After the destructive passage of Cyclone Chido, the Mahorais of the diaspora live in anguish. This is the case of Moinécha Djanfar who has been living in Guadeloupe for 6 months. Far from her family, she waits for news from her mother.
Two days after the devastating passage of Cyclone Chido, with its winds of more than 200 km/h and its considerable damage, the prefect of the department spoke about Mayotte La 1ère. François-Xavier Bieuville declared that there will be “certainly several hundred” of deaths.
“I think there will certainly be several hundred, perhaps we will approach a thousand, or even a few thousand“of dead he affirmed. It will be”very difficult to have a final assessment“given that the Muslim tradition, very anchored in the completely destroyed precarious housing neighborhoods, requires that people be buried”within 24 hours“.
This is also what Moinecha Djanfar fears. Eyes glued to the television news images, cell phone still in hand, the young Mahoraise has been living in anxiety for two days. She was able to get some news last night, but since then, radio silence. “Around one in the morning, I received a message from my sister telling me that they are alive, that they are not injured“.
Unfortunately, we are all family in Mayotte. The cousin, the friend, the neighbor, everyone… We are a family. I'm from Sada, but my family extends from Petite-Terre to the north and the south. And we can't get them at all. It's terrifying, it's horrible not knowing.
Moinecha Djanfar, Mahoraise living in Guadeloupe
In Guadeloupe for 6 months, Moinecha feels helpless, so far from her native land.
We haven't experienced the cyclone but we are anxious. It's complicated not to be there, to not know. We try to comfort ourselves by telling ourselves whether we were there or not, no one could have done anything. But it's very complicated.
Moinecha can count on the support of her in-laws, by her side. Nadia Lambert-Leclaire, her mother-in-law oscillates between anger and hope.
I am outraged because I have the impression that the French state has abandoned Mayotte, not since the cyclone, but my daughter-in-law has been talking to me about Mayotte for a long time… I want to be next to her. I want to have the words for her to tell her that we are here for her. I am a woman of hope… For me, the whole world should already be around Mayotte.
Nadia Lambert-Leclaire, mother-in-law of Moinecha
Still waiting for news from her mother, the young Mahoraise believes in the future of her native land.
The cyclone wiped us out. We are not dead, we must all get back up together to build Mayotte.
