At the 'Carnival of Flowers' in Haiti

Published July 31, 2013
A woman gets help with her costume during the Carnival of Flowers parade. — AP Photo
A woman gets help with her costume during the Carnival of Flowers parade. — AP Photo
Revellers dance and spin as they rejoice and celebrate Carnival of Flowers. — Reuters Photo
Revellers dance and spin as they rejoice and celebrate Carnival of Flowers. — Reuters Photo
A lady wearing yellow floral head gear and costume, all set for the Carnival of Flowers . — Reuters Photo
A lady wearing yellow floral head gear and costume, all set for the Carnival of Flowers . — Reuters Photo
Haiti kicked off its mid-year Carnival party in the heart of the country's capital Sunday afternoon which lasted through the night. — Reuters Photo
Haiti kicked off its mid-year Carnival party in the heart of the country's capital Sunday afternoon which lasted through the night. — Reuters Photo
Revellers participate in the Carnival of Flowers. — Reuters Photo
Revellers participate in the Carnival of Flowers. — Reuters Photo
Revellers participate in the Carnaval des Fleurs, or Carnival of Flowers. — Reuters Photo
Revellers participate in the Carnaval des Fleurs, or Carnival of Flowers. — Reuters Photo

Revellers participate in the Carnaval des Fleurs, or Carnival of Flowers, during the three-day festival in Port-au-Prince.

At least one person was killed and hundreds more injured at Haiti's three-day summer “Carnival of Flowers,” which wrapped up Tuesday.

Police said the death occurred Sunday, when a man in his thirties fell off a float. And over the three days, some 800 people, including four young children, were treated by emergency services on Sunday and Monday for illness, accidents and knife injuries, according to emergency services.

Tens of thousands of people participated in the first two days of the carnival, joined by President Michel Martelly, a former singer who has previously presided over the summer festival.

The festivities took place in a large public square near the presidential palace - which had been destroyed during the country's 2010 earthquake that killed 250,000 people.

The president has been criticized by various associations and opposition parties over the carnival, particularly for starting the celebration on July 28, the day Haiti's US occupation began Haiti in 1915.

Martelly has also taken heat for the nearly $2 million spent organizing the event. It is money some say could have been used to help people still living in makeshift shelters three years after the country was ravaged by the earthquake. — Text by AFP

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