Morocco’s Earthquake Response Praised, Aid Dynamics Scrutinized

"In three days of traveling through the Atlas Mountains to report for this newspaper, I was able to see the limits of humanitarian aid and its achievements, and compare them with previous disasters I have covered. And while it is fair to say that some communities are seeing aid arrive too slowly, overall the Moroccan government’s response has been reasonably effective," testifies The Guardian’s special envoy Peter Beaumont in an article titled "The West is right to offer help to Morocco - but stricken countries don’t have to accept it." "In about 48 hours, Morocco has partially reopened one of the main roads leading to the heart of the earthquake zone, thus opening a corridor allowing aid to reach the most affected people," he reports. The country’s military helicopters have been flying non-stop for days, while a huge wave of solidarity has swept across the entire country.

According to Peter Beaumont, the problems encountered are justified by the very nature of the disaster, which has affected a largely dispersed population in hundreds of villages spread over an extremely difficult mountainous terrain. "[...] Some of the criticisms leveled at Morocco have a whiff of the white savior complex, the ubiquitous notion that Western countries are particularly well equipped to help in such circumstances of disaster and need. The idea that some countries would be naturally better equipped to respond to emergencies seems ridiculous and arrogant," says the author of the article, before noting that one of the first principles of humanitarian aid is the very idea of "sovereignty in decision-making, as French President Emmanuel Macron was belatedly forced to admit."

"While it is normal for foreign states to offer their assistance, it is also a privilege and not a right to be invited to help, with Moroccans being best placed to determine what is needed. There is also a second principle: those who offer and send aid must ensure that their efforts contribute to the relief effort, without draining and squandering precious resources," argues this British reporter who has covered the wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, Lebanon, Gaza and Kosovo. And he concludes: "While the aid delivery channels have quickly opened up, the urgent question is how to help Morocco rebuild the devastated communities in the long term. [...] This will require serious commitment from Morocco’s international partners. It will be an unglamorous task [...]"