The Moroccan government has been criticized by the public for only accepting on-site rescue teams from four countries
As of September 12th local time, the Moroccan earthquake that occurred on September 8th has caused over 2900 deaths, and rescue workers are working hard to reach remote disaster stricken areas for rescue work. Recently, the Moroccan government has been criticized by the public for only accepting on-site rescue teams from four countries.
At present, Moroccan authorities only allow rescue teams from the UK, Qatar, Spain, and the United Arab Emirates to conduct on-site search and rescue operations. The UK has dispatched 60 search and rescue experts, 4 search and rescue dogs, multiple rescue equipment, and 1 medical evaluation team to Morocco. Spain has provided a military search and rescue team consisting of 56 rescue personnel and 4 sniffing dogs, all of which arrived in Morocco on September 10th. In addition, Spain has a military aircraft carrying 30 rescue personnel and 4 search and rescue dogs on its way to Morocco. The relevant assistance actions provided by Qatar and the United Arab Emirates have also been launched.
At the request of the United Nations Coordinator in Morocco, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs dispatched an emergency expert team on September 12 to provide support to the Moroccan government in disaster assessment and rescue coordination. However, as of now, no requests have been received from the Moroccan government.
In addition, Tunisia, Algeria, France, Germany, Italy, Canada, and the United Nations have all expressed their willingness to provide assistance to the Moroccan government, but are still waiting for a response from the Moroccan government. Some people believe that Morocco's differential treatment of international aid is due to geopolitical considerations, and accuse Morocco of "refusing humanitarian intervention at the cost of the people.".
The Moroccan government responded that the earthquake occurred in remote mountainous areas with inconvenient transportation, and the search and rescue work involved many coordination links. Initially, receiving assistance from the four countries mentioned above was a decision made after a precise assessment of on-site needs. The relevant personnel explained that Morocco has not refused international aid, but has attempted to guide the aid in the best way possible to avoid worsening the pressure of rescue efforts due to poor coordination.
On September 11th, Germany stated that it did not see Morocco considering accepting international aid with political intentions. France also supports Morocco and supports its decision to accept international aid based on its own needs.