This Tuesday, September 12, rescue and aid missions are working at full speed in Morocco, four days after the earthquake measuring 6.8 on the Richter scale that has already claimed the lives of more than 2,900 people. In the midst of national and international aid operations, dozens of Moroccan victims in remote areas have accused the government of mismanagement of the disaster and lack of aid. Some people who have been left homeless have been forced to take shelter under blankets in the open.
Indignation. This is what dozens of survivors of the Moroccan earthquake, measuring 6.8 on the Richter scale, feel. This Tuesday, September 12, many of them continue in improvised shelters on their fourth night outdoors after the earthquake.
Some, like Mehdi Ait Bouyali, have been forced to camp outdoors because they have nowhere to go after the earthquake destroyed their village.
“The villages in the valley have been forgotten (…) We need any kind of help. We need tents,” Ait Bouyali told the Reuters agency in the middle of the Tizi n’Test road, which connects remote valleys with Marrakech.
The 24-year-old Moroccan said that he and other displaced people who are camping on the road had received food and blankets from people passing through the area. But nothing from the Government.
The number of victims from the earthquake has already risen to more than 2,900 and local authorities have said they expect it to rise even further. The injured already exceed 5,300 in what has been the deadliest earthquake in the country since 1960.
Amid the chaos, national and international rescue missions continue 24 hours a day. Countries such as Spain, Qatar and the United Kingdom have sent aid missions to Morocco, which are already working on the ground.
Citizens from all over the country have also mobilized to help those affected. Some try to find survivors in the rubble and others, like Brahim Daldali from Marrakech, distribute food and water to the victims.
“They have nothing and people are dying of hunger,” Daldali told the AP agency.
The chances of finding survivors become lower and lower as time goes by. In the High Atlas area, many traditional adobe houses collapsed without leaving any air pockets. In addition, landslides caused by the earthquake have blocked roads and already difficult access to the most remote locations.
![](https://s.france24.com/media/display/5937feb4-5193-11ee-81f2-005056bf30b7/w:980/p:16x9/ES_20230912_190547_190923_CS.jpg)
At this time, experts say that the most direct way to provide help to those affected in the city of Marrakech and the rural areas of the Atlas Mountains is to donate to organizations that have operations on the ground.
Rabat’s loud rejection of international aid
Rabat’s move regarding foreign aid has surprised the international community. While the country has accepted aid from Spain, the United Kingdom, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, it has not accepted aid from Italy, Belgium, France and Germany, whose aid proposals have not been approved.
France and Germany have denied that this movement is a political message. But not everyone think the same. The Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Antonio Taji, told radio station ‘RTL’ on Tuesday that the country had only accepted help from the countries closest to the reign of Mohamed VI.
However, Morocco has assured that this is a matter of logistics and organization in order to make the most of the resources and aid provided.
“Morocco welcomes all solidarity initiatives from all over the world (…) King Mohamed VI has expressed the Kingdom’s sincere gratitude (…) for the solidarity with the Moroccan people in these difficult times,” stated a statement from the Ministry of Interior of Morocco.
![People walk through rubble caused by the earthquake, in the town of Amizmiz, near Marrakech, Morocco, Sunday, Sept. 10, 2023. An aftershock shook Moroccans on Sunday as they mourned the victims of the strongest earthquake of the country in more than a century and They tried to rescue survivors as soldiers and aid workers raced to reach the ruined mountain villages.](https://s.france24.com/media/display/c1266a4c-518e-11ee-bd12-005056a90284/AP23253603670858.jpg)
However, many displaced people have not seen this decision favorably. In the town of Amizmiz, at the foot of the mountains, some people who lost their homes have received tents from the authorities, but others have not. Some remain sheltered under blankets.
“I’m very afraid. What will we do if it rains?” Noureddine Bo Ikerouane told the Reuters agency, explaining that he was camping outdoors with blankets with his wife, his mother-in-law and his two children, one of them autistic.
Meanwhile, King Mohamed VI visited the Mohamed VI University Hospital Center in Marrakech on Tuesday and greeted and showed his support to some of the injured.
But, for some of the victims who are living outdoors, the king’s visit to the hospital is not enough.
Massive cancellations: the earthquake scares away tourists
The phones of Marrakech travel agencies have been ringing a lot in recent days. The reason for the call is repeated: to cancel their trips and tours through the nation’s tourist capital and also through the High Atlas area after the earthquake.
“A group of 1,000 Spaniards was going to come to Marrakech and had planned to do circuits in the Al Haouz area, but the Spanish agency that organized the trip contacted us to postpone it until November,” said a tour operator on condition of anonymity. to the EFE agency.
Abdelali Shouli, a tourist guide for 15 years, has also noticed the impact of the earthquake on his work.
“Very few people have come, before I had groups of 20 people, now I only have visits with two or three tourists,” Shouli told the EFE agency, adding that many people had expressed fear of possible aftershocks.
Much of the economy affected by the earthquake depends on tourism. For this reason, the Tour Operating Companies Union assured that the Marrakech airport is operating absolutely normally and other public figures, such as the French ambassador to Morocco, Christophe Lecourtier, have encouraged their compatriots to visit the country in these complex times.
“In these difficult times, our hearts are with Morocco,” said Lecourtier.
Experts point out that it is still too early to provide data on the impact on the tourism sector. However, the country’s hotel association has already expressed that it also hopes to receive support from the Government.
With Reuters, EFE and AP
#Earthquake #Morocco #frustration #lack #aid #overwhelms #victims