Published
Video length: 4 min
Earthquake in Morocco: Life Still Precarious One Year Later
On September 8, a year ago, a powerful earthquake struck southern Morocco, killing nearly 3,000 people, and some mountain villages were transformed into fields of ruins. France Info followed Saïda, an 8-year-old girl after the earthquake, back home, one year after the disaster.
(France 2)
On September 8, 2023, a powerful earthquake struck southern Morocco, killing nearly 3,000 people. Some mountain villages were transformed into fields of ruins. France Télévisions followed Saïda, an 8-year-old girl, after the earthquake. Back home, one year after the disaster.
A succession of plastic tents on a hostile and deserted ochre land. One year after the earthquakein this rural region of the Moroccan High Atlas. It is in one of the villages that lives Saïda, a little girl who is now 10 years old and who was the subject of a report last year. At that time, her village had been destroyed by the disaster. 48 people had died, a third of the inhabitants. Those who survived still live opposite, sheltered in tents.
Saïda lives with her mother Yamina. In what serves as a bedroom, the air is stifling, it is over 40 degrees. “During the day it is really hot, here in the tent it is terrible”. Spring water is accessible and a basic shelter has been set up over time. Today, due to the intense heat, the plastic of the tents is gradually disintegrating. The farmers in the surrounding area have nothing left, their only income is 2,500 dirhams paid by the Moroccan state, or 230 euros per month, a payment that ends next month. Despite everything, there is hope for a better future after so many lives were turned upside down on the night of September 8, 2023.
