Elyes, 12, is treated by emergency services in Talat N’Yaaqoub, Al-Haouz province, on September 12, 2023. PALOMA LAUDET/OUTSIDE THE FORMAT FOR “LE MONDE”
It’s like a need, a commandment, an emergency. Something that tightens the stomach and monopolizes the mind: helping. But how ? Give something to whom? Going there, but where to go? In Morocco, the earthquake that struck the mountainous region of the High Atlas on Friday September 8 triggered a huge wave of spontaneous civic solidarity.
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In Marrakesh, but also in Casablanca, Rabat, Fes… There has been an extraordinary influx in blood transfusion centers since the first hours after the disaster, which, according to a new report on Tuesday, killed at least 2,900 people. In supermarkets, customers and volunteers working in associations fill their shopping carts with packets of water, milk, flour, canned goods, cakes… Since Sunday there has been incessant traffic on the four roads that connect Marrakesh with the towns and villages of the Atlas Vehicles.
Mehdi Tijani is also preparing for the trip. “It took me Saturday to do this,” says this 35-year-old engineer from Casablanca. I sat at home drinking my coffee and watching the pictures on TV. It started to wear me down from the inside out. I couldn’t sleep anymore, I couldn’t eat anymore. Impossible to do nothing. » Since then, he has collected 14,000 dirhams (1,265 euros) from his relatives, collected bags of clothes and ordered tents. “Today I went to a store to buy raincoats. The salesman asked me: “Is this for earthquake victims?” He gave me everything: jackets, down jackets, gloves, vests, helmets, scarves… and he promised me medicine for tomorrow. »
Not in stock at Decathlon
In Casablanca, one only needs to take a detour through the popular Derb Omar souk – known as the “bargain district” – to realize that Mehdi Tijani is far from the only one collecting. The blanket sellers were robbed. The suppliers of Caidal tents made of white canvas decorated with black patterns also hardly have any goods left; You need to place an order. Decathlon Maroc customer service announces that the waterproof tents are “totally sold out”. A mass arrival is expected on Friday.
“We are one people. “Everyone gives in their own way,” emphasizes Abderrahmane Marcone, a student who runs a collection, stands in front of supermarkets with other students from his faculty and is angry about the living conditions of the “mountain people”: “Their situation is catastrophic, everything is destroyed .” . Thunderstorms are forecast for the end of the week, tents and blankets are urgently needed! »
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