Haiti one year after a quake which also claimed the lives of 102 UN peacekeepers and employees in the country.

"In the memory of hundreds of thousands of missing persons, of injured, of handicapped, of displaced people, the Special Representative of the United Nations General secretary for Haiti is keen to express to the Haitian people that the United Nations are and will remain with them," Mulet said in a statement.

The quake was "the greatest tragedy that the country and the United Nations have ever known," Mulet said.

He recalled the fact that Haiti lost not only thousands of civilians but also thousands of government officials and a huge portion of its infrastructure in the quake. MINUSTAH itself, he stressed, lost 102 people and was left "beheaded," Mulet said.

Former US president Bill Clinton and Wyclef Jean are among prominent personalities who are in Haiti for the anniversary.

Beyond the Caribbean country's borders, the anniversary was observed too.

In New York, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's spokesman Martin Nesirky said that "the Secretary-General would like to express his solidarity with the people of Haiti and all those who suffered tragic losses a year ago."

"We honour those who left us and carry on their work," Nesirky said.

In Washington, the Organization of American States (OAS) paid tribute to the dead.

"On such a sad day we join with Haiti and all of the international community in mourning for the loss of so many thousands of lives," said OAS Secretary General Jose Miguel Insulza.

Insulza highlighted evident problems in reconstruction efforts.

"The challenges and hurdles are huge and the lack of coordination persists, but we have to persevere. We owe it to all in Haiti and to the memory of those who died," he said.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/362040,killed-earthquake-summary.html.