After receiving strong criticism for his negligence in the face of the tragedy that occurred in the country in the early hours of last Saturday, the King of Morocco visited one of the hospitals that house the more than 5,000 injured people left by the earthquake. He has done it with visible difficulties in movement and surrounded by strong security measures.
Mohamed VI He has met with those responsible for the center in Marrakech and has spoken with some of the survivors. In addition, she has offered an unprecedented image when passing through the blood donation room and leaving hers to expand the reserves, vital at this time. A visit that lasted barely 20 minutes and after which he was dismissed amid cheers and applause.
The earthquake caught the king in France, where he has lived for years, and it took almost a day for the tragedy to manifest itself. As we said, four days until he has moved in person. This time, excessive and inexplicable for many, has earned him the nickname ‘the absent king’.
Furthermore, the king, who has a personal fortune reaching six million euros, has rejected help from countries such as France, Germany, Portugal and Italy, claiming that “lack of coordination in such situations could be counterproductive.” The discomfort is evident. Yes, they have accepted that of Spain, the United Kingdom, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, considered “friendly countries.” This was expressed in the statement from the Moroccan Ministry of the Interior: “King Mohammed VI (…) expressed the most sincere gratitude of the Kingdom of Morocco to the numerous brother and friendly countries that have expressed their solidarity with the Moroccan people in this difficult situation and several of whom have expressed their availability to provide help and assistance in these particular circumstances”.
It has also accepted help from Algeria, a country with which Morocco has had numerous clashes, such as when in August 2021 the former broke diplomatic relations with the State of King Mohammed VI: “After the Moroccan Minister of Justice announced the acceptance of Algerian aid, the high authorities of Algeria ordered the supply of three planes, two of which for medicines, mattresses, tents and food,” indicated the Civil Protection team.