The destruction of the earthquake in Morocco

Translated by Chiara Guadagna

The earth continues to tremble and now its victim is Morocco. There are about 3000 dead and more than 5000 injured as a result of the earthquake that shook the country on the night of September 8, 2023, at 22.11 UTC with an earthquake of magnitude 6.8 that found its epicentre in the mountain range of the High Atlas.

 The destruction

To date it seems impossible to determine the number of victims, which is constantly increasing, and so is the number of damages. One of the areas most affected by the earthquake was Marrakesh and its 36.67 million inhabitants, as it is located 71 km from the epicentre of the quake. 

The population density of Marrakech, and therefore the high number of people who were in danger, together with the difficulty of reaching some points of the High Atlas, made the rescue difficult and the toll of the damage terrible. It was in the mountainous area that the earthquake caused the greatest devastation: the isolation of the cities and the houses made of clay and stone made these landscapes look like a heap of rubble.

In addition to the loss of human life, there has been a great destruction of cultural heritage. Marrakech has suffered damage that could lead to the collapse of several UNESCO heritage buildings, such as the Kharbouch Mosque and the minaret of Koutoubia; in addition to this, the Medina has also been reduced to a heap of rubble. Unfortunately this is not all, in fact, another important building, the Tinmel Mosque, which dates back to the 12th century, is now nothing but dust.

Fear, destruction, suffering but also hope and rebirth have been documented in particular by photographer Yassine Alaoui Ismaili who tells through his photos and his words posted on the internet what is happening in Morocco.

The reconstruction

Although the tragic situation, the Moroccans are showing their solidarity and cooperation with one another. They are all united by an expression: Inshallah (if God wills).

If on the one hand the brotherhood has helped and is helping this nation to rise again, on the other hand the role of the State, which is represented by Mohammed VI, has not been timely. In fact, the absence of the sovereign has led to discontent and perplexity both within the State and before the international community.

The King was in France at the time of the disaster and returned the next day. In spite of this, there was silence on his part and all the officials of the State: only a silent video was published showing the King and his collaborators seated at a table. That, too, aroused many suspicions.

Rabat’s slowness prevented the allocation of resources and aid from within, but also from outside.

Only a week later, on September 12, 2023, the sovereign showed himself to the earthquake victims by visiting the various affected areas. In addition to this, there was a meeting on September 14, 2023, complementary to that of September 9, 2023, which led to the allocation of 31 billion euros and the creation of an aid plan, divided into four points: reconstruction, resettlement of the displaced, encouragement of economic activity, reduction of the social deficit. It is in fact an urgent matter for the State to reallocate earthquake victims, especially in view of the rains which usually hit this region.

The same concern has not been shown internationally: while the sovereign's domestically conduct had already given rise to concern, his decisions toward international demands have certainly given rise to controversy in several countries.

The day after the earthquake, the first requests came from several countries, allied or not, of Morocco. However, according to international law, individual states cannot intervene without the request of the sovereign state, which is why international aid has not been forthcoming. Indeed, the King accepted the demands of Spain, the United Kingdom, Qatar and the Arab Emirates only later; instead, he left the demands of several other countries, including France and Algeria, in abeyance.

The reason why the international press thinks Mohammed VI made this choice is the matter of Western Sahara, but Rabat has argued that he wants to handle international aid effectively and therefore not accept too many resources.

The countries which were unable to intervene with their own resources donated financial aid to the NGOs which were already on site, but once again the way in which Morocco decided to deal with this emergency has left some uncertainty.

To date, the matter of Morocco seems to have been forgotten by all the national newspapers and not, as unfortunately often happens.

The future seems uncertain but if there is one thing that this situation has shown it is the strength of the Moroccan people and their desire to cooperate with each other.

Mondo Internazionale APS - Private Reproduction ® 2023