A powerful earthquake, measuring 7 on the Richter scale, struck the center of my beloved country, Morocco, on the night of Friday, September 8 at 11:11 p.m. (local time), causing colossal human losses. I too could have no longer been there.
« Magnitude 7 earthquake hits regions of Morocco », announced the Qatari channel Al Jazeera. A few seconds were enough for the information to be relayed by the local media. The official press agency, MAP, for its part, was slow to confirm the occurrence of an unprecedented seismic shock, at a time when Moroccans were seized with terror and running in all directions like madmen. Hence the need to free public service media from the yoke of the State, since they do not fulfill their duty of information to taxpayers, the proof is.
This deadly evening of December 8, 2023 will long be engraved in the memory of all Moroccans. Everywhere in the kingdom, there was panic, we all experienced a moment of deep anguish. Personally, I saw my house move, like we see in the movies… I never thought I would one day live this terrible experience. I saw death in the face! As for my friend, who lives in the center of Marrakech, she says that she was terribly traumatized and, as a result, she can no longer return home, for fear that her house will collapse. Currently, people are still afraid, they fear replicas. Those who prefer to spend the night in the street are legion, because they believe that the cold is a thousand times more merciful than dying, like that, in 30 seconds.
What is certain is that the earth shook extremely hard, without warning us, causing the death of more than 2,800 ordinary citizenscitizens who live daily in miserable conditions in isolated villages unknown to many of us.
In addition to the very heavy human toll, entire villages have been wiped off the map in the Marrakech region, which includes the province of Al-Haouz, in the High Atlas region, where the epicenter of the earthquake was located. And given the scale of number of houses destroyed by the earthquake, I doubt we can rebuild everything in a very short time, while this time respecting seismic standards. Because, as the NGO Global Earthquake Model (GEM) Foundation reminds us: “ We do not die from an earthquake, but from the collapse of buildings that it causes. It’s better to be safe than buried”.
In an article devoted to the deadly event which wreaked havoc on the Shereef kingdom, the Sunday Times wrote about the incident: “It struck with a force of 30 atomic bombs but in more prosperous – and better prepared – countries in the world this earthquake would not have been deadly. »
Earthquake zone in Morocco, September 9, 2023. ©
This natural disaster showed how poorly prepared we were for such a catastrophe and, unfortunately, we learned nothing from the previous earthquakesnotably the Agadir earthquake, in 1960, which left nearly 12,000 dead (a third of the city’s population at the time had perished). Could we have avoided the worst? Yes, I believe it is possible, if we had invested in scientific research, earthquake education and especially, the construction of solid, adapted buildings capable of limiting seismic risks.
The damage in the village of Imi N’Tala, near Amizmiz, in the province of Al-Haouz, at the foot of the High Atlas mountains. ©alyaoum24, via Wikimedia commons.
What saddens me the most is not the earthquake itself. There have always been natural disasters, and there always will be… what saddens me is to see the too slow reaction of the authorities. Certainly, the armed forces and firefighters intervened a few hours after the earthquake. However, it was obvious that the government had not anticipated, it had not developed an action plan to deal with the effects of possible disasters. The damage has already been done, but we absolutely must think about it and prepare to manage situations of this magnitude. Sometimes I wonder what is the point of having leaders who are incapable of making the right decisions quickly.
I also wonder what my country would be like without the solidarity of its citizenswhich are already suffering the effect of excessive inflation, without forgetting that Morocco is considered among the countries where corruption is in full swingto the extent that it was ranked 94th out of 180 countries for the year 2022 by Transparency International.
Moroccans and foreigners lining up to donate blood to the injured warms my heart. But when it comes to a humanitarian crisis, support from the international community is crucial. Indeed, the Moroccan government announced that it had accepted aid from four countries « amis » : Spain, Great Britain, Qatar and United Arab Emirates. They will come as reinforcements national rescuers overwhelmed by earthquake victims.
In Paris, teams of the French NGO “Secouristes sans frontières” say they are waiting for the green light from Rabat in order to be able to participate in relief operations in the disaster areas in Marrakech. Of course, if they go to Morocco, they will not leave empty-handed, but with “a camera and listening equipment to detect victims under the rubble”as Arnaud Fraisse, the founder of the association, explained this Sunday on France Inter. But the green light from Morocco for aid from France has been a long time coming…
As per usual, Is Morocco blackmailing France? There is no doubt about it because, to my knowledge, we have considerable needs for rescuers and equipment. It’s urgent !
In any case, the page on this earthquake will be turned sooner or later, but I have one wish for the future of my country: Morocco must be prepared for the worst, because a natural disaster has the privilege of striking, no matter what. wherever and whenever.
Understand whoever wants!