Back in the capital, former U.S. President Bill Clinton and former Jamaican Prime Minister P.J. Patterson joined Haitian Prime Minister Garry Conille in unveiling the first government building that will be constructed post-quake: the building will house the state-run University of Haiti’s faculty of science. Local businesses funded half the costs. The Clinton Bush Haiti Fund chipped in $2 million.

“Haiti needs more engineers,” Clinton told the small crowd. “The means for you to build your own future, a broader, better future.”

Titanyen, the vast mountain area outside of the capital where most of those who died in the quake and the later cholera epidemic rests in unmarked graves nearby, has become home to a few new residents. The black crosses on the barren hillside constructed in memory of the dead are nearly all gone, and shacks have been built nearby.

A round monument decorated in black tile now sits at the bottom of the hill, a rock on the top. On Thursday, Martelly and other government dignitaries commemorated the anniversary at the site. Guests included Clinton, various religious leaders and two former presidents, Prosper Avril and dictator Jean-Claude Duvalier. Duvalier and Clinton shared an awkward moment when Duvalier walked on the stage and greeted Martelly. The entire stage stood, with Clinton being one of the last.

The moment was soon overshadowed as a school orchestra played classical Haitian arrangements on a stage draped in red and blue, colors of the Haitian flag. Written near the musicians: “Let’s remember so we can move forward.”

The solemn mood was later joined by spiritual hymns — Haitian and old Negro spirituals — and uplifting songs as speakers urged Haitians to rebuild Haiti with a new sense of responsibility, and a change in mentality.

“If we are alive today, it’s not because we are better off. We still have work to do,” said Monsignor Alexandre Dumas of the Roman Catholic Church. “We owe to reconstruct otherwise, to build a new nation-state in unity and peace with stronger institutions, public buildings, places of worship and hospitals, schools and houses that are not graves.’’

Martelly echoed the sentiments saying that in 35 seconds “everything tumbled down, taking with it lots of human lives, leaving destroyed cities transformed into huge fields of rubble.”

At 4:56 p.m., three minutes after the quake struck two years ago, the crowd stood silent. Martelly and his wife, Sophia, then planted 10 trees, each representing the country’s 10 departments, to symbolize a rebirth.

Staff writer Paradise Afshar in Miami contributed to this report.