Moroccan Expat Returns Home After 14 Years to Aid Earthquake Victims

Ahmed joined his father in Majorca in 2000. He quickly integrated and worked as a mason, then in an automotive company, before opening a cafe in 2011. An establishment he eventually sold after three years. Today, he is employed at the Son Espases hospital, where he works as a maintenance manager, reports Ultima Hora. "My life is in Majorca. It’s been 14 years since I’ve been back to Morocco. My father’s death affected me and I couldn’t go back," he confides.

Last week, the 47-year-old man accepted the proposal of the EuroAfrica Foundation to travel with a shipment of food supplies to Morocco. "At first I was against it, but in the end I accepted because of the earthquake," he said. Ahmed left Majorca last Friday with four tons of supplies to help families affected by the earthquake in Morocco. Upon arrival in Morocco, he first went to Tangier to check on his mother, whom he had not seen in 14 years, and his six brothers and sisters.

The Moroccan expatriate then took the train to Rabat, with the supplies, to welcome the members of the Kolna Maak association and the EuroAfrica Foundation who arrived on Friday evening. They headed to the most remote villages of the High Atlas to distribute the donations to the victims. "They looked depressed, but I told them that if we were there, it was to help. I know they have lost their jobs and their homes, but now they have the possibility to build these houses quickly," he recounted.

The forty-something says he participated in the construction of the tents installed since Saturday in the village of Jorf, one of the areas most affected by the earthquake. "I had the impression of helping my brothers [...] When you see these people, you are very moved. I know how to do this kind of work and that’s why I’m here," explains Ahmed, who exchanged with some of the victims. The Moroccan returned to Palma on Monday, but his heart remained in Morocco, he assured, promising to return to support his "brothers" who are sleeping under the stars and lacking everything.