“I went to the village and asked about my children: Where is Sumaya? Where is Youssef? Where is that girl? Where is that boy?’ The response came hours later: “They are all dead.” It is the heartbreaking story of Nisreen Al-Fadil, the Arabic and French teacher, who lost all 32 of her students in the earthquake that struck Morocco.
Nisreen was in Marrakesh at the time of the earthquake. But Adasil, the mountain village where her school is located and where her students live, was much closer to the epicenter.
The teacher immediately went to the village and looked for her children, who were between 6 and 12 years old. “I felt like I was keeping a list of my class names and I had to cross off one name after another until I finally crossed out 32 names. They are all dead now,” she told the BBC.
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The earthquake on September 8 killed nearly 3,000 people. The worst affected areas were southern Marrakesh, where many mountain villages were almost completely destroyed. Adassil was one of those places.
look. Doctors travel voluntarily from cities to disaster areas
“Angels”
Nisreen described her students as “angels”, respectful children who were very eager to learn. Students and their families considered going to school “the most important thing in the world” despite their often harsh living conditions.
“Our last lesson was Friday evening, exactly five hours before the earthquake,” the teacher said. “We were learning the Moroccan national anthem and planned to sing it in front of the whole school on Monday morning.”
I’m not sleeping, I’m still in shock.
Nisreen
Nisreen is shocked by the great loss. She still cannot understand what happened to her students and her school. “I’m not sleeping, and I’m still in shock,” she said. “People consider me lucky, but I don’t know how to move on with my life.”
However, she wants to continue teaching and hopes that the authorities will rebuild the school. “Maybe one day, when they rebuild the school and classes start again, we can remember these 32 children and tell their story,” Nisreen hopes.
