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WORLD NEWSWednesday 13 January 2016
Haitians remember dead on 6th anniversary of earthquake
A woman walks near the ruins of the National Cathedral in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Tuesday, Jan. 12, tives who were killed when turned into an official me-
2016, on the sixth anniversary of the 7.0-magnitude quake that left much of the Haitian capital their concrete home col- morial for those killed.
and surrounding areas in ruins. Haitians gathered at prayer services Tuesday to remember those lapsed in the hard-hit Car- As he walked out of the
who lost their lives. refour area. memorial surrounded by
“The memories of that day a scrum of journalists, Mar-
(AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery) can’t ever be erased,” telly said that a “lack of
Philistin said as he joined seriousness and planning
DAVID McFADDEN ber loved ones who died. Joseph Philistin brought his a group of churchgo- helped this disaster mag-
Associated Press The Haitian government two sons to the grounds of ers walking to the church nify itself.”
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) has said more than 300,000 the Sacred Heart Catholic shortly after dawn. “All of us Haitians every-
— Many Haitians gathered people died in the 2010 di- church, one of thousands Nearby, Yvesrose Andre where have to see things
Tuesday at prayer services saster, but the exact toll is of buildings reduced to rub- dressed entirely in white, differently and understand
and private homes to mark unknown because there ble when a magnitude-7.0 a color associated with that it is our responsibil-
the sixth anniversary of was no systematic effort quake hit Port-au-Prince mourning in Haiti. ity together to change our
the country’s devastating to count bodies amid the and surrounding areas. He She said she came to Tues- country,” said Martelly,
earthquake and remem- chaotic confusion. came to mourn five rela- day’s Catholic Mass to who is constitutionally due
honor quake victims, in- to leave office Feb. 7.
cluding two cousins. Outside the memorial,
“This is like our true day of Antoinise Excelet, one of
the dead. It’s a day when roughly 250,000 displaced
people cried a lot,” Andre people who have settled
said quietly, turning rosary precariously in the un-
beads. regulated sprawl called
Tuesday was not a holiday Canaan surrounding the
in Haiti, as some quake an- burial site,
niversaries have been in the said she had expected
past, and Port-au-Prince’s more progress toward re-
streets were bustling with construction six years after
people and clogged with the quake.
traffic as usual. “I don’t think anything has
At a government ceremo- changed in Haiti.
ny on arid hills outside the
capital President Michel It’s still the same hard
Martelly placed a bou- place,” she said, carrying
quet of white flowers at a a bottle of moonshine and
mass burial site that’s been selling the occasional shot
to the dozens of Canaan
Official: residents who gathered
outside the memorial to
Puerto Rico power company lacks $1B due creditors catch a glimpse of Mar-
telly, Prime Minister Evans
DANICA COTO er Authority, the largest U.S. faulted on $37 million in in- cy too much power to hike Paul and other officials be-
Associated Press public power utility. terest on bonds and faces fore they sped off in a mo-
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) Lisa Donahue, the com- its first lawsuit over diverting rates, among other chang- torcade.
— Puerto Rico’s troubled pany’s chief restructuring funds to meet other bond As the nation of 10 million
power company does officer, said the $700 million payments amid an eco- es. marked the anniversary,
not have the money to due on fuel lines of credit nomic crisis. an electoral crisis threat-
make more than $1 billion and roughly $428 million Donahue said the power Puerto Rico’s power bills are ened to undermine the
in payments due to credi- due in principal and inter- company already would troubled country’s stability.
tors through July unless a est on outstanding bonds have run out of money if it on average almost twice A presidential and legis-
restructuring deal is ap- represent more than twice hadn’t reached a restruc- lative runoff is scheduled
proved, officials said Tues- the amount of cash the turing deal in December those in the U.S. mainland Jan. 24, but one of two
day. company currently has with 70 percent of those presidential candidates
The warning came during available. who hold its debt. That and have contributed to is saying he won’t partici-
a hearing in Washington, “(The company) will not be deal still requires Puerto pate due to allegations of
D.C., by the congressional able to make up the dif- Rico legislators to approve the island’s economic crisis fraud and vote-rigging in
Subcommittee on Energy ference with revenue from a bill that would reform the an October vote. Elector-
and Mineral Resources on operations during this pe- company. Critics warn that by scaring away potential al officials say candidate
the financial situation of riod,” she said. would hurt cash-strapped Jude Celestin’s name will
Puerto Rico’s Electric Pow- Puerto Rico recently de- clients by giving the agen- investors and forcing some still appear on ballots be-
cause he hasn’t officially
businesses to close or lay withdrawn. q
off workers.
Government officials in-
cluding Pedro Pierluisi, the
island’s representative
in Congress, urged Con-
gress to provide Puerto
Rico with a restructuring
mechanism.q
