By Cosmo Robertson Charlton, Senior Communications and Marketing Officer
Many of us will be familiar with the smells, sights and sounds of Morocco, and especially Marrakesh. Holiday makers flock in their millions every year to get lost amongst the souks and bazars, where market sellers display their impressive wares; from steep peaks of colourful spices, to eye-catching jewellery and wood-craft. But as I turned the corner into the Mellah, or the Jewish Quarter, of Marrakesh, I was met with a very different scene.
Within the walls of the Mellah, many of the 16th century buildings have been reduced to nothing more than dust and rubble; a first glimpse of the devastation caused by the 6.9 magnitude earthquake which rocked Morocco a year ago, killing almost three thousand. Fortunately, the two synagogues remained upright, an echo of Morocco’s thriving Jewish community which was once 300,000 strong. If this was the impact so many miles away from the epicentre, I dreaded to think what awaited me the next day. The next morning, we would head into the High Atlas Mountains to visit some of the worst-affected communities, who we’ve been supporting to survive and rebuild their lives.
Rising early, the air was still cool; the suffocating heat was yet to take hold. Hopping in the car alongside team members from our local partner, the Moroccan Biodiversity Livelihood Association (MBLA), we began our long, winding journey into the mountains. The beauty of this region is truly astonishing, with aquamarine blue lakes, occasional lush valleys and jagged peaks. But the further we climbed, the more remote it felt. Roads turned to rocky tracks, and signs of human life became scarcer and scarcer.
Eventually, we started to come upon village after village; just some of the hundreds of settlements across the High Atlas Region which are home to indigenous communities, including the Berber people. Despite what I’d read, nothing could prepare me for the sheer scale of the devastation. The scene looked almost identical to the photos we received when the earthquake first struck, aside from the tented villages where people now live, displaced from their homes.
It’s clear the rebuilding process up here in the mountains has been slow, if almost non-existent. I was quickly understanding why many of the locals call this part of the country the Forgotten Morocco. It took almost a week before aid and search and rescue teams reached these villages – far too late for any hope of pulling survivors from the rubble. Whole families, in communities of about 100 people, perished as buildings collapsed. As the saying goes; Earthquakes don’t kill people. Buildings do.
Following the news of the earthquake, World Jewish Relief launched an emergency appeal, and, thanks to the generosity of our supporters, we were able to respond rapidly. In the immediate aftermath, we worked alongside the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC), our well-placed local partner the High Atlas Foundation, and the wider Moroccan Jewish community, to provide strong, durable tents and solar powered lights to 1,800 people across six villages up in the mountains.
But after our initial life-saving response, we partnered with MBLA to help these communities prepare for winter with items such as gas heaters. In contrast to the sweltering heat Morocco is so famous for, temperatures drop below freezing up here. We also provided sustainable toilet facilities. As we heard from members of the community, these supplies were critical. Alongside hygiene benefits and the reduced risk of sexual harassment, which increases during humanitarian crises, these facilities have been culturally significant. In a religiously conservative society, the ability for women and girls to have privacy is even more important.
Arriving into one of the villages we’ve been supporting, we were welcomed with the traditional Moroccan hospitality in one of the tarpaulin tents that the community now lives in. Over a glass of green tea, and bowls of honey and almonds produced right here in the mountains, we spoke with members of the community to better understand their challenges. What was immediately striking was the close relationship our trusted local partner, MBLA, have with these communities. In fact, some members of MBLA’s core team still live in these villages, helping to build the trust and understanding needed to provide effective support. This ‘locally-led’ approach to humanitarian action is best practice, and it’s why all of World Jewish Relief’s international work is delivered alongside local partners.
During these discussions, two issues arose again and again – the need for their homes to be rebuilt, and the damage to their farms and livestock. Cut into the steep valleys are human-made plateaus, where the communities grow figs, olives, almonds, walnuts, wheat and produce fresh honey from their apiaries. These people have survived for generations through subsistence farming, and with damaged irrigation, livestock loss, and destroyed farmland, their future is uncertain.
To address these urgent issues, we’re focussing on helping people develop sustainable livelihoods, by empowering them to sell their goods at markets in local towns, and even in Marrakesh. Since its establishment in 1933, World Jewish Relief’s life-saving action has been rooted in its Jewish values, and we believe supporting people to provide for themselves is the highest form of Tzedakah, or charity, you can give. Alongside MBLA, we’re providing training, workshops and routes to market for collectives, so they can earn money, make decisions about their future, and be better prepared in case of another disaster.
In the face of immense global adversity, you would be hard pressed to find much mention of this crisis in the international news cycle. Even in Morocco, radio and TV rarely mention it; it’s no wonder many in the mountains feel forgotten by the rest of the country. Their plight represents the challenges that many marginalised people face, as they’re left to fend for themselves in times of crisis. It will be a long road to recovery for these people, and the trauma will run deep. But thanks to our supporters, and our partners, we’ve provided over 13,184 Moroccans with an important lifeline, and ensuring they aren’t forgotten.