United Nations
13 Jan 2022, 04:21 GMT+10
On 12 January 2010, a 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck Haiti, leaving its capital Port-au-Prince devastated. About 220,000 people were reportedly killed, among them, 102 United Nations staff who lost their lives when the building housing the mission there, known as MINUSTAH, collapsed.
Paying tribute to all the victims, the UN in Haiti remembered not only the hundreds of thousands of Haitians who lost their lives 12 years ago, but also the many thousands more who sustained permanent injuries.
At the time, some 300,000 people were injured, and 1.5 million became homeless during the 35-second-long tremor.
Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary General in Haiti, Bruno Lemarquis, took part in a remembrance ceremony on Wednesday, to remember the lives lost.
The UN system in Haiti honoured those staffers who perished, in a statement released on Wednesday, describing it as "one of the darkest days in its history".
Since then, "Haiti has drawn on the resilience of its people, the work of its institutions and the assistance of its many friends and supporters to overcome the ravages caused by that calamity".
Across the UN system, messages of remembrance were shared. UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, said on a tweet that "everyday we remember the victims and honour their legacy through the Organization's work". And the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), renewed its support for Haiti's "path to recovery, stability and prosperity".
Last August, another large earthquake hit the southern regions of the country, killing more than 2,200 and injuring over 12,000 people, and leaving thousands of homes destroyed.
The same sense of resilience and solidarity was again in evidence, as Haitians promptly and effectively responded to yet another disaster.
In the statement issued by the UN office, the Organization renewed its commitment to work alongside the Haitian people, and with the country's friends and supporters.
The UN is on the ground, continuing to work on long-term reconstruction, helping communities "to build a sustainable, inclusive, and brighter future for Haiti."
Get a daily dose of Long Beach Star news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Long Beach Star.
More InformationJoe Biden has earned the title by ordering the destruction of Europe's energy infrastructure, State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin claimsSpeaker ...
The Toronto Raptors are reacquiring center Jakob Poeltl from the San Antonio Spurs, ESPN and The Athletic reported early Thursday ...
SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA - North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and his young daughter took center stage at a huge ...
Kyrie Irving scored 24 points and dished out five assists in his Dallas Mavericks debut and Tim Hardaway Jr. added ...
San Francisco (California) [US], February 9 (ANI): Former Twitter executives told lawmakers on Wednesday that the social media company had ...
Kyrie Irving scored 24 points and dished out five assists in his Dallas Mavericks debut and Tim Hardaway Jr. added ...
EAST PALESTINE, Ohio: After a freight train carrying hazardous chemicals derailed in Ohio near the Pennsylvania state line on February ...
Rescue teams in Turkey and Syria continue the search for survivors of the catastrophic earthquake that hit the region on ...
WASHINGTON D.C.: The Biden administration has indicated that it could end federal protection for grizzly bears in the northern Rocky ...
MANILA, Philippines: The Philippines has granted the United States four more locations to open military bases, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd ...
WASHINGTON, DC - The global community has extended aid to Turkey and Syria following the devastating earthquakes that hit the ...
WASHINGTON D.C.: US lawmakers have called on the Department of Energy to release documents detailing attempts by Russian hackers to ...