Thousands of people gathered in the streets to try to catch a glimpse of the King of Morocco during his furtive visit to the bedside of those injured in the earthquake.
A shudder runs through the crowd. As the motorcycles of the royal procession pass at high speed through the streets of Marrakech, Tuesday September 12 at the end of the afternoon, thousands of residents crowded against barriers raise their arms in the air and applaud. Through the window of his car, Mohammed VI greets the crowd. Nearly four days after the earthquake which left nearly 3,000 dead in Morocco, the king has just made his first public appearance, following a lightning visit to the city’s university hospital center, at the bedside of the injured.
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Since the beginning of the morning, the excitement had spread throughout the neighborhood around the Marrakech University Hospital. Dozens of maintenance workers raked the sidewalks, while other services took care of filling some holes in the road using hot tar.
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Paint strokes were also given to the front of the hospital. Above all, a considerable number of law enforcement officers were deployed around the hospital center, which bears the name of the king, for many hours before his arrival.
An expected visit
It must be said that Mohammed VI’s visit was eagerly awaited. Until then, the palace had only published a simple press release accompanied by a photo, several hours after the deadly earthquake which devastated many villages in the Atlas, on the night of Friday September 8 to Saturday September 9 .
King Mohammed VI appeared in public for the first time in Marrakech, almost four days after the earthquake that struck Morocco.
He was greeted by thousands of residents on the side of the road. Lots of applause throughout the procession. pic.twitter.com/dFGJPImqvC
— Robin Prudent (@robin_prudent) September 12, 2023
It was necessary to wait several additional days for Mohammed VI to go to the bedside of the victims. “Personally, I forgive him for this little delay, assures Aziz, who came to see the arrival of the king in front of the University Hospital at the end of the morning. He’s part of the family. It’s important that he comes to check on us, especially our wounded.”
“The king, for us, is like a brother, a father, that’s everything.”
Aziz, a resident of Marrakechat franceinfo
During his visit to the hospital center, the King of Morocco also donated his blood, according to the official MAP agency. At the same time, dozens of people were waiting in a tent before being able to perform this same gesture of solidarity towards the victims of the earthquake, in the regional transfusion center, located just opposite the Mohammed VI University Hospital.