This article was automatically translated from HIBAPRESS, the Arabic version:
Heba Press – Abdel Latif Baraka
Residents of Morocco’s mountainous regions are facing new challenges due to the severe cold spell hitting many of these areas, bringing the firewood supply crisis to the forefront.
This crisis, which worsens every winter, adds to the suffering of a population already facing economic difficulties due to high prices and low incomes.
As the demand for firewood increased during the winter period, its prices increased significantly, which directly affected the purchasing power of poor families. The heating crisis becomes more serious in mountainous and isolated areas where climatic conditions are harsh, especially in the absence of sufficient rainfall, leading to a shortage of firewood resources.
In these regions, a number of citizens resort to debt or devote a large part of their income to covering their heating costs, which increases their suffering in the face of deteriorating economic conditions.
With the increasing effects of this cold snap on daily life, the heating problem goes beyond simple individual suffering to become a crisis that affects other aspects, notably education. In many educational institutions located in these mountainous areas, students suffer from difficulty concentrating and persevering in classrooms lacking adequate heating, which negatively affects their academic performance compared to their urban and rural peers. other regions.
On the other hand, many residents of these areas believe that there is manipulation on the part of some traders who keep large quantities of firewood in other seasons of the year with the aim of reselling it. at high prices in winter. These practices further complicate the situation, as families with limited income find themselves forced to pay exorbitant prices to obtain firewood.
At the same time, mountainous regions continue to suffer from the impact of the devastating earthquake that struck the Al Haouz region earlier this year. The earthquake caused severe damage to infrastructure and housing, leaving many families living in difficult conditions in winter.
This disaster doubles the challenges faced by residents, who are calling on local and central authorities to take urgent measures to support affected families and provide firewood at reasonable prices, in addition to accelerating the reconstruction and recovery processes. reconstruction in affected areas.
In light of these difficult circumstances, the intervention of the competent authorities is increasingly requested to provide practical and sustainable solutions, starting with financial support for the purchase of firewood, passing through the provision of methods from efficient heating in schools and homes, to improving the economic conditions of citizens in mountainous and isolated areas.
