In Cap-Haitien, Haiti’s second city, a national funeral was organized yesterday to pay tribute to the 90 people who died after the terrible explosion of a tanker truck on December 14. But the ceremony angered the families of the victims.
” Only 4 coffins were exposed during this symbolic funeral in the cathedral of Cap-Haitien, instead of the 25 initially announced », Reports The Nouvelliste. The town hall explained that the poor condition of the remains forced the organizers to transport them directly to the cemetery. Many families of victims have “ shunned this official funeral », Notes the newspaper. Because they have not seen the bodies of their dead since the tanker explosion. Haitian agency Alterpresse specifies that ” many charred bodies were buried in a mass grave on the very day of the tragedy in Cap-Haitien “. The Nouvelliste recalls that many families do not know where the remains of their loved ones have gone.
Haitian newspaper The National considers for his part that the ceremony was ” unworthy of the victims of the tragedy “. ” The Prime Minister de facto, Ariel Henry, shone there by his absence », Notes Alterpresse. It was the Minister of the Interior who represented the government. The anger of the population erupted at the exit of the cathedral when the organizers wanted to transfer the coffins on a truck to the cemetery and not in hearses: ” They wasted funeral money », Denounces an inhabitant of Cap-Haitien questioned by Alterpresse. ” They took advantage of this drama to enrich themselves “Chanted the protesters who pointed the finger at the local authorities, also reports The Nouvelliste.
The Port-au-Prince newspaper specifies that ” 9.5 million gourdes (around 83,000 euros, editor’s note) from the departmental emergency fund were disbursed for the organization of the funeral. This fund was managed by the Ministry of Finance. “A contract was concluded directly between the funeral home and the Ministry. The town hall did not receive anything for this funeral” », Explains a member of the municipal council of Cap-Haitien. And The Nouvelliste to specify that ” neighborhoods affected by last week’s explosion “Do not benefit from any” financial support “And the population” no psychological care “.
► To read also: Haiti: anger at the funeral of the victims of the explosion of a tanker truck
The progression of the Omicron variant in the United States
In a new speech, Joe Biden said on Tuesday refusing to ” panic “. Faced with the meteoric spread of this variant of Covid-19, writes the Washington post, the American president advocates again and again vaccination, but also an increase in the capacity of tests: ” One of the things we need to strengthen is testing. Since Omicron is easily spread, especially among the unvaccinated, it is especially important to know who is infected. This means we need more testing Joe Biden explained, while acknowledging that ” on this ground we are not yet where we should be. From next month, private insurance will also cover self-tests at home. You could order a test on the internet and get reimbursed. But we must also guarantee access to self-tests for those who do not have private insurance. So I’m announcing today that the federal government is buying half a billion, not a million, half a billion self-tests. From the beginning of January we will be distributing these tests for free. We will set up websites for you to order and have them delivered to your home “.
In the columns of New York Times, public health experts believe that the measures announced ” are insufficient to prevent a dramatic rise in infections and hospitalizations in the coming weeks “.
the Wall Street Journal on the contrary welcomes the president’s speech: ” The sense of reality finally seems to be settling in the White House: we will have to live with the Covid-19, even if Joe Biden did not say so explicitly “, Welcomes the editorialist of the conservative newspaper who continues:” The president cannot “beat the virus” as he claimed during his campaign. But at least it doesn’t shut down the economy or the schools. Even most Democratic governors rule out further closures, while European politicians do not. For this we can thank the population for their insistence more than the public health experts who seem too willing to force the public to return to isolation, even two years after the start of the pandemic. “, Estimates the Wall Street Journal before concluding:” People are wiser than experts “.
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