Haiti is recovering, leader tells quake ceremony
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From left to right, Haitian Prime Minister Laurent Lamorthe, Haitian President Michel Martelly, UN special envoy to Haiti former US president Bill Clinton and Haitian First Lady Sophia Martelly observe a minute of silence on January 12, 2013 in Titanyin, 14km from Port-au-Prince, at a communal grave for a memorial ceremony in honor of the victims of the January 12, 2010 earthquake in Haiti. -- PHOTO: AFP
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Haiti's President Michel Martelly, left, UN special envoy to Haiti and former President Bill Clinton, center ,and Haiti's first lady Sophia Martelly, right centre, attend a memorial service for victims of the 2010 earthquake, at Titanyen, a mass burial site north of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Saturday, Jan 12, 2013. -- PHOTO: AP
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Relatives of those who died in the 2010 earthquake descend a hilltop prior to a memorial service at Titanyen, a mass burial site north of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Saturday, Jan 12, 2013. -- PHOTO: AP
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A man sweeps an exposed tiled area of the earthquake-damaged Santa Ana Catholic church, where he now lives, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Saturday, Jan 12, 2013. -- PHOTO: AP
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A bald patch of land, where the National Palace once stood, can be seen from the Fort Nationale neighborhood in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Saturday, Jan 12, 2013. Clad in black, several dozen senior government officials gathered marking the 3rd anniversary of the 2010 earthquake where the elegant white palace had stood before it collapsed in the temblor and was later demolished. -- PHOTO: AP
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View of the cathedral of Port-au-Prince destroyed in the 2010 earthquake on Jan 11, 2013. -- PHOTO: AFP
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A woman walks through rubble in downtown Port-au-Prince on Jan 11, 2013. -- PHOTO: AFP
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Edner Gue, right, and Labon Florestal work to clean up the earthquake damaged Grande College Auguste Comte de Petionville, in their neighbourhood of Petionville, Haiti, Friday, Jan 11, 2013. -- PHOTO: AP
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Residents of the Jean-Marie Vincent camp for people displaced by the 2010 earthquake, wait for customers outside their tent where they have set up a stand to sell rice, oil and canned goods, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Wednesday, Jan 9, 2013. -- PHOTO: AP
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Two Haitian vendors take shelter from the heat in the shell of a building damaged by the 2010 earthquake in downtown Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Wednesday, Jan 9, 2013. -- PHOTO: AP
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A woman walks past buildings damaged by the 2010 earthquake in downtown Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Wednesday, Jan 9, 2013. -- PHOTO: AP
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A view of new construction is seen on Jan 8, 2013 in Marassa, a suburb of Port-au-Prince. -- PHOTO: AFP
From left to right, Haitian Prime Minister Laurent Lamorthe, Haitian President Michel Martelly, UN special envoy to Haiti former US president Bill Clinton and Haitian First Lady Sophia Martelly observe a minute of silence on January 12, 2013 in Titanyin, 14km from Port-au-Prince, at a communal grave for a memorial ceremony in honor of the victims of the January 12, 2010 earthquake in Haiti. -- PHOTO: AFP
Haiti's President Michel Martelly, left, UN special envoy to Haiti and former President Bill Clinton, center ,and Haiti's first lady Sophia Martelly, right centre, attend a memorial service for victims of the 2010 earthquake, at Titanyen, a mass burial site north of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Saturday, Jan 12, 2013. -- PHOTO: AP
Relatives of those who died in the 2010 earthquake descend a hilltop prior to a memorial service at Titanyen, a mass burial site north of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Saturday, Jan 12, 2013. -- PHOTO: AP
A man sweeps an exposed tiled area of the earthquake-damaged Santa Ana Catholic church, where he now lives, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Saturday, Jan 12, 2013. -- PHOTO: AP
A bald patch of land, where the National Palace once stood, can be seen from the Fort Nationale neighborhood in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Saturday, Jan 12, 2013. Clad in black, several dozen senior government officials gathered marking the 3rd anniversary of the 2010 earthquake where the elegant white palace had stood before it collapsed in the temblor and was later demolished. -- PHOTO: AP
View of the cathedral of Port-au-Prince destroyed in the 2010 earthquake on Jan 11, 2013. -- PHOTO: AFP
A woman walks through rubble in downtown Port-au-Prince on Jan 11, 2013. -- PHOTO: AFP
Edner Gue, right, and Labon Florestal work to clean up the earthquake damaged Grande College Auguste Comte de Petionville, in their neighbourhood of Petionville, Haiti, Friday, Jan 11, 2013. -- PHOTO: AP
Residents of the Jean-Marie Vincent camp for people displaced by the 2010 earthquake, wait for customers outside their tent where they have set up a stand to sell rice, oil and canned goods, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Wednesday, Jan 9, 2013. -- PHOTO: AP
Two Haitian vendors take shelter from the heat in the shell of a building damaged by the 2010 earthquake in downtown Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Wednesday, Jan 9, 2013. -- PHOTO: AP
A woman walks past buildings damaged by the 2010 earthquake in downtown Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Wednesday, Jan 9, 2013. -- PHOTO: AP
A view of new construction is seen on Jan 8, 2013 in Marassa, a suburb of Port-au-Prince. -- PHOTO: AFP
PORT-AU-PRINCE (AFP) - Three years after a massive earthquake ravaged Haiti, President Michel Martelly said on Saturday the country was slowly rebuilding, despite the ongoing day-to-day misery of many survivors.
An estimated 250,000 people were killed in the January 12, 2010 earthquake. Hundreds of thousands are still living rough in squalid makeshift camps, and they now face rampant crime, a cholera outbreak and the occasional hurricane.
"I bow in memory of the victims. I can still hear the cries of pain from families who lost loved ones, but dry your tears," a visibly moved Mr Martelly said on the grounds of the presidential palace, which collapsed in the quake.
"Despite all the suffering, Haiti is recovering." Government ministers, officials and diplomats attended the somber memorial ceremony in the capital Port-au-Prince, at which a police siren rang out in honor of the dead. While the presidential palace had been reduced to a heap of stone and metal, "the flag remains aloft and proud," Mr Martelly said, vowing to rebuild his impoverished Caribbean country from the ground up.
