SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Many Moroccans living in the Sacramento region have dealt with non-stop worry to get up-to-date information or even making sure their loved ones are okay after a devastating 6.8-magnitude earthquake hit the region.
“When I woke up this morning, I checked into the news, over 2000 people [died], I couldn't take it,” said Hicham Zemama, owner of the Casablanca Moroccan Restaurant in Sacramento.
Zemama says it's been a difficult 24 hours.
“Every time I see an international number from Morocco [call me], I don't want to answer because I don't want to hear bad news,” said Zemama. “It's very bad. Just crossing our fingers.”
For other Moroccan Americans in the Sacramento region, they continue to keep up with the latest information while also trying to see what they can do to help the country.
“It happened at 11 o'clock at night, a lot of people at that time are sleeping,” said Khalid Ouadrhiri. “So, they all get the brunt of it.”
Ouadrhiri and Zemama are cousins and have family living in Casablanca and Rabat, further away from the epicenter. Luckily both families are fine, but Ouadrhiri received a frantic phone call during the ordeal.
“My brother-in-law called me, and he said, 'the apartment is shaky and I don't know what to do.' I'm like, 'you need to run down, just go outside.' I finished the call, and I called my mom, I found her already outside with my brothers,” said Ouadrhiri.
He says he's worried more buildings will collapse, especially after seeing the destructive earthquakes in Turkey earlier this year.
Both men are still awaiting word from their friends back home as they dig through the rubble to find their loved ones.
“The way the devastation is, a lot more help needs to be done,” said Ouadrhiri.
Both men say the local Moroccan community is working together to see how they can help their fellow countrymen whether that's through, food, shelter or emergency medication. They ask Californians to help however they can.
“I have friends all over and I grew up with in college,” said Zemama. “I don't want anything to happen to them.”
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