News
Haiti marks third anniversary of powerful earthquake
(January 13, 2013)
Assistant Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS), Albert Ramdin urged the global community not to wane in their commitment to Haiti.
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, Saturday January 12, 2013 – Three years after a powerful earthquake devastated this French-speaking Caribbean Community (CARICOM) country, Haitians are commemorating the event with a low key activity underscoring the need that it intends to push on with the rehabilitation process.
President Michel Martelly will on Saturday preside over a memorial on the grounds of the former National Palace, which was destroyed in the disaster and later demolished.
The government said that the anniversary would not be marked with a holiday as had been the case in the last two years. But it said in a statement it has asked that the Haitian flag be flown at half-mast and that nightclubs be closed.
The Guyana-based CARICOM Secretariat said that the regional grouping continues to play a meaningful role in the re-development of the country and again appealed to the international community to honour its commitment to aid in the rehabilitation of Haiti, which in January took over the chairmanship of the regional grouping.
Under-Secretary-General for UN Peacekeeping Operations, Herve Ladsous Friday honoured “the memory of the more than 200,000 victims, including 102 United Nations personnel, dear colleagues, friends and family members who perished in that horrific and tragic disaster.
“My memories of the damage and suffering, which I saw first-hand during two visits, are still fresh. But I also have a keen sense of the progress that has been achieved in reconstruction and recovery over the past three years. Your contributions, combined with the resilience of the Haitian people, have made much possible,” he said as he participated in a ceremony at the UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH).
Assistant Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS), Albert Ramdin speaking at an international gathering in Washington on Friday urged the global community not to wane in their commitment to Haiti, noting “there is a limited window of opportunity for Haiti to experience this level of commitment.
“I would hope that international commitment would not wane, but the reality is that global and domestic pressures have caused priorities to be reassessed for many countries,” he added.
The United Nations is also planning a small private memorial to mark the anniversary.
The United States has issued a fact sheet outlining its contribution to the rehabilitation of the country, noting that it has spent millions of dollars in infrastructural work, education, health, as well as ensuring free and fair elections in the impoverished CARICOM country.
“For more than three and a half years, the U.S. Government has worked closely to be a good partner to the government and people of Haiti,” the statement said, noting that Washington has pursued two tracks of engagement and has ensured that they complement one another.
It said the first is to address immediate humanitarian and emergency aid needs while the second is a strategy to promote long-term sustainable development in Haiti.
To date, Haiti along with the international community, private firms, and individual households have removed approximately 7.4 million cubic meters of rubble, or 74 per cent of the rubble created by the earthquake.
Washington said it is currently constructing two new settlements, with construction underway of 750 homes in the north near Caracol and 156 homes near Port-au-Prince in the Saint Marc region.
“The next five settlements of approximately 1,250 houses, where all engineering designs, environmental studies, and water tests have been completed and tenders are due to be launched shortly, will be developed together with a diverse set of partners such as the Qatar Haiti Fund, the Inter-American Development Bank, and the American Red Cross, enabling the United States to leverage resources for greater impact.”
But the reconstruction effort has been slow to take hold because of political paralysis, the level of devastation and a trickle of aid.
Haiti has received slightly more than half of the US$5.3 billion pledged by donors and according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the country Haiti is facing even tougher economic times, with rising food prices pushing up inflation to 6.8 per cent.
Economic growth, once projected at 7.8 per cent, is now down to 2.5 per cent and many have blamed the government’s slow execution of public projects and the damage caused by recent storms and hurricanes.
Ladsous said there is still concern regarding the fate of more than 300,000 displaced Haitians, who continue to live in make-shift camps, and about the successive hurricanes that have destroyed many livelihoods and raised the spectre of food insecurity.
“I continue to call on the international community to stand with Haiti at its time of dire need. I thank all of you for being the caring face of the United Nations, on the ground, accompanying the people of Haiti on the path to a more secure and prosperous future,” he said.
The Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) is reporting a significant decline in the number of cholera cases following the outbreak in October 2010 that killed more than 7, 000 people.