French leaders are being advised to show humility and explore avenues to “earthquake diplomacy” after Morocco turned down initial offers of humanitarian assistance following the Marrakesh disaster.
While worldwide reaction has been prompt and constructive, France’s role as the North African state’s former colonial ruler and the focus of the Moroccan diaspora makes it an obvious source of aid and expertise.
Some 1.5 million people of Moroccan origin live in France. The flow of migrants has continued since Morocco gained independence in 1956 following unrest and violence that was serious but never comparable with Algeria’s bloody fight for statehood.
But despite the historic links, Morocco pointedly limited its initial appeal for international help to four countries – the UAE, Spain, Britain and Qatar – following the devastating earthquake on Friday night that has claimed at least 2,900 lives.
The exclusion of France was interpreted as a diplomatic snub. “Relations between the two countries are not good,” said a member of the heavyweight France 2 television team sent to present the station’s flagship news programme from the stricken country.
Former French prime minister Dominique de Villepin told FranceInfo radio that his country should show humility and, amid the marked build-up of tensions, “put its flag in its pocket”.
Some are pinning hopes on the potentially healing effects of “earthquake diplomacy”. Pierre Vermeren, a French historian and Sorbonne professor, is among them. Morocco’s early unwillingness to seek French aid was a clear political sign, he said, but the disaster also offered a chance “to find a common language”.
Frustration among those ready to travel to the country has filled the TV channels. Tanguy Charrel, leading a rescue mission from a French firefighters’ charity, said his team was ready to go into action but needed authorisation from the Moroccan authorities. Other organisations reported similar obstacles, though some volunteers began work anyway.
Throughout France, volunteers are working tirelessly to handle the food, tents, medicine and other essentials donated in an outpouring of generosity as Morocco faces the aftermath of the earthquake.
Their efforts contrast sharply with the official impasse over the disaster.
Issues ranging from the disputed Western Sahara and relations with Algeria to French visas and electronic spying allegations explain Franco-Moroccan frostiness.
When the earthquake occurred, Morocco’s monarch Mohammed VI was in France, reportedly for medical treatment, though he flew home on Saturday. He will have seen President Emmanuel Macron’s immediate expression of shock and solidarity. But little love is lost between them.
Mr Macron has angered Rabat by refusing to recognise Moroccan sovereignty in the Western Sahara. The territory is also claimed by Algeria and the grievance is aggravated by France’s policy of rapprochement with Algiers. Diplomatic ties between the neighbouring Maghrebin countries were severed in 2021.
Morocco is additionally furious at France’s “unjustified” decision to cut the number of visas for its nationals wishing to settle there. The restriction, also covering Algeria and Tunisia, reflects French claims of foot-dragging by all three countries on the repatriation of illegal immigrants.
And in the so-called Pegasus affair, France accused Morocco of using Israeli spyware to monitor Mr Macron’s mobile phone conversations, a claim denied by Rabat. As a result of the tensions, Morocco has had no ambassador in France since February.
In a video message aimed at Moroccans, Mr Macron dismissed the polemic as a “non-existent” but divisive distraction, insisting France would stand alongside Morocco in the long term. But many observers are unconvinced.
“First of all there is resentment from the southern Mediterranean countries towards the West and Europeans,” Pacsal Ausseur, director of the Mediterranean Foundation for Strategic Studies, told Nice-Matin, a newspaper circulating along the Mediterranean coast of France with its large Moroccan population.
“France, as former colonial power in Africa, acts as a sort of lightning rod for this discontent.”
The first 72 hours after a major earthquake are regarded as crucial for pulling people alive from the ruins. Before-and-after satellite images of villages such as Ijoukak, a picture-postcard mountain community reduced to rubble by the force of the earthquake, demonstrate the importance of a rapid response.
That period was already about to elapse when France’s foreign minister, Catherine Collona, was telling French media “we have full confidence” in Morocco’s ability to manage the crisis. She dismissed as “inappropriate” questions on why Morocco appeared to have sidelined France.
She said France had already set aside €5 million ($5.37 million) for NGOs working to mitigate the damage and suffering. It is just as well, however, that Moroccans in France – and non-Moroccans who simply want to help – have risen to the challenge.
The French-Moroccan actor, director and humorist Jamel Debbouze, flew to Marrakesh as news of the earthquake broke, donated blood and stressed the need for aid efforts to continue “on all levels”. He urged tourists not to abandon Morocco, since their presence was essential to the country’s recovery.
From different strands of political thinking, the leaders of Paris’s socialist-run city council and the greater Parisian Ile de France region, led by the conventional right, have also set examples, each pledging €500,000 (US$537,000) to aid efforts.
The International Red Cross and Red Crescent is appealing for €100 million in donations. Rebuilding the flattened areas of Morocco will take years and France will doubtless play its part.
Desert Warrior
Starring: Anthony Mackie, Aiysha Hart, Ben Kingsley
Director: Rupert Wyatt
Rating: 3/5
PROFILE OF CURE.FIT
Started: July 2016
Founders: Mukesh Bansal and Ankit Nagori
Based: Bangalore, India
Sector: Health & wellness
Size: 500 employees
Investment: $250 million
Investors: Accel, Oaktree Capital (US); Chiratae Ventures, Epiq Capital, Innoven Capital, Kalaari Capital, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Piramal Group’s Anand Piramal, Pratithi Investment Trust, Ratan Tata (India); and Unilever Ventures (Unilever’s global venture capital arm)
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
MATCH INFO
Day 2 at Mount Maunganui
England 353
Stokes 91, Denly 74, Southee 4-88
New Zealand 144-4
Williamson 51, S Curran 2-28
ABU%20DHABI'S%20KEY%20TOURISM%20GOALS%3A%20BY%20THE%20NUMBERS
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
SCORES
Yorkshire Vikings 144-1 in 12.5 overs
(Tom Kohler 72 not out, Harry Broook 42 not out)
bt Hobart Hurricanes 140-7 in 20 overs
(Caleb Jewell 38, Sean Willis 35, Karl Carver 2-29, Josh Shaw 2-39)
The specs: 2018 Nissan Altima
Price, base / as tested: Dh78,000 / Dh97,650
Engine: 2.5-litre in-line four-cylinder
Power: 182hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque: 244Nm @ 4,000rpm
Transmission: Continuously variable tranmission
Fuel consumption, combined: 7.6L / 100km
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
A Cat, A Man, and Two Women
Junichiro Tamizaki
Translated by Paul McCarthy
Daunt Books
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
'Operation Mincemeat'
Director: John Madden
Cast: Colin Firth, Matthew Macfayden, Kelly Macdonald and Penelope Wilton
Rating: 4/5
Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
If you go
The flights
There are direct flights from Dubai to Sofia with FlyDubai (www.flydubai.com) and Wizz Air (www.wizzair.com), from Dh1,164 and Dh822 return including taxes, respectively.
The trip
Plovdiv is 150km from Sofia, with an hourly bus service taking around 2 hours and costing $16 (Dh58). The Rhodopes can be reached from Sofia in between 2-4hours.
The trip was organised by Bulguides (www.bulguides.com), which organises guided trips throughout Bulgaria. Guiding, accommodation, food and transfers from Plovdiv to the mountains and back costs around 170 USD for a four-day, three-night trip.
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
About Housecall
Date started: July 2020
Founders: Omar and Humaid Alzaabi
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: HealthTech
# of staff: 10
Funding to date: Self-funded
It Was Just an Accident
Director: Jafar Panahi
Stars: Vahid Mobasseri, Mariam Afshari, Ebrahim Azizi, Hadis Pakbaten, Majid Panahi, Mohamad Ali Elyasmehr
Rating: 4/5
yallacompare profile
Date of launch: 2014
Founder: Jon Richards, founder and chief executive; Samer Chebab, co-founder and chief operating officer, and Jonathan Rawlings, co-founder and chief financial officer
Based: Media City, Dubai
Sector: Financial services
Size: 120 employees
Investors: 2014: $500,000 in a seed round led by Mulverhill Associates; 2015: $3m in Series A funding led by STC Ventures (managed by Iris Capital), Wamda and Dubai Silicon Oasis Authority; 2019: $8m in Series B funding with the same investors as Series A along with Precinct Partners, Saned and Argo Ventures (the VC arm of multinational insurer Argo Group)
SERIES INFO
Cricket World Cup League Two
Nepal, Oman, United States tri-series
Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu
Fixtures
Wednesday February 5, Oman v Nepal
Thursday, February 6, Oman v United States
Saturday, February 8, United States v Nepal
Sunday, February 9, Oman v Nepal
Tuesday, February 11, Oman v United States
Wednesday, February 12, United States v Nepal
Table
The top three sides advance to the 2022 World Cup Qualifier.
The bottom four sides are relegated to the 2022 World Cup playoff
1 United States 8 6 2 0 0 12 0.412
2 Scotland 8 4 3 0 1 9 0.139
3 Namibia 7 4 3 0 0 8 0.008
4 Oman 6 4 2 0 0 8 -0.139
5 UAE 7 3 3 0 1 7 -0.004
6 Nepal 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
7 PNG 8 0 8 0 0 0 -0.458
Match info
Liverpool 3
Hoedt (10' og), Matip (21'), Salah (45 3')
Southampton 0
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Attacks on Egypt’s long rooted Copts
Egypt’s Copts belong to one of the world’s oldest Christian communities, with Mark the Evangelist credited with founding their church around 300 AD. Orthodox Christians account for the overwhelming majority of Christians in Egypt, with the rest mainly made up of Greek Orthodox, Catholics and Anglicans.
The community accounts for some 10 per cent of Egypt’s 100 million people, with the largest concentrations of Christians found in Cairo, Alexandria and the provinces of Minya and Assiut south of Cairo.
Egypt’s Christians have had a somewhat turbulent history in the Muslim majority Arab nation, with the community occasionally suffering outright persecution but generally living in peace with their Muslim compatriots. But radical Muslims who have first emerged in the 1970s have whipped up anti-Christian sentiments, something that has, in turn, led to an upsurge in attacks against their places of worship, church-linked facilities as well as their businesses and homes.
More recently, ISIS has vowed to go after the Christians, claiming responsibility for a series of attacks against churches packed with worshippers starting December 2016.
The discrimination many Christians complain about and the shift towards religious conservatism by many Egyptian Muslims over the last 50 years have forced hundreds of thousands of Christians to migrate, starting new lives in growing communities in places as far afield as Australia, Canada and the United States.
Here is a look at major attacks against Egypt's Coptic Christians in recent years:
November 2: Masked gunmen riding pickup trucks opened fire on three buses carrying pilgrims to the remote desert monastery of St. Samuel the Confessor south of Cairo, killing 7 and wounding about 20. IS claimed responsibility for the attack.
May 26, 2017: Masked militants riding in three all-terrain cars open fire on a bus carrying pilgrims on their way to the Monastery of St. Samuel the Confessor, killing 29 and wounding 22. ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack.
April 2017: Twin attacks by suicide bombers hit churches in the coastal city of Alexandria and the Nile Delta city of Tanta. At least 43 people are killed and scores of worshippers injured in the Palm Sunday attack, which narrowly missed a ceremony presided over by Pope Tawadros II, spiritual leader of Egypt Orthodox Copts, in Alexandria's St. Mark's Cathedral. ISIS claimed responsibility for the attacks.
February 2017: Hundreds of Egyptian Christians flee their homes in the northern part of the Sinai Peninsula, fearing attacks by ISIS. The group's North Sinai affiliate had killed at least seven Coptic Christians in the restive peninsula in less than a month.
December 2016: A bombing at a chapel adjacent to Egypt's main Coptic Christian cathedral in Cairo kills 30 people and wounds dozens during Sunday Mass in one of the deadliest attacks carried out against the religious minority in recent memory. ISIS claimed responsibility.
July 2016: Pope Tawadros II says that since 2013 there were 37 sectarian attacks on Christians in Egypt, nearly one incident a month. A Muslim mob stabs to death a 27-year-old Coptic Christian man, Fam Khalaf, in the central city of Minya over a personal feud.
May 2016: A Muslim mob ransacks and torches seven Christian homes in Minya after rumours spread that a Christian man had an affair with a Muslim woman. The elderly mother of the Christian man was stripped naked and dragged through a street by the mob.
New Year's Eve 2011: A bomb explodes in a Coptic Christian church in Alexandria as worshippers leave after a midnight mass, killing more than 20 people.
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
Where to Find Me by Alba Arikha
Alma Books
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Brief scores:
Newcastle United 1
Perez 23'
Wolverhampton Rovers 2
Jota 17', Doherty 90' 4
Red cards: Yedlin 57'
Man of the Match: Diogo Jota (Wolves)
Another way to earn air miles
In addition to the Emirates and Etihad programmes, there is the Air Miles Middle East card, which offers members the ability to choose any airline, has no black-out dates and no restrictions on seat availability. Air Miles is linked up to HSBC credit cards and can also be earned through retail partners such as Spinneys, Sharaf DG and The Toy Store.
An Emirates Dubai-London round-trip ticket costs 180,000 miles on the Air Miles website. But customers earn these ‘miles’ at a much faster rate than airline miles. Adidas offers two air miles per Dh1 spent. Air Miles has partnerships with websites as well, so booking.com and agoda.com offer three miles per Dh1 spent.
“If you use your HSBC credit card when shopping at our partners, you are able to earn Air Miles twice which will mean you can get that flight reward faster and for less spend,” says Paul Lacey, the managing director for Europe, Middle East and India for Aimia, which owns and operates Air Miles Middle East.
