Last week’s deadly earthquake in Morocco claimed the lives of more than 2,000 people and left many homeless and displaced. The images of the devastation coming out of the country are motivating members of the D.C. area’s Moroccan community to help, and that includes an ambitious plan to build temporary villages coming from a Lorton, Virginia, man.
“You can’t help it but start feeling guilty that you’re … privileged over here,” said Youssef Zeroual, who left Morocco for the United States in 1995.
Zeroual said his mother was on the phone with friends in Morocco when the ground started shaking on Friday. Since then, he’s heard stories from friends who survived and spent nights on the streets, worried about aftershocks from the quake.
Looking for a way to help, Zeroual, who is a realtor, began working with others in the Moroccan community to develop a plan. The group’s aim is to send building supplies to the region in order to help construct temporary villages.
“Right now, we’re trying to put a plan together to start creating these villages to replace the destroyed homes and then get these people into temporary housing until the Moroccan government can figure out how they’re going to rebuild all those destroyed villages,” he said.
Zeroual said he’s working with a Moroccan charity called Jood to build what will be called “Jood villages.” So far, he said approval has been given for 25 of the temporary villages, but he hopes to see more than 50 come from this effort.
In Northern Virginia, Zeroual said he has secured warehouse space and is still working on the logistics of not only accepting donations, but also shipping those donations to Morocco. His hope is that building supply companies will help, but he also intends to collect donations from individuals.
“Every bit will help,” he said. “It’s looking very promising.”
Other D.C.-area organizations are accepting monetary donations, among them The Jewish Federation of Greater Washington and Dar al Hijrah Islamic Center.
