A multitude of small colored dots have appeared on the mountains. They are sometimes concentrated, sometimes scattered, amidst ruined villages and scree detached from rocky slopes. In the Moroccan High Atlas, tents are populating the landscape – temporary shelters for the tens of thousands of survivors of the earthquake that struck the country on September 8, killing nearly 3,000 people and devastating almost 50,000 homes, according to a still provisional assessment by the authorities.

Shelter from the cold and inclement weather: That’s all Brahim Zaboun was waiting for in Azgour, a village perched at an altitude of 1,500 meters, where life was being organized in hastily assembled camps amid the rubble on Saturday, September 16. The 60-year-old farmer and his family have set up camp opposite their house and its collapsed facade. Their tents, donated by the civil protection service, are planted in a garden on the banks of the wadi. In the middle of this little canvas "village," there are basins, gas cylinders, two bowls on a stove, and a few pieces of furniture rescued from the debris but no electricity or toilets. Despite everything, Zaboun is smiling. He is alive, at home with his loved ones, on "the land of [his] ancestors," which he has no intention of leaving. "God protect us, hamdoulilah! [God be praised]," he repeated as if to heal his trauma.

At Zaboun’s home, as elsewhere, the shock of the earthquake has in no way altered the legendary hospitality of the mountain people. Everywhere you go, visitors are offered whatever they have left to give: Mint tea, fruit from the orchard, bags of cookies salvaged from daily donations. At the entrance to the village, a truck bearing the banner of the British NGO Human Relief Foundation is parked. At distribution time, the inhabitants, called one by one on the megaphone approach, some with their donkeys to carry mattresses, blankets, and food items to the more remote hamlets, which can only be reached by steep paths.

As the days went by, emergency aid for earthquake survivors began to trickle in, spurred on by an immense surge of solidarity. On the roads of the High Atlas, convoys of vehicles from organizations, NGOs, companies, and private individuals continue to pour in. In Toulkine, five kilometers from Azgour, a tent city has been set up 100 meters from the devastated village. The camp is equipped with electricity generators and latrines have just been delivered. "Now we have enough food. We’re equipped and no one sleeps outside," said Mohamed Ait Ali Oujaa, who lives here, "but there are a lot of people in each tent; there aren’t enough," said the 30-year-old resident, who dreads the onset of winter above all else. "It’s snowing here, and temperatures are dropping to - 6°C or even lower. We’re going to need more shelters to cope with the cold," he added.

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