A few minutes ago I was informed by his family that Jan’s body, recovered from the rubble of the UN’s Haiti mission, had been formally identified. As with any sudden and unexpected death (I am sure), it is difficult to accept that somebody so recently, physically present (in my office on 4 January, to be precise) and full of such enthusiasm and a simple desire to do good in the world could be snatched away so abruptly and so brutally. Having lost a sibling myself back in the mists of time, I have an inkling of the profound grief that his family, his fiancée and his friends must be going through now. It is terrible to think, as we must, of that grief multiplied a hundred, maybe two hundred, thousand times. So many people, so many good people, have been lost prematurely and cruelly. But here I would like to pay simple tribute to Jan, a beautiful human being who thought only of doing good and of bringing good to the world. In his passing away, as in his life, he is an immense tribute to his family. My heart goes out to them and to his fiancée and to his friends.
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