Ten days after the passage of Cyclone Chido, multiple emergencies had to be managed. While the slums have been completely destroyed, residents are being accommodated in emergency accommodation centers. In Mamoudzou, the capital of Mayotte, 12,500 people found refuge in requisitioned schools. But while they are mainly occupied by children, the population lacks everything: water, food and security.
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With our correspondent in Mayotte, Lisa Morisseau
At the top of the hill, the Cavani Sud school, an accommodation center which houses 400 people, overlooks the capital of MayotteMamoudzou, and its slums. Exposed to the wind, metal sheets were torn off the roof while the population had come to take refuge there. Since they have been there, the occupants have not had enough food. The municipality has started distributing only three days ago. Faced with this situation, ordinary citizens have organized themselves. Said is one of the volunteers: “ from the start, we started taking money out of our own pockets, buying food to distribute as much as possible. Since we don’t have a drinking water pack, we try to treat the water so that it is drinkable “.
Insecurity adds to deprivation
Families also experience insecurity. Fatima, 18, lives in the center with her mother and brothers and sisters: “ For days, there have been bandits coming in to steal and we are afraid. The children are crying. Sometimes when they bring hammers it traumatizes us “.
But another subject concerns them. Monday, December 23, the mayor of Mamoudzou announced the closure of accommodation centers from December 31. The aim is to begin the work while the victims are settled in the schools. An announcement that perplexes Said: “ But where will they go? They will hang out in the streets, causing mayhem everywhere “.
Many will return to their already rebuilt tin huts, but in even more precarious conditions.
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