On Tuesday afternoon, Feb. 3, 2009, just a couple of streets away, a 47-year-old woman and her 10-ten-year-old son died when the roof of their mud home collapsed on them. Flooding and heavy snowfalls left several regions of Morocco devastated and affected hundreds of families. The old part of my town is comprised of about 400 mud homes, over 250 years old. As a result of these torrential rains and snow, the houses were declared unlivable by the government and the families were evicted, becoming effectively homeless. Many of the families were able to stay with friends and family in their homes, but close to 100 families in my town became residents of the local youth house (previously unused, it is comprised of about 5 rooms, one very large). My counterpart with local teachers and community members worked together to try to make the shelter as accommodating and livable as possible. For one full week, 80 families lived in this building (5 of those days being quite inclement weather, in which people became somewhat hysterical about the state of their houses). Sunday the weather began to brighten and the following days were full of warmth and repair. However, the houses are still not livable by the government's eye and although many people have decided to remain living in their homes, many others have no choice. As of yesterday, a new area for the refugees was opened up and now 40 of the families are living in garage style storage units while the other 40 are still staying at the youth center. They are happy to have their own private spaces, but without ventilation and the winter weather returning, I'm worried that this will not be a sustainable arrangement. The government is trying to come up with aid for the many affected people across the country - According to a statement of the Interior ministry, about 56,000 hectares of land are under water in the fertile agricultural region of the Gharb - 12 villages of 5,000 inhabitants were submerged by floodwater -The exceptional rainfall led to significant run-off and caused some dams to exceed their maximum capacities. The government has offered to provide tents to accommodate the refugees, which has been acceptable in some of the affected regions, but in my region, the temperatures are often dropping below zero and tent sleeping isn't an option for the majority of the population. Some families were supplied with meager food supplies (canned sardines and bread), which the Association was then resourceful enough to exchange with local vegetable and food sellers. The community has also been generous, providing some food and assistance to these people. Conditions are poor here at best...We also may not be over the worst of the bad weather...
There are always so many people so much less fortunate than ourselves, but sometimes it takes someone-you-know's life to be affected before you realize your good fortune. Let's try not to live that way.
