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'I've not washed for days, how am I meant to teach?'

Abdelali Mahfodi teaches English in the town of Amizmiz, which was in parts reduced to rubble

Fri, 22 Sep 2023 Source: bbc.com

A teacher in Morocco has told the BBC he feels unable to support pupils traumatised from the recent devastating earthquake as he is struggling to recover himself.

Abdelali Mahfodi spoke to Newsday from the town of Amizmiz, two weeks on from the strongest quake to hit the north African country in more than 60 years.

As large parts of Amizmiz have been reduced to rubble, many in the town are unable to shower or change their clothes, Mr Mahfodi told the Newsday radio show.

The English teacher said his pupils need "psychological support", but "I haven't changed clothes in four days, how do you expect someone in this situation to strive in order to get students back on the rails?"

More than 2,900 people were killed by the 6.8-magnitude earthquake, which struck Morocco on 8 September.

Morocco's authorities have said 120bn dirhams ($11.6bn; £9.4bn) will be spent on rebuilding impacted areas and that victims will receive financial aid.

However, no exact timeframe has been given for these plans. Morocco has also been very selective in accepting foreign aid, only agreeing to receive help from four countries - Qatar, Spain, the United Arab Emirates and the UK.

Source: bbc.com