For the previous 12 months Kebira Ait Bellaid has been residing in a tent in a mountain village in Morocco, haunted by the reminiscence of dropping her daughter and three grandchildren.
“I can nonetheless hear my nine-year-old grandson’s screams beneath the rubble,” the 52-year-old stated, recalling the September 8 earthquake that devastated the world.
“This earthquake has modified me without end,” she advised AFP.
The 6.8-magnitude quake killed almost 3,000 individuals and broken the houses of over two million individuals throughout the Excessive Atlas area.
In Tiniskt, a village perched within the mountains about 70 kilometres (45 miles) southwest of Marrakesh, 45 individuals misplaced their lives.
Of the roughly 500 villagers who stay, many are nonetheless residing in tents, unable to flee the trauma.
Tears welling in her eyes, Khadija Id Yassine stated she tries to neglect concerning the quake however “it stays anchored” in her thoughts.
“Life has been onerous within the tent, between the freezing chilly of winter and the stifling warmth of summer season,” stated Yassine, a mom of three whose home remains to be awaiting reconstruction.
Whereas most particles has been cleared, the village nonetheless bears indicators of destruction. Solely the mosque and three homes, constructed with concrete, stay standing.
– ‘Flip this painful web page’ –
The federal government has supplied most households in Tiniskt with an preliminary payout of 20,000 Moroccan dirhams (round $2,000). However no homes have been rebuilt.
Al Haouz province, which incorporates Tiniskt, was the worst affected space, with about 24,000 homes slated for reconstruction — however solely round 1,000 have been rebuilt.
Amine Bouih of Al-Omrane public building company stated it was nonetheless tough to entry broken areas in mountainous terrain.
Ambulance driver Brahim Ait Ouarah, from the village of Ouirgane close to Tiniskt, stated he paid out of his personal pocket to rebuild his dwelling, solely getting state support later.
“The six months I spent in a tent have been very tough,” stated Ouarah, who misplaced his spouse and son within the quake.
“I used to be keen to show this painful web page, even when nothing can compensate for the misplaced lives.”
– ‘Large mistake’ –
Locals aren’t solely pissed off with the sluggish tempo of rehousing, but additionally with how the brand new houses are being constructed.
Concrete is being extensively utilized in Tiniskt and different villages, relatively than conventional constructing supplies like clay and stone.
Architect Khalil Morad El Gilali thinks that is “an enormous mistake”.
“It’s costly, not appropriate for this atmosphere and never dependable,” he stated.
Gilali has been concerned within the reconstruction of 70 homes utilizing the standard clay and stone of the villages, turning down initiatives that use concrete.
He argues that the authorities, of their rush to rebuild, have proven “an absence of imaginative and prescient”.
However Al Omrane’s Bouih stated conventional structure takes extra time — a luxurious in brief provide when individuals desperately want shelter.
