Villages Wiped Out By The earthquake In Taroudant Province, Morocco
Taroudant - If an earthquake strikes an area and the ground swells under the feet of its residents, killing thousands of them and leaving a similar number of wounded, then that is a disaster and a disaster. But the disaster becomes greater and more painful when the most affected areas are remote mountainous villages that are difficult to reach under normal circumstances, let alone after the ground has been shaken. In this area everything was on her back.
The Taroudant province is about 300 kilometers away from the epicenter of the earthquake that struck the Al Haouz region (southwestern Morocco) last Friday night. Despite this, this disaster wiped out entire villages in this sprawling province, which has an area of about 16,500 square kilometers, most of which are areas Rugged mountain.
Tragedies One On Top Of The Other
Al Jazeera Net traveled to some of these remote areas to learn about the tragedy of its people, and we had to begin our journey towards some of these villages from the city of Taroudant immediately after dawn. In addition to the distance and the rugged paths, the earthquake closed some of them or narrowed their area, so that passing through them became very difficult. .
As soon as we arrived at the village of Tajcalt, which is about 100 kilometers away from the city of Taroudant - the center of the region and its largest city - the affected people flocked to us, each of them telling of their suffering, which in the end is a collective suffering with similar chapters and sorrows.
“Everything has been lost from us. This earthquake took us back decades. Look at what we are in. We no longer have anything but these clothes on our bodies,” says Fadima (an Amazigh variation of the name Fatima) in a broken and humble Moroccan Arabic accent.
When she learned that we spoke Amazigh and could communicate with her in it, her feelings became clear and her tongue began to describe the suffering further. She went on to say, “Not a single house in our village was spared. You see everything in front of you. How will someone live who does not find shelter except under a tree, and does not have the means to survive the day?” He waits every day for the aid he will receive.”
Suffering And Demands Are One
There are many other similar stories that tell of the same suffering. Every individual in these mountains has stories that make children grey. Just as they were united in suffering, they were united in their demands from the authorities, associations, and organizations active in relief.
Although they need food supplies, mattresses, and blankets, they are also demanding tents and shelters to cover them, and they express their anxiety and panic about any change in weather conditions, because it will exacerbate their pain and make matters worse.
Abdullah describes to Al Jazeera Net his condition and the condition of his village residents after the earthquake. He says, “After the ground subsided beneath our feet, and those of us died and those who remained remained under the rubble, our survivors gathered in bare yards away from the rubble of homes, and families and families gathered together, and so on.” Neighbors live among themselves in small, narrow spaces. Some of us took refuge in farmyards, and some of us spend our days and nights under trees.”
Abdel Aziz Amjan, an activist with many humanitarian associations, one of the political figures in the region, and a former mayor of Ouled Barhiel - the closest city in the region to many mountainous areas - accompanied the Al Jazeera Net team on a tour of some of these affected villages, and he knows well the needs and circumstances of their residents due to... He frequents it often and constantly accompanies humanitarian organizations that carry aid to the afflicted.
Amjan told Al Jazeera Net, "Conditions are still tolerable now, but - God forbid - if rain falls these days, it will double the disaster and tragedy. Therefore, we appeal to the state and humanitarian organizations to focus part of their efforts to provide tents and plastic covers, as these are the first priorities now if we want to." "To anticipate any possible bad weather conditions."
An Unparalleled Disaster
Abdul Aziz considers that what happened to these villages is a catastrophe without parallel or precedent in the region, and it surprised everyone. He confirms that the northern half of the region (known in the region as Taroudant North) “is the most affected, and he said that most of its residential communities are remote and distant villages, and they constitute more than 77% of the area of the entire region, which is sprawling and exceeds the area of the State of Lebanon.”
He added in his interview with Al Jazeera Net, “At least 24 village communities were damaged (a local term given to a geographical and administrative area that brings together several villages and valleys), and if we know that each community has approximately 40 small villages, the number of affected villages is approximately more than 600,” stressing that what More than 170 thousand people were affected by the earthquake in the entire region.
Abdel Aziz says that the most affected areas and villages are in the Tizi-Nast community, the Tafenkult community, the Tikouka community, the Tisras community, the Sidi Abdullah Asaid community, the Onain community, the Sidi Ouaziz community, and many villages also in the Asaki region.
To further understand the harsh geographical nature of this region, it is sufficient to know that the population density in it is less than 50 people per square kilometre, and therefore many of these rural areas are residential clusters far apart from each other. Traveling between some of them may require two hours, and others are impossible for a car to reach. There is no solution for its people except their feet or what God has made available to them in terms of mules and donkeys, and the lucky ones may own motorcycles to take them on rugged paths.
Cottages In The Courtyards
Along a deep, uncultivated valley called “Asif-en-Ounzal” in the village community of Tizi-Natast, lie the ruins of several villages. We had to get out of our car at the last accessible point, and we continued on foot for about half an hour through rugged mountain heights to reach one of them, which is the village of “Ikhves”.
Al Jazeera Net counted 48 graves containing the bodies of those killed by the earthquake in this afflicted village, which was based on the foot of a mountain that shielded it from the waters of the valley, but it did not protect it from the force of the earthquake, so its dwellings became traces of ruins, and their families, livestock and animals were filled with rubble, so they took out the bodies of humans, but the dead animals. She remained under the rubble and the smell of decay filled the place.
Upon our arrival, we inspected with the residents the burial of the last body, which was an 18-year-old girl, and one of her cousins told Al Jazeera Net that they tried more than once to reach her, but they failed, and a rescue team consisting of members of the army, gendarmerie, and civil defense was not able to reach her until yesterday evening, Tuesday. .
The residents of this village, in turn, spread out under trees and in some empty squares, and some of them tried to build huts with whatever fabric they could find or what blankets they salvaged from under the rubble of the earthquake.
Popular Solidarity
Ibrahim Ouazzaz, head of the village council of the Tizi-Natast community, summarizes the extent of the suffering in the villages affiliated with his council, saying that all the small villages that make up the community were damaged, and all of them were completely destroyed, numbering 37 villages, and their residents have been sleeping in the open since the night of the earthquake.
He added - in a statement to Al Jazeera Net - that the number of deaths in these villages reached 456 people and hundreds of wounded, and that the total number of the community’s population reached 5,400 people.
He stressed that there is broad popular solidarity to help those affected in these areas, and that the authorities are making every effort to reach those they have not yet reached.
Wazaz said, "We have two aid collection stations: the first in the village council building, and the second in the Talbourin area, and we are working to provide mattresses, blankets, water, food, tents, and more."
He continued, "There are efforts to evacuate residents to safe areas and keep them away from the valley's course to avoid a disaster if rain falls, God forbid," and that meetings have already begun with the relevant authorities to study ways to reconstruct these villages.
