The powerful earthquake that hit Morocco on Friday and left at least 2,100 dead and 2,400 injured left in its wake a shaken diaspora in Quebec.
“It hurts my heart,” breathes Oussama Fakir, on the other end of the line. The Moroccan, who lives in Val-d’Or in Abitibi-Témiscamingue, struggles to watch the news on television, where the death toll has continued to increase throughout the weekend.
Mr. Fakir’s family, who are in the towns of Mohammédia and El Jadida, north of Marrakech, are however safe, he says. However, he has slept little in recent days. “I spoke with my father, with my sister and all my family to try to see what was really going on,” says the beneficiary attendant.
Late Friday evening, an earthquake of magnitude 7, according to the Moroccan Center for Scientific and Technical Research (6.8 according to the US Seismological Service), occurred in Morocco. This is the most powerful earthquake to have been measured in this North African country.
The province of Al-Haouz, epicenter of the earthquake south of the tourist city of Marrakech, in the center of the Kingdom, was hard hit. A three-day national mourning was declared on Saturday.
The moments after the earthquake were marked by panic and stress, says Quebec Liberal Party MP Monsef Derraji, reached in Montreal by The duty. The elected official, born in Marrakech, was first worried about his family who still resides there. “Luckily, they are safe. There is still material damage in the house,” he adds.
“What I can say is that what remains now is really the trauma. It’s difficult to heal very quickly,” he maintains. Especially since older people remember the violent earthquake of 1960 which hit the city of Agadir, on the west coast of Morocco, and killed nearly 15,000 people. “Any psychological help, whether in disaster areas or elsewhere, is very, very valued and now requested by the local population. »
Since the earthquake, the House leader of the official opposition reports having received “tons of messages” from people seeking to offer their help. “It’s really great to see the mobilization of Quebecers with everything that’s happening in Morocco,” he emphasizes.
A race against time
At present, the country is in a “critical phase”, explains François Audet, director of the Canadian Observatory on crises and humanitarian action.
A real race against time begins in the days following an earthquake, underlines the professor at the University of Quebec in Montreal. “There are still a lot of areas and buildings that have collapsed for which there have not yet been emergency operations to try to see if there were any survivors. Obviously humans who are in the rubble without water, without eating, some are probably injured in addition, cannot live very long. »
At the same time, teams on the ground are working to meet the basic needs of the population who survived the disaster, explains Mr. Audet. “We are talking about water, food, blankets, because some affected areas are at altitude and the nights are cold. And obviously, there is medical care for injured people. »
About ten days after the earthquake, when it is now unlikely to find the missing alive, we are entering the rehabilitation phase, he continues. “It will be to do the cleaning and ensure that there are no health issues, because in cases of destruction of infrastructure like that, the sanitation and drinking water system is destroyed. »
International humanitarian operations are generally of great help during this stage, because they can quickly install latrines, notes François Audet. “This will allow the population to have the minimum and subsequently anticipate what we call the reconstruction phase. »
With the fall bringing the mercury down in the regions affected by the earthquake, it will be urgent to start rebuilding the buildings that were ravaged, says Abdelhaq Sari, vice-president of the Soleil des orphans association. “Peace requires a sine qua non condition, which is having a roof over your head. »
His organization, which helps orphans in Canada and Africa, will also be hard at work supporting children who lost their parents in the earthquake. “We are looking at how we can help the region. It is certain that there will be orphans after this tragedy,” he laments.
With Agence France-Presse