“I sincerely thank the many people who have shown their solidarity. We encourage you to continue to support us. The reconstruction phase will take months or maybe even years,” says Cardinal Cristóbal López Romero, Archbishop of Rabat and President of Caritas Morocco, in an interview with Caritas Internationalis (click here for the full interview). The cardinal also expressed his closeness to the people of Libya devastated by extreme flooding and the collapse of two dams, which occurred only hours after the earthquake struck Morocco. “We ask everyone to also be in solidarity with our brothers and sisters in Libya. The Church there is even smaller than ours, but they will do all they can to collaborate in helping the people who have suffered from this flood.”
Cardinal Cristóbal López Romero, Archbishop of Rabat and President of Caritas Morocco.
Regarding the humanitarian response in Morocco, the cardinal emphasises the dispersion of the population in need of aid. “They are small populations, but many, and in a vast expanse of territory, in highland areas that were already difficult to reach and which now, with the destruction of the roads and the additional difficulties caused by the earthquake itself, are even more difficult to reach,” says Cardinal López Romero.
Despite the difficulties, Caritas Morocco is continuing to provide aid to the population in the city of Amizmiz, one of the worst quake-affected areas, and some villages in the surrounding mountainous area. People are being provided with basic necessities such as generators, food, drinking water, clothes and medicine. Efforts are also being made to find durable tents, as those in use by the population are not able to protect people from the cold of the night nor withstand long periods of time. Among the main priorities is not only meeting material needs, as Cardinal López Romero explains, “Most of all, I think they will need people to come and support them, because psychologically and spiritually they are very affected.”
A further impasse is the need for coordination of aid on the ground. “On the one hand, there is the government, the Moroccan state, which has provided the army, companies such as the phosphate company, transport trucks, ambulances, etc. And on the other hand, there are the forces from the countries that have been allowed to contribute to the response,” says Cardinal López Romero.
The cardinal president of Caritas Morocco added that Caritas is in dialogue with the government and those involved. “There is an outpouring of solidarity and commitment. Many civil society organisations and the government is doing its utmost to come to the help of these afflicted people. So we also belong to the global community and we have to be part of this whole, which must be coordinated,” he says.
Anyone wishing to support Caritas’ work to help the people affected by the earthquake in Morocco can make a donation by clicking here: https://www.caritas.org/earthquake-morocco-2/