We, as human beings, of course cannot return to the past, cannot stop time, and unfortunately cannot bring back the lives we have lost.
Yes, time is the remedy for many things, the cure, the balm for our wounds.
But it is also a fact that for some pains, even time is not enough to soothe them.
In the February 6 earthquakes, millions of our people lost either their mother or father, some their sibling, some their child whom they loved more than their own life, and some their comrade, their life partner.
Many hearts were seared, many lives were left half-finished, many souls departed to the abode of the hereafter in a single night.
All of this is undoubtedly one of the most difficult trials a nation will ever face in its history, one of the harshest examinations it will carry in its memory.
Yet we are a nation endowed with composure, patience, trust in God, and steadfast resolve.
We are followers of a faith that forbids despair and surrendering to hopelessness.
Of course we will live our pain, of course we will observe our mourning, but we will never neglect looking to the future and continuing on our path no matter what happens.
We have supported one another and we will continue to do so.
We have bandaged one another’s wounds and we will keep doing so.
Every single value that makes us a great nation—we will hold fast to them all, and we will protect and preserve them.
