One month after quake, Haitians join to mourn dead

Haitians joined in a national day of mourning and prayer amid the rubble a month to the day after the magnitude 7 quake wrecked the capital, Port-au-Prince, and surrounding towns and cities, and left 1 million people living in the streets.

In his first live, nationally broadcast speech to the impoverished Caribbean nation since the quake, Preval said Haitians' courage had sustained their government as it looks for ways to relieve the suffering of some 300,000 injured and those living in hundreds of spontaneous tent encampments.

"Haitians, the pain is too heavy for words to express. Let's dry our eyes to rebuild Haiti," Preval said at a ceremony held on a flower-decked platform at the University of Notre Dame's nursing school in the capital.

"Haitian people who are suffering, the courage and strength you showed in this misfortune are the sign that Haiti cannot perish. It is a sign that Haiti will not perish," said Preval, wearing a black armband of mourning over his white shirt.

The ceremony marked a brief pause in the government's recovery effort from Haiti's worst natural disaster. The quake killed about 212,000 people, according to the government, and Haitian officials, along with international aid groups, are struggling to house and care for those living outdoors.