Homeless Al Haouz victims stage protest as mountainous winter looms

Members of the National Coordination for Al-Haouz Earthquake Victims held a protest Monday outside the Moroccan Parliament, calling on authorities to resolve outstanding compensation files and extend aid to families who say they were excluded from government assistance, two years after the devastating quake that struck large parts of the Al-Haouz region.

Dozens of demonstrators chanted slogans denouncing what they described as “exclusion and injustice,” saying many families still live in makeshift plastic tents lacking basic living conditions, despite a royal directive for immediate emergency support following the September 2023 disaster.

“We are here because our rights have been lost,” said Mohamed El-Baoud, from the village of Oujdan in Chichaoua province. “We did not benefit from the royal aid. Our children have suffered through cold and rain in the tents. We are only asking to receive the same rights as other citizens.”

Hassan Ait El-Aouad, a member of the coordination from Chichaoua, voiced frustration over what he called “official neglect of victims’ suffering.”

“We have been excluded from housing assistance and have come to Rabat more than five times without any response,” he said. “The King’s initiative aimed to bring relief to mountain communities, but today we are still asking, where has that initiative gone?”

Another protester from the village of Azlekour in Al-Haouz province said his family remains homeless:“I submitted multiple complaints to the authorities, but nothing has changed. Our house was completely destroyed. We only ask for justice and the compensation promised by His Majesty.”

A woman among the demonstrators added that affected families had reached out to the Interior Ministry, the National Human Rights Council, and the Mediation Institution, but received no replies. “We’re being sent from one office to another without results. All we want is our right to rebuild our homes.”

In a statement, the National Coordination for Earthquake Victims urged authorities to act swiftly to “end the suffering and allow affected families to rebuild their homes.” The group claimed that “official figures are inaccurate, as thousands of households have yet to receive adequate compensation for the scale of their losses.”

The coordination also called for “accountability for those involved in manipulating beneficiary lists” and appealed to civil society organizations, human rights defenders, and media outlets to support the victims’ demands.

For many of these families, the protest marked another attempt to draw attention to their prolonged hardship, a reminder, they say, that two years after the quake, promises of reconstruction and relief remain unfulfilled.