Friday, January 19, 2007

Tragedy in Morocco - A Cry for Help

I have not written much since I came home. I have been waiting for guidance as to the next step. It came in the form of a cry for help from my friend Rachid Aderedor in Morocco. We have kept in touch by Skype, and I received very sad news from him about a situation involving involving my Moroccan guide, M/Barek. There has been flash flooding in Merzouga, theh Oasis near the Sahara where M'Barek lives, or rather, lived. In the floods last week his house was destroyed. His mother, his father, and two of his sisters were killed. He survived, but in a coma.They took him to the hospital in Erfoud, 40 miles away, where they amputated his leg. This is the town where I stayed at Ahmed's house with his cousin Rachid, whose family has a hotel in Me\zouga. Rachid has stayed in touch with me. The thing is that in the public hospital in Erfoud, while he was and still is in a coma, they amputated his leg. So he is hanging on to life by a thread. This is the man who found me water in the Sahara desert, who sand joyfully and laughed as he caught me a lizard, the fish of the desert. He was my guide, my cook, and my friend. And now he needs help. In order to get him to a private hospital in Rabat, in the North of Morocco from Erfoud in the South, they raised 300 Euros to pay for and Ambulance to drive across Morocco. He is now in Hospital in Rabat. It costs 50 Euros a night. RAchid says that the treatment is much better than in the public hospitals, and he is praying that he lives. I sent money, of course, and I am now looking at International Global Aid agencies. No one ever knows about the flooding in Mersouga which wiped out a large part of their community last year. Because of Global Climate change, the heat has gotten hotter, and the floods have gotten more severe. They have never experienced flooding this bad. It is the Moroccan Katrina. But no one even knows it is happening! I need to find help, fast, to pay for M'Bareks's hospital, and eventually, if he lives,  for a nw leg. Otherwise he cannot guide. He has no education. He speaks six languages, all learned from the tourists. He is a good man, 28 years old, and his life has been devastated. He needs help and he needs it now. Any suggestions?

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May peace prevail.
Shelora

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