海地举行地震一周年纪念仪式

Haitians have been marking the first anniversary of the earthquake that devastated¹ their country and left some 250,000 of their fellow citizens dead.

海地举行地震一周年纪念仪式，此次地震将海地完全摧毁并造成大约25万人死亡。

A minute's silence was held at 1653 local time (2153 GMT) - the exact time the 7.0 magnitude quake hit last year.

Church services have also been held around the nation, including at the ruined cathedral in the capital, Port-au-Prince.

One year on, some 800,000 people are still living in temporary shelters.

Traffic stopped as the streets of Port-au-Prince turned quiet and businesses were closed.

People walked in solemn processions to prayer services marking the anniversary of the worst natural disaster in the nation's history. Many people wore white, a colour associated with mourning in Haiti, and sang hymns²（赞美诗） as they made their way to the services.

International response

A number of foreign dignitaries（高官，高僧） are in Haiti for the ceremonies.

Outgoing President Rene Preval and former US President Bill Clinton, who is the UN special envoy³ to Haiti, attended a ceremony to lay the cornerstone for a new National Tax Office, where many workers were killed last year.

As well as facing the huge task of rebuilding, which has barely begun, Haiti has had to cope with an ongoing⁴ cholera⁵（霍乱） outbreak that has so far killed more than 3,500 people, according to government figures.

Political instability has also increased, following November's disputed presidential election.

Some 60 people held a demonstration⁶ in central Port-au-Prince, criticizing UN peacekeepers and international aid organisations for their response to the quake, Reuters news agency reported.

Mr Clinton on Tuesday told the BBC of his frustration⁷ at the slow pace of reconstruction⁸.

"No-one is more frustrated⁹ than I am that we haven't done more," Mr Clinton said during his visit to Port-au-Prince.

But he said he was confident that the speed of reconstruction would pick up.

Several major aid agencies have questioned the effectiveness of the overall response to the earthquake. Medical charity MSF has pointed¹⁰ to a lack of co-ordination, Oxfam said donor¹¹ countries had too often pursued their own aid priorities, while Merlin said the large number of NGOs has undermined Haiti's own health service.

International donors¹² last March pledged $2.01bn (£1.28bn) for the country's long-term recovery but by the end of December, the amount disbursed¹³ totalled $1.28bn - or 63.6%.