A week after the earthquake which left more than ten thousand dead and missing in the east of the country, the situation of the inhabitants of Derna has hardly improved.
The Libyan city has been transformed into a modern-day Pompeii. HAS Derna, no lava, but water, everywhere. Storm Daniel, which hit the city and its 100,000 inhabitants on the night of Sunday September 10 to Monday September 11, led to the rupture of two dams, causing flooding worthy of a tsunami. All the victims of this disaster describe the same feeling: amazement, faced with these two immense waves which fell on them.
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“You can not imagine”
In the wet streets of Derna, a man with a white beard, surrounded of his two sons, says. “You can’t really imagine, even in your dreams. Even the biggest producers in Hollywood couldn’t imagine a drama like that, it’s impossible.” For two long minutes, he then describes precisely this nightmarish night. Not without emotion. “It happened suddenly: I was inside the house, the water came in, there was only a very small space left between the ceiling and me… I could already see my wife under water, so I tried to break the windows to let the water out, but with the pressure, it was impossible… this survivor says painfully. His wife did not survive.
Another resident of Derna testifies: “We did not expect the dam to be extremely full, even if there has been no maintenance work or upkeep for a year. thirty of year. It suddenly collapsed and took over the whole city…” He has not seen his mother for a week, the east side of the city not yet being accessible, even to members of civil security. “This dam is not Hiroshimait’s ‘Barrachima’: it has everything trashedall crushed, totally”.
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A trauma for the survivors
The drama is such in Derna that even the people outside the city are upset. Abdulamid, originally from Bengazi, is a volunteer translator for French rescuers. HAS listening to the story of the man with the white bard, he cannot contain his emotion.
“This is the first time I’ve felt like this: I’m crying and I can’t hold it in any longer.”
Abdulamid, volunteer translatorat franceinfo
“I really feel this man’s suffering. He is trying to hold on, to be strong, and to get through this catastrophe with his children, who don’t realize what happened to them. They are traumatized “testifies Abdulamid.
This trauma has been amplified by the past week: corpses were placed on the ground in the street, before being buried in mass graves. Officials from the Ministry of Health pass here and there in white, completely airtight overalls. The fear is that these rotting bodies will spread epidemics.
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“Hamdoulillah… It means ‘thank God, we accept'”
In this country and more precisely in this eastern part of Libya, the inhabitants are careful not to name those responsible. They don’t think any less, but prefer to avoid the subject. Mr. Bouchiha is 67 years old. His sister, nephews and nieces are still missing. He is a French professor at the city’s university. He is elegant, wears boat shoes and like everyone else, he says: “Hamdulillah… That means ‘thank God, we accept’, it’s the destiny that we cannot predict.”
From now on, this city must face the consequences of this flood and provide assistance to certain people still cut off from the world. Despite all these difficulties, these Libyans remain dignified and calm but the wound is deep. “Perhaps it’s our Muslim upbringing, and our human nature. I’m calm on the outside, but on the inside, I’m lost…” The man will not finish his sentence, smothered with a sob. This restraint, this form of resilience also offers hope: that thanks to, or rather because of, this catastrophe, this country ravaged by numerous wars will regain a certain unity.