STANDING IN THE QUAKE: Norwegian Marte Leine Stinterud (32) experienced the powerful earthquake in Marrakech together with her Moroccan husband Aladdin Faiz. Photo: Private
– I have never been so scared in my life, says Norwegian Marte Leine Stinterud (32) on the phone from Morocco. Now she wants to help others who lost everything during the earthquake.
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Norwegian Marte Leine Stinterud (32) is in Morocco and experienced the recent earthquake as traumatizing. The quake, with its epicenter in the Al-Haouz province southwest of Marrakech, has so far led to 2,901 deaths and 5,500 injured, according to Moroccan authorities. Stinterud now wants to help other more severely affected victims. She uses her Instagram profile to spread the message and collect help for the village, so far she has collected over NOK 20,000. Show more
It was just before bedtime on Friday evening that Marte Leine Stinterud (32) and her husband Aladdin Faiz were lying on the sofa scrolling on their mobile phones. Then came the earthquake.
– It started to shake. And it was so strange, because usually when something happens that scares you, a sound or similar, it goes away quickly. But the shaking and noise only got worse, says Marte on the phone from Marrakech.
She says she felt in her whole body that something violent was about to happen.
– I don’t think we said anything to each other, we just looked at each other and agreed that we had to get out. The survival instinct kicked in, she tells VG.
CRACK: The large, longitudinal crack in the brick wall of Marte’s apartment testifies to the tremors. Photo: SCREEN DUMP
– Traumatizing
Marte Leine Stinterud (32) from Mesnali in Ringsaker left Norway and moved to her husband’s homeland just a month ago.
When VG talks to her via video call, a large crack in the wall behind her testifies to the violent forces that struck just a few days ago.
The death toll from the violent earthquake has risen to 2,901, the Moroccan government announced on Monday. Over 5,500 people are injured.
The fear still lingers, and many people are afraid to stay indoors, says Stinterud. Some sleep outside. Marte describes the night of Saturday as traumatizing.
– People poured out of the doors. Then I noticed that there were waves in the pool. I prepared myself for the whole ground to explode. It was so violent, she says, and describes her first encounter with collective fear.
– You understand how serious this is. I have never in my life been close to being so scared, she says to VG.
RUINS: Thousands have lost their homes in the earthquake in Morocco. Photo: Private/ Marte Leine Stinterud
Night in the car
The first night the couple stayed outdoors, and followed the advice to stay out until more was known about the risk of aftershocks.
Stinterud sat in a car with her parents-in-law and her husband until 6 in the morning. The couple then laid down on the sofa close to the apartment’s exit door, with all their clothes on and an escape bag packed.
They are still a bit wary, she says. The earthquake at the foot of the Atlas Mountains on Friday was so powerful that it could be felt throughout the country, and even in the neighboring countries of Algeria, Portugal and Spain, according to CNN.
– You know not to mess with the forces of nature. But experiencing it is something completely different: It’s so scary, because you have nothing to show for it. You can’t stop it. There is absolutely nothing you can do except be where it is safest. And when the ground shakes, in a way, nowhere is safe, says Stinterud.
Will help
The epicenter of the quake was in Al-Haouz province southwest of Marrakech. There are also the most deaths.
Fortunately, Marte and Aladdin’s friends, who are mostly in the same town as them and in the north of the country, are unharmed.
On day two, a shaken but confident Marte Leine Stinterud sat and watched the high numbers of dead and injured after the earthquake come in.
After a conversation with the parents in Norway, who asked what they could do to help, Marte decided to do something. She wanted to contribute, and used her newly created Instagram profile martainmorroco to spread the message to Norwegians.
– I thought I could post it on my Instagram story, so that when we went out shopping, we could perhaps shop a little more for those who need it. But then I got a lot of good feedback! Over 20,000 wives have been collected so far, she says.
HARD HIT: People have lost most of their things in the village of Imgdal, two hours from where Marte and her husband live. Photo: Private/ Marte Leine Stinterud
Need shelter
On Monday, Marte and her husband made the first aid trip to the badly affected village of Imgdal, two hours in the direction of the epicenter from Marrakech. It made an impression on the Norwegian woman.
– You don’t really understand it until you come forward and talk to people, women who have lost their children, crushed in the ruins of houses that have collapsed, she says.
As Marte shed a few tears as she saw the devastation, she experienced villagers coming to her and wanting to comfort her.
– People show a lot of warmth and kindness, even though they are in the toughest times right now, she says on the phone from Marrakech.
What is needed now are medicines for chronic diseases, and tents and other shelter, says the 32-year-old to VG.
– Then they eventually need something more stable than tents and emergency rations. After all, rebuilding villages is not done overnight.
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Published: 13.09.23 at 09:04
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2023-09-13 07:04:46
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