Haiti marks anniversary of quake that killed 250,000

Haiti’s President, Michel Martelly, and his wife, Sofia Martelly, along with officials of his government cabinet visit a commemoration monument at Siloe commune to place a wreath at the Titanyin locality, south of Port Au Prince, Haiti, yesterday.

AFP/Port-au-Prince

Haitians, many dressed in white, flocked to church services for sombre remembrances for those who perished in the tragedy on January 12, 2010, which left about a million people homeless.

But four years on, nearly 200,000 people are still living in dire conditions in temporary shelters, and residents complain of having received little help since NGOs left.

President Michel Martelly, who has faced protests over the slow pace of rebuilding, declared the anniversary a “day of reflection and commemoration.”

Martelly later in the day laid flowers at the site of a mass grave where many of the quake’s victims were buried.

Flags were lowered throughout the country and businesses closed to mark the anniversary, while radio and television stations broadcast programming suitable to the emotional occasion.

The devastation is still keenly felt in Port-au-Prince, the teeming capital of the Americas’ poorest country.

Faced with criticism over the slow pace of rebuilding, especially of administrative buildings - including the legislative palace - Prime Minister Laurent Lamothe called on Haiti’s 10mn people to unite.

“We are going to press on the accelerator to advance the main projects, and Haitians will be proud of reconstruction,” Lamothe told the press last week, presenting models of several public buildings that are under construction.

Church ministers yesterday railed against the time it was taking to reconstruct buildings that were largely leveled throughout the capital.

Opposition critics have attacked the government for failing to make better progress on rebuilding. The government says that a large portion of the estimated $381mn donated by governments and organisations the world over was spent on the post-earthquake emergency and not for reconstruction.

“We were lucky to have help from Venezuela. Most of our projects were accomplished with Venezuelan money. With slim means, we accomplished a lot of things,” Lamothe said, expressing hope that the international community would make good on its aid pledges.

He criticised the international community for failing to provide promised aid of nearly $9bn. “If the international community had fulfilled its commitment, we would have accomplished 10 times more than we have achieved,” Lamothe said. “We must continue to make the international community aware.

“But Haiti is better off four years after the earthquake even if there remains much to be done.”

Haiti has recently seen an increase in anti-government protests, some breaking out into violent clashes. Protesters have called for the resignation of Martelly, who has been in office since 2011, and are also demanding better living conditions. Plans for rebuilding Port-au-Prince have been presented to the public, but the construction never happened.