BBC Pidgin of Sunday, 17 September 2023

Source: BBC

Di teacher wey all 32 of her students die inside Morocco earthquake

Tutar Morocco Tutar Morocco

Di mind of one Morocco schoolteacher immediately turn to di children wey she dey teach wen she feel di 6.8-magnitude earthquake wey strike one week ago.

Nesreen Abu ElFadel bin dey Marrakesh - but Adaseel, di mountain village wia her school and her students dey, dey close to di centre of di earthquake.

Di Arabic- and French-language teacher return to Adaseel wia she go find her students.

She discover say all 32 – between di age of six to 12 years old – don die.

"I go di village begin ask about my children: 'Wia Somaya? Wia Youssef? Wia dis girl? Wia dat boy?' di ansa come hours later: 'All of dem don die.'

"I imagine say I hold my class attendance sheet and dey put line through one student name afta anoda, until I scratch all 32 names comot; all of dem don die now," she tell BBC.

Dem dey among di almost-3,000 pipo wey die wen di strongest earthquake Morocco don ever record happun on di evening of 8 September.

Di areas wey e hit pass na south of Marrakesh, wia many mountain villages dey completely destroyed.

Adaseel follow for one of di areas.

ElFadel remember how she hear about wetin happun to six-year-old Khadija.

Rescuers find di body of di pikin next to her broda Mohamed and her two sisters, Mena and Hanan. All of dem lie down for bed – maybe dem don sleep - during di quake, and all of dem bin dey go ElFadel school.

"Khadija bin be my favourite. She bin dey very nice, smart, active and love to sing. She bin dey come my house, and I love to study and tok to her."

Di language teacher describe her students as "angels", and respectful children wey bin dey ginger to learn. Even though dem dey struggle wit poverty and cost of living palava wan finish pipo, di children and dia families bin believe say to go school na "di most important tin for world".

"Our last class na on Friday night, exactly five hours before di quake happun," ElFadel tok.

"We bin dey learn Morocco national anthem, and bin plan to sing am in front of di whole school on Monday morning."

Even though say her voice calm, Madam ElFadel don dey suffer trauma. She still dey process wetin happun to her students and to her school.

"I no dey sleep; E still dey shock me," she say.

"Pipo consider me one of di lucky ones, but I no know how I wan continue dey live my life."

ElFadel love to teach Arabic and French to children for Amazigh pipo village – wey dey speak dia own language, Tamazight.

"Arabic and French bin dey very hard for dem to learn, but di children bin sharp, and dem bin dey almost fluent for di two languages," she remember.

She plan to continue her career in teaching, and hope say authorities go rebuild Adaseel school – wey collapse during di earthquake.

Di earthquake destroy a total of 530 schools – some completely collapse, odas suffer severe structural damage, according to official statements.

Morocco goment don stop schools for di areas wia di disaster hit pass, temporarily.

"Maybe one day wen dem rebuild di school and classes resume, we go fit honour dis 32 pikin dem plus tell dia story," ElFadel say.