Despite the political bickering between Paris and Rabat that excluded the France from the list of countries authorized by Morocco to provide assistance to the victims of the earthquake, the French are nevertheless well and truly on the spot. Individuals, often Franco-Moroccans, but also an NGO, the French Disaster Relief Group (GSCF). Two teams took turns for more than a week to bring supplies and treat the wounded in remote villages of the High Atlas, devastated by the earthquake. 20 Minutes was with one of them.
One week to the day after the earthquake that devastated the southern region of Marrakech, in the High Atlas, 20 Minutes went to Abebdi, a village almost entirely cut off from the world with four humanitarian firefighters from the French Disaster Relief Group (GSCF). Adebdi mourns the deaths of ten people, including four children. And this is not the only tragedy that survivors are experiencing. The only track that connected Adebdi to the world is now almost impassable. Whole sections of the road were swept away by the tremors to the bottom of a deep ravine. What remains of the track is littered with scree, even imposing rocks making it impossible for vehicles to pass.
Since the earthquake, in which he lost his mother, Rachid (L) has been living in a tent in Tirknit with the rest of his family. He suffered a head injury and was treated by GSCF firefighters.
French-Moroccan volunteers have set up inflatable games for children in the quake-devastated village of Tirknit.
In the absence of a track accessible to vehicles to reach the remote villages of the Moroccan High Atlas, humanitarian aid was unloaded on the side of the road waiting to be transported by mule.
A child from the village of Tirknit looks for the rare pearl among the tons of clothes unloaded on the side of the road that leads to Adebdi and Tizirte.
The only track linking several mountain villages to Tirknit in the valley has been inaccessible to vehicles since the earthquake. The only means of delivering aid to the inhabitants of these isolated bears are by moped, mule or man.
On the track that connects Tirknit to Adebdi and Tizirte, the damage is considerable. In addition to rocks preventing the passage of cars or trucks, huge cracks can wash away half the road at any time.
The already isolated village of Tizirte, in the High Atlas Mountains, is even more so since the earthquake. The track is so damaged that you can only climb it on foot or by mule.
It was in this room that Hamid's family was gathered for dinner when the earthquake struck. Their lives were saved because it was the only place without a roof.
The five houses of Hamid's aunts and uncles in Adebdi, High Atlas, were destroyed by the earthquake. It is in tents that the nine members of the family of this taxi driver from Pas-de-Calais live, in the anguish of the winter that will arrive.
Also in Hamid's family in Adebdi, resilience is paramount. Women quickly organized themselves for household chores. Without a kitchen, destroyed by the earthquake, meals are prepared by wood fire outside and laundry is now done the old-fashioned way, by hand and in basins.
In Adebdi, the five houses of the family of Hamid, a Franco-Moroccan taxi, were destroyed by the earthquake. Yet it is inside one of them that a cat decided to raise her young, in the middle of bags of argan seeds.
This resident of Tizirte walked the trail broken by the earthquake to bring clothes, blankets and food to his village.
No house in the village of Adebdi stands up after the earthquake, and this resident's is no exception, as can be seen on the left of the photo.
These two children from Adebdi village will not return to school for several weeks. It is the ruins of the establishment that can be seen in the foreground of the photo.
As on this painting, in the school of the village of Tizirte, the date of September 8, 2023 will remain engraved in the memory of Moroccans.
Omar's house in Tirzite no longer exists. Like everyone else in his village, the 34-year-old now lives in a tent with his family. Almost cut off from the world, he does not despair. The father of the family is convinced that the king of Morocco will keep his promise to help the villagers rebuild their homes. A report to read here.
Many villages in the Taroudant region, in the High Atlas, were razed to the ground by the earthquake. The inhabitants now live in tents, delivered by the Moroccan civil protection or by NGOs. This is how Tizirte, a dour of 200 inhabitants, turned into a camp.
In Adebdi, a small village in the Moroccan High Atlas hard hit by the earthquake, the most seriously injured were evacuated to hospitals in major cities. Here, GSCF firefighters provide lighter care to those left behind.
The earthquake left marks on the bodies, which the GSCF firefighters are treating as best they can. In Tizirte, the lightest wounded have not been hospitalized and care cannot be provided regularly due to a lack of doctors or nurses.
A resident of Tirzite contemplates the damage inflicted by the earthquake on the mosque in his village. Many Muslim places of worship have suffered the same fate, but imams and worshippers are organizing to continue worship.
This man lost his home in the earthquake. Like all the inhabitants of Tizirte, he now lives in a tent while waiting to find out if he will be able to rebuild his home.
The sight of workers working to clear the track between Tirknit and Adebdi could have reassured the inhabitants of the mountain villages. Except that the machine only managed to clear the road for 150m. The restoration of this axis to the circulation of vahicules is however a prerequisite for any reconstruction.
A week after the earthquake, tourists are rare on the deckchairs of the private beaches of Agadir hotels.
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