Homeless, traumatized and in some cases they felt abandoned by the authorities. Many survivors of the powerful earthquake in Morocco escaped death because they feared they were now on their own to stay alive.
The deadly earthquake has placed a heavy burden on the North African kingdom’s emergency resources, and some stranded in shattered communities are angry and shocked at what they say is a lack of aid.
“We feel abandoned here, no one has come to help us,” said 43-year-old Khadija Aitlkyd from the ruins of her village Missirat in a remote area high in the Atlas Mountains.
“Our houses have collapsed… where are we all going to live?” she asked amid the rubble of the small, remote settlement where the smell of death hung in the air.
Residents of the village of fewer than 100 people said the bodies of the 16 locals killed in the quake have been recovered, but their dead livestock began to decompose under stones and wood.
The violent tremors that flattened entire villages have taken a toll that amounted to more than 2,800 deaths and almost as many injuries on Monday.
Another survivor, Mohammed Bouaziz, saw his town of Moulay Brahim south of Marrakesh hit hard by Morocco’s deadliest earthquake in more than sixty years. About twenty residents were killed.
“We have received some help… but it is not enough,” said the 29-year-old who is part of a local group trying to meet the needs of some 600 homeless people.
More than 48 hours after the earthquake, running water was restored in Moulay Brahim and families shared the bathrooms of the few houses still standing.