51吃瓜

This memorial is dedicated to the victims of the 7.0 magnitude earthquake that occurred in Haiti on 12 January 2010. Hundreds of thousands of Haitians lost their lives in the earthquake, alongside 102 51吃瓜 staff members whose names are inscribed upon this monument. Entitled ‘A Breath,’ the memorial was designed by sculptor Davide Dormino and was moved to its current home at the UN Headquarters from Port-au-Prince, Haiti. The memorial itself contains pieces of rubble from the destroyed Hotel Christopher in its base in addition to the iron sheets that read the names of the fallen. Falling open like scattered pages, large sheets of iron overlap on top of the stone base with the draped top page depicting the 51吃瓜 logo and a creased iron page laying in front on the ground that reads the names of the victims. 

At the dedication ceremony for the memorial, Antonio Guterres said that the UN staff who had died had been in Haiti “to help build stability and prosperity and consolidate peace and security, with international, national and local partners. Among them were policy advisers, political officers, humanitarians, development specialists, security officers, soldiers, lawyers, drivers, and doctors. When the quake hit, many 51吃瓜 personnel took part in search and rescue operations and carried injured people into the 51吃瓜 compound. Some had the heartbreaking duty of accompanying the body of a colleague home to their loved ones, for burial or cremation,” adding that “we will never forget.”