Commemorations in Haiti
A Day of Peace observance in Haiti took place in a school in Cité Soleil, an area in the north of the capital Port-au-Prince once dominated by violence. The programme featured an exhibition of student paintings, the reading of the message of the Secretary-General, planting trees and rewards for students. A minute of silence was observed at noon.
Students exposed their pictures
about the theme peace. UN Photo/Logan Abassi.
The ceremony was attended by the mayor of Cité Soleil Wilson Louis, Principal Deputy Special Representative for the UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH), Luiz Carlos da Costa, UNICEF representative Adriano Gonzalez-Regueral,
Delegate of the Department of the West, Michel Bernardin, and UNESCO representative Jorge Espinal.
Several speakers pointed out the relevance of celebrating the Day of Peace in Cité Soleil. Mayor Wilson Louis said that, “The choice by the United Nations to hold the ceremony in Cité Soleil today is significant and symbolic because Cité Soleil is recovering after a long period of socio-political difficulties.”
He explained that: “The conditions of exclusion and life on the fringes which have always characterized Cité Soleil explain the violence which flared up 1986 and culminated in the final events which made Cité Soleil a lawless area.”
But the mayor was optimistic: “We wish to believe that these difficult times are behind us now. With the will to change shown by the Government of Haiti and thanks to the UN, much has already been done to normalize the life in the community.”
PDSRSG da Costa noted with cautious optimism that “the choice to mark the International Day of Peace in Cité Soleil is not without purpose. After being a symbol for chaos and violence, Cité Soleil today has become the symbol of regained peace.”
The best students were awarded
with backpacks. UN Photo/Logan Abassi.
The best students were awarded with backpacks
. UN Photo/Logan Abassi.
“This regained peace we owe to the courage of the population in Cité Soleil, the efforts of the government and the Haitian National Police (PNH) supported by MINUSTAH. Unfortunately,
the situation here is still fragile as in other parts of Haiti. We have to consolidate our achievements and firmly place Haiti on the road towards stability and development.”
He added that “our ambition is to continue these efforts so that MINUSTAH can …maintain peace in the country. In the expectation of a lasting and consistent peace, it is absolutely essential that the population,…under the influence of gangs just some months ago, reaps the benefits. The success in the security sector gives us the possibility to achieve long-term stability.”
Students acknowledged the changes: “Peace, for us in Cité Soleil, is a major thing. Without the regained peace and MINUSTAH, we would never have been able to go to school or live without fear,” said the sixth grader Fritner Saint Vil.
Her classmate Richemane Bernardin added: “The International Day of Peace celebrated in Cité Soleil symbolizes the regained peace for us. During the period of violence, when we went to school, we could not even stay in the classroom because of fire. Now everything has changed and we can follow our classes in calm.”
School principal Jean Aram Avril also appreciated the choice of Cité Soleil to commemorate the Day of Peace. He noted that this “has a major meaning because Cite Soleil was the centre of a certain political violence in the country. Commemorating peace here means that peace has been reestablished here.”
Tree planting was one part of the ceremony.
UN Photo/Logan Abassi.
But he added, “numerous questions remain unanswered. Will the community of Cité Soleil profit from the benefits of peace, such as the education of children, health, accommodation, work?” Other activities took place, such as awards for students for high grades, a student exhibition of paintings about peace, and tree planting.