Juan David Latorre
Last Friday, the Embassy of Haiti commemorated the 14th anniversary of the earthquake of 12 January 2010 in the parish of Santísimo Cristo de la Salud in Madrid and offered a mass for the repose of the souls of those who died in this terrible event.
On behalf of the Haitian Ambassador, Guy Lamothe, who was absent from the event for personal reasons, Carl Eric, Counsellor in charge of Cooperation at the Embassy, addressed the commemoration mass and said: “It is a privilege for me to have been appointed to say a few words at this event commemorating the fourteen years since the devastating earthquake of 12 January 2010 in Haiti. Fourteen years later, dear friends, we are still feeling the aftermath of this terrible tragedy that shook the country socio-economically, and today we have a space to rebuild the Haiti to which we aspire, the Haiti to which all Haitians have a right”.
We have all lost family members, friends and colleagues,” the minister continued. Spain has also lost members of its community who were in Haiti as part of their cooperation work. We value their work and that of the other countries of the world, which never shied away from helping the Caribbean country. I would therefore like to offer my sincere condolences to all the Haitian and Spanish families who are victims of this unprecedented catastrophe. I also take this opportunity to extend, on behalf of the Haitian government and people, my deepest condolences to our sister nation, Japan, which recently suffered an earthquake of almost similar magnitude to the one that struck Haiti in 2010″.
Carl Eric ended by thanking the members of the Diplomatic Corps, especially the ambassadors of Costa Rica and Panama, along with representatives of the Turkish Embassy and numerous Haitians living in Spain, for their presence at the event, “which not only makes us remember all those we have lost, but also to pray that Haiti will rise from the ashes with God’s help, as is customary”.
In the morning, the Embassy organised a small gathering with close friends to taste the pumpkin soup (sopa joumou), which is traditionally eaten in the Caribbean country every January 1st. Originally, this soup was only the privilege of the landowners who owned the farms and plantations, and slaves were forbidden to taste it. Once slavery was abolished, Haitians started this tradition and tasted this previously forbidden soup as a symbol of pride and freedom.
