We mourn today the loss of too many members of our UN family says Paul Miller, UN Development Coordinator ai. in today's Memorial Service for UN Colleagues in Haiti organised in Pristina
9 March 2010
Colleagues, friends and distinguished guests,
We mourn today the loss of too many members of our UN family.
Two months after the earthquake in Haiti the full scale of the disaster has become clear, as have the challenges facing those working in the country. The catastrophe took the lives of tens of thousands, injured thousands more and left up to a million people living out in the open or in damaged or makeshift shelters. As Ms. Osnat Lubrani, UN Development Coordinator in Kosovo, observed “this is a tragedy of unfathomable proportions”.
The devastating earthquake also claimed the lives of some 100 of our UN friends and colleagues, this is the single biggest loss of life in the history of the Organisation.
Among those we lost were staff, local and international, of the peacekeeping mission, MINUSTAH, the World Bank, the World Food Programme, the United Nations Development Programme and UN Volunteers. It is with great sadness that we mourn their tragic loss along with thousands of people in Haiti.
We, the UN Kosovo Team agencies, programmes and funds, are extremely proud of our UN colleagues in Haiti who have continued their work despite incredible loss and suffering in the wake of this tragedy.
We salute them for their courage and determination in providing food, health care and shelter to those who need it most and supporting Haiti’s rebuilding and recovery.
Our thoughts remain with them, their friends and families, and the people of Haiti, as they continue the long and difficult process of recovering from this tragedy.
I conclude with the belief that the United Nations must and will continue to honour the lives and sacrifice of its brave and professional staff who have so sadly been lost in the line of duty. We, your colleagues, join in doing so now.
Thank you.