Moroccans in Catalonia organize humanitarian aid points after earthquake

Catalonia has a large Moroccan population following the aftermath of Friday's earthquake, with a magnitude of 6.9 on the Richter scale. Many of them have united to ask for humanitarian aid to be able to send it back to their home country.

There are over 2,000 deaths and over 2,000 more injured, as local authorities confirmed on Saturday evening. AMICAL association, a group of support to Moroccan migrants in Catalonia, is coordinating several entities to send humanitarian aid to the affected region, 60 kilometers southwest of Marrakesh.

Organizations are calling for blankets, linen, tents, clothes, and medicines, as Ahmed Abair, president of AMICAL, told the Catalan News Agency (ACN). They wish to send the aid using trucks, which already happened in 2004 after the Al Hoceima earthquake, which left over 630 people dead.

AMICAL, located in Barcelona's central neighborhood of the Raval, answers phone calls and messages and follows all the images and breaking news of the earthquake. Since Saturday morning, after learning about the quake, the group has been getting in touch with other organizations to coordinate the humanitarian aid needed.

Catalan government sets NGOs list

Meanwhile, the Catalan government recommended aiding on-the-ground NGOs to be able to help those in need.

 The list includes organizations such as Oxfam Intermon, Red Cross, and the Catalan Agency for Development Cooperation, which set up two bank accounts to be able to receive financial donations from those willing to help.

Authorities remind everyone that the best way to assist is with economic donations and not by sending food, medicines, or clothes, as it can cause logistical problems.

Official request for help

Morocco has officially asked for help from Spanish authorities, as the Spanish acting foreign affairs minister, José Manuel Albares, said during an interview with Catalan public radio station Catalunya Ràdio on Sunday morning.

Authorities will send "all the aid Morocco needs," going from rescuing teams to construction workers to rebuild the area.

"Immediately," there will be 65 members of the Spanish emergency army deployed to the area.

According to Albares, so far, there have been no Spanish victims or people injured after the earthquake. 

Spain will not organize repatriation flights as "it is not required," Albares said. However, the government has contacted Spanish airline Iberia and Canary Islands airline Binter to increase their flight capacity.