The Haitian government imposed a national day of mourning in Haiti, after the tremendous loss of life. President René Préval, told the audience at the University of Notre Dame of Haiti that his wife had urged him to address the nation immediately after the devastating quake.
"But I said to her, 'What can I say to the people who are dead, the people who are injured, the people who have lost loved ones?'" Mr. Préval said. "Haitians, the pain is too heavy for words to express."
Wearing a black armband, Mr. Préval urged his countrymen to pray for the more than 200, 000 Haitians who, by government estimates, were killed.
Rene Preval also told the crowd to pray for former President Bill Clinton, the United Nations'special envoy for Haiti, who underwent a procedure to clear a blocked coronary artery on Thursday.
