Haiti - Social : Remembrance ceremony, Michel Martelly in Saint-Christophe
The President Michel Martelly, accompanied by the First Lady Sophia Martelly and Prime Minister Garry Conille, was yesterday to Saint-Christophe (Ti Tanyen) for a moment of reverence. The ceremony took place in an atmosphere of memories and reverence in the presence of members of the Government, parliamentarians, former Heads of State, Jean-Claude Duvalier and Prosper Avril, the former U.S. President Bill Clinton , representatives of the Diplomatic and Consular Corps, religious leaders of various denominations and other important personalities.
The presidential couple, surrounded by ten children representing the ten departments of the country, placed wreaths of flowers and and has proceeded as a sign of hope, to the planting of ten seedlings in this place where about 10,000 victims were buried. The President of the Republic also lit the symbolic flame, before the bell for the dead. A gesture acclaimed by the audience.
By this act of historic memory for the victims of the earthquake of January 12, the Head of State wished to assume its responsibilities by showing to the Haitian people and the world that the memory of the disappeared during that fateful day has not been 'erased', and will never fade from his memory. The President Martelly has addressed, in his own name, in that of his family and on behalf of the entire government, his sympathies to the families and friends of the victims.
The Head of State, took this opportunity to reaffirm its commitment to the provisions to be taken to ensure that new generations do not suffer such a tragedy. "The lesson is clear: Everything must be redesigned and rebuilt otherwise [...] We must now deconstruct many habits, to appropriate other values to defuse any potential return to horror."
