Global General

UN mourns for its 101 staff dead in Haiti's quake

By Chen Weihua (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-03-11 08:07

Relatives of deceased UN employees participate in the memorial ceremony at the UN headquarters in New York on Tuesday. [Shen Hong/Xinhua]

Four Chinese peacekeepers among those remembered at ceremony

NEW YORK: UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Tuesday mourned 101 men and women who were killed during the devastating earthquake in Haiti on Jan 12, including four Chinese personnel of the UN peacekeeping police.

"Today, we commemorate the single greatest loss the United Nations has suffered in its history," said the emotional UN chief.

"We remember 101 lives of consequence. We honor 101 unique paths that joined in Haiti to write the larger story of the United Nations. These women and men were our own. They were family," Ban said in front of hundreds of UN staff and family and friends of people who died during the quake at the memorial ceremony held in the UN headquarters in New York.

The 7.0-magnitude earthquake destroyed the Christopher Hotel, where the UN headquarters in Haiti was located. It also brought down other buildings housing UN offices in the Haitian capital, Port-au-Prince.

Hedi Annabi, a Tunisian who was Ban's Special Representative to Haiti and head of MINUSTAH (UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti) and his Deputy Luiz Carlos da Costa, a Brazilian, and Acting Police Commissioner Doug Coates, a Canadian, were among those dead.

"They came to Haiti from all corners of the world, from all walks of life. Yet, they shared a common conviction - a belief in a better future for the people of Haiti, and a common resolve to help them rebuild it," Ban said.

In front of the podium, 101 candles were lit up.

"And as they fulfilled their mission in Haiti, they illuminated a profound truth - earthquakes are a force of nature, but people move the world," said Ban, who took his current job in the world body in 2007.

"At the United Nations, we don't simply share office space, we share a passion for a better world," he said.

"Whether they came to Haiti, or came from Haiti, they knew that hope shines in even the darkest corner And so they chased the flame. Wherever they went, they carried the light of hope," he said.

The names of the 101 civilian, military and police personnel from 29 countries were read, along with songs and poems performed by Haitian writers and artistes.

Some have estimated that the death toll could reach as high as 300,000. Haiti's President Rene Preval said a few days ago that the final death toll was as yet unknown.

During the ceremony, the UN flag was lowered and a minute of silence was observed in a solemn atmosphere. Pictures of the 101 men and women appeared on the screen.

Xu Hong, wife of Chinese peacekeeping police officer Zhong Jianqin who died in the earthquake, attended the ceremony and thanked the UN for holding the memorial ceremony, the China News Service reported.

It quoted Li Qinyao, daughter of Chinese peacekeeper Li Qin killed in the earthquake as saying that one day she may continue her father's cause. "We have to pay a price for world peace and we should not give up because of the cost," Li said.

A total of seven Chinese policemen and one policewoman were killed in Haiti during the earthquake, including four visiting high-ranking police officers from the Chinese Ministry of Public Security.

The eight, which were killed while meeting UN chiefs in Haiti in the UN facility in Port-au-Prince, were honored as martyrs by the Chinese government, with memorial ceremonies held at both the central and local government levels and attended by top leaders.

Since 2004, China has sent a total of some 1,000 peacekeeping police officers to Haiti.