Morocco donates proceeds from Burkina Faso football friendly to earthquake victims
By Mercy SimiyuThe Royal Moroccan Football Federation has announced it will donate all the proceeds from the international friendly between the Atlas Lions and Burkina Faso towards a Special Fund dedicated to receiving voluntary solidarity contributions for managing the consequences of the earthquake.
The clash will be played in France on September 12, 2023, and the majority of the fans are expected to be Moroccans based abroad.
Morocco’s deadliest earthquake in six decades has claimed the lives of 2500 people, with rescue operations ongoing late on September 12, 2023.
Villages in the High Atlas Mountains were among the most affected.
Aftershocks will continue to rock Morocco weeks or months, a seismological expert has warned.
Remy Mossu, the director of the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre, told Sky News that more than 25 aftershocks have already hit the country since the 6.8 magnitude earthquake.
“There will be aftershocks. It is not probably, it is a certainty,” he said.
Some villagers say they are struggling to find enough space to bury their dead as funerals can take place beside rescue work. Others are preparing extra graves ready for more bodies, even as rescue operations continue.
Morocco’s King Mohammed VI has thanked Spain, Qatar, the United Kingdom and the United Arab Emirates for sending aid, with the UK government set to send 60 search and rescue specialists and four search dogs to Morocco.
The damage from the quake could take several years to repair, according to the Red Cross.
At a high powered working session chaired by His Majesty King Mohammed VI and accompanied by His Royal Highness Crown Prince Moulay El Hassan, it was agreed upon that there would be a number of relief efforts that would be carried out expeditiously as part of the government’s intervention and mitigation.
According to a press release from the Royal Morocco Office sent to Nairobi News, the sole focus would be reinforcing the national blood stock, supplying drinking water to affected areas, distributing food kits, tents and blankets to the affected population and quickly resuming public services. The King gave further gave the following seven instructions:
“It was also decided to observe three days of national mourning, with the half-masting of national flags on all public facilities. His Majesty the King, Commander of the Faithful, also gave His High Instructions to the Minister of Endowments and Islamic Affairs to perform the Absent Prayer (Salat Al Ghaib) in all mosques throughout the Kingdom, for the repose of the victims’ souls,” added the statement.
The King also expressed the sincere thanks of the kingdom of Morocco to all countries that expressed their solidarity and readiness to provide aid for Moroccan people affected by the earthquake.