(Amizmiz) A stove and a pressure cooker placed on the dusty earth are an ersatz kitchen. A pink basin and soap, a semblance of a sink. In Morocco, the living and hygienic conditions of earthquake survivors put their health at risk.
“It’s been seven days since I took a shower, I just washed my armpits and changed my clothes,” says Zina Mechghazzi on the side of the main road in Amizmiz, 60 km southwest of Marrakech.
Sitting on a small stool, she has just kneaded flour to prepare bread and is washing her hands with water from a dirty five-liter container, cap open.
“Our life was peaceful. But overnight, everything changed and we were deprived of the most basic rights, such as (access to) toilets and water. We have to adapt,” continues this diabetic mother who tries to calm her stress so as not to make her illness worse.
PHOTO EMILIE MADI, REUTERS
Just behind his tent, a few meters away, a child is urinating.
Some here have the “luxury” of being able to borrow toilets inside the rare houses that are still usable. Women go there five by five.
“We’ll go around otherwise,” explains Zina Mechghazzi, pointing to the wasteland behind her where the four olive trees are the only guarantee of privacy.
The earthquake of September 8 left nearly 3,000 dead and more than 2,900 injured. Many survivors stayed near their ravaged village and took refuge in makeshift shelters or more or less waterproof tents provided by Civil Protection.
But the sun is still hot during the day and the temperature exceeds 30 degrees while at night, the cold and humidity already envelop the heights.
Contaminated water
“Winter is coming, the situation is difficult, especially with children […] Problems due to rain and cold will be a challenge,” predicts Rabi Mansour, her fourth child in her arms, a four-month-old baby.
PHOTO FETHI BELAID, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Many survivors stayed near their ravaged village and took refuge in makeshift shelters or more or less waterproof tents.
“I never thought I was going to give birth in these conditions, I don’t have much water, I have difficulty going to the toilet and I don’t even prefer to think about how I’m going to do it” with the newborn, confides Hassna who is due to give birth to her first child in a few days. “It stresses me out too much.”
A few tents away, first aid is being provided. “We have a foot infection, an abscess on our teeth, a stomach problem, others are here for medicine,” two caregivers list among themselves under the awning serving as a dispensary.
PHOTO EMILIE MADI, REUTERS
Rescuers from Qatar rest during transport by military helicopter.
Morocco should request help from the UN “today or tomorrow,” the head of UN emergency operations, Martin Griffiths, said on Friday.
The water problem, already present before the earthquake, will be essential, as will its storage.
“It is a major vector of disease with a whole range” of water-borne illnesses if the water is contaminated, ranging from diarrhea to cholera, explains Philippe Bonnet, emergency director at Solidarités international, by telephone.
Latrines
This NGO based in France has just sent a team to Morocco with equipment to test water in particular.
“If the water is unfit for consumption because the source has been contaminated, which is a risk with open-air latrines, the impact is very strong,” continues Mr. Bonnet, emphasizing the importance that “the emergency latrines are made while respecting the water tables.”
Some were also built on Friday in the ground by associations in Tafeghaghte, a locality located seven kilometers south of Amizmiz and the deployment of mobile latrines is being studied by NGOs.
Lack of hygiene also brings its share of skin problems and the cold causes respiratory illnesses, such as bronchitis, notes Mr. Bonnet.
A sign that survivors already anticipate that their camp will not be temporary, some in the town of Moulay Brahim have carried out work to level the ground and make their makeshift accommodation more durable.