Morocco quake victims plead for royal intervention on aid delay

Hundreds of 2023 Atlas earthquake survivors went to the Moroccan parliament on Monday, demanding action after more than a year of stalled aid—delays in which authorities place blame on fraud and scammers.

In Rabat, facing the parliament building, dozens of villagers and activists rallied against “neglect, injustice and corruption,” brandishing Moroccan and Amazigh flags alongside portraits of Moroccan King Mohammed VI.

Among the protesters was Ahmed Ibourk, a father of three from Douirane, a small village deep in the Atlas Mountains. He travelled 423 kilometres to recount the sickness and suffering that have plagued his community.

“People are getting sicker every day. We don’t even have the means to get medical care”, he said to The New Arab. “We’re freezing this winter under the tents. We’re slowly dying, and no one is listening to us.”

More than a year after the earthquake displaced at least 500,000 people, many families still live in makeshift tents, awaiting aid they were promised but have not yet been given.

In January, snowfall blanketed the camps, leaving children shivering in the cold and making life in the makeshift shelters even more unbearable.

The further one travels from Marrakech into the Atlas Mountains, the more it feels like going back in time to the moment the 6.8-magnitude earthquake struck the region deemed for decades ‘forgotten Morocco’

At the time, Al-Hajj Rachid, one of the few in his family to survive, told TNA that he hoped the disaster would finally push authorities to remember the Atlas and its people. 

On Monday, he stood before parliament, chanting alongside fellow protesters: “Stop the injustice, we want our homes back.”

“I spent seven hours travelling to come here”, the 70-year-old said. “Why don’t they believe us? Why aren’t they listening?”

Around him, other survivors echoed the frustrations, recounting similar stories of loss, destruction, and neglect.

‘Where’s the promised aid?’

In the days following the earthquake, Morocco‘s royal palace announced a $12 billion reconstruction plan to rehouse those affected.

Officials pledged direct financial aid, with an initial payment of 20,000 dirhams (about $2,000) per family, followed by four additional instalments over five years—totalling up to 140,000 dirhams (about $14,000) for completely destroyed homes and 80,000 dirhams (about $8,000) for partially damaged ones.

Yet, according to the Al Haouz Earthquake Victims’ Group, most families—regardless of the extent of their losses—have received only the minimum amount.

And for many, even that has not arrive due to bureaucratic hurdles and inconsistencies in the list of approved beneficiaries.

“We filed complaint after complaint, but no answers,” said Hassan Ait Ouad, who lost his house in the earthquake. “We want a government mission to visit and speak to the locals. We are also Moroccans.”

Authorities have acknowledged instances of fraud in the aid distribution process.

Last December, Morocco’s Interior Minister, Abdelouafi Laftit, announced an investigation into corruption, revealing that one official had solicited bribes to expedite fund disbursement, while three entrepreneurs had scammed dozens of families.

Last week, a Moroccan court sentenced one entrepreneur to three years in prison for defrauding 34 families. The court also ordered him to pay 30,000 dirhams (about $3,000) in compensation to each victim.

Trials against villagers

However, scammers aren’t the only ones facing court. Local activists who criticise the slow recovery are also under pressure.  

In December, outspoken activist Said Ait Mahdi was sentenced to three months in jail for calling out delays and accusing local authorities of corruption. He was charged with defamation, insult, and spreading false allegations.  

“They put Said in jail because he told the truth. I won’t stay silent, even if they give me life in prison”, said Khadija El-Bazz, who lost her home in the village of Tikirt in the Atlas Mountains.  

Like many protesters, El-Bazz held up a picture of Ait Mahdi alongside Moroccan and Amazigh flags, shouting at the Moroccan parliament’s doors, as if someone inside might finally come out to address the tragedy.  

El-Bazz and other demonstrators said they feel “invisible,” as top officials have yet to meet with them or acknowledge their demands. Now, they say, they have only one hope—faith in God and King Mohammed VI.  

“We only trust our King. We call for his help—we don’t trust these officials. Please, Your Majesty, King Mohammed VI, help us,” she cried out. One by one, other protesters joined her, edging closer to the reporters’ microphones and cameras, hoping their pleas would reach the Moroccan king.

The 2023 earthquake destroyed hundreds of villages and killed around 3,000 people in Morocco‘s Atlas Mountains.