After Morocco’s earthquake: Are politics impeding aid?

As aid flows into Morocco following the deadly earthquake, we look at the politics keeping some of that help away.

Volunteers sort out aid parcels in the mountain village of Tafeghaghte, southwest of Marrakesh city on September 15, 2023, following a devastating earthquake
Volunteers sort out aid parcels in the mountain village of Tafeghaghte, southwest of Marrakesh city on September 15, 2023, following a devastating earthquake [Fadel Senna/AFP]

Offers of help have poured into Morocco from across the world after a deadly earthquake killed thousands. But so far, Rabat has only accepted aid from four countries, Spain, Qatar, Britain and the United Arab Emirates, leaving offers from many others without a response.

Moroccan officials say their goal is to ensure coordination, but critics and some survivors say help is desperately needed, especially in more remote areas, regardless of the source.

So, is this just politics or a matter of organisation? And what will the impact be on those in need?

In this episode: 

  • Stefanie Dekker (@StefanieDekker, Instagram: @stefaniejazeera), Al Jazeera senior correspondent
  • William Lawrence (@WillLawrence111), Political Science and International Affairs professor at American University’s School of International Service

Episode credits:

This episode was produced by Sari el-Khalili, Amy Walters and our host Malika Bilal. Miranda Lin fact-checked this episode.

Our sound designer is Alex Roldan. Our lead of audience development and engagement is Aya Elmileik and Adam Abou-Gad is our engagement producer.

Alexandra Locke is The Take’s executive producer, and Ney Alvarez is Al Jazeera’s head of audio.

Connect with us:

@AJEPodcasts on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook

Source: Al Jazeera