While communications are still difficult and the wait continues for many families, the large Mahorese community of Reunion Island has decided to take action.
“There are pains and sufferings that are invisible.” Sitting in a large room in the Mayotte delegation in Reunion, Mohamed Bamcolo weighs each of his words. The delegate of the 101st French department, which was devastated by Cyclone Chido, is tested. His family lives in Mayotte and only his son was able to give him some news, three days after the disaster. “Beyond our functions, we are human beings”whispers the civil servant in a suit, Tuesday December 17. Like him, the entire Mahorese community of Reunion Island oscillates between the shock of the images, the wait for information and the desire to help.
This solidarity invaded the offices of the Mayotte departmental council branch in Saint-Denis. In a few days, the prefecture of Reunion Island became France’s logistics platform to help Mayotte, 1,500 kilometers away.
On the ground, dozens of diapers and hundreds of water packs prevent officers from moving around. On desks, infant formula has replaced computers. And under the flags of France, the European Union and Mayotte, shopping bags filled with canned goods are waiting to be transported to the archipelago.
The day after the cyclone hit, Sunday December 15, more than a hundred residents of Reunion Island, mainly from the Mahorese community, converged on the establishment, nicknamed “The house of Mayotte”. “The delegation has become the second home of the Mahorais waiting for information on their loved ones”explains Mohamed Bamcolo. The day before, the establishment closed its doors at 8 p.m., instead of the usual 4:45 p.m., due to the influx of residents seeking information.
“Here, the Mahorais feel a certain closeness, a welcome, a warmth. We sometimes see adults crying.”
Mohamed Bamcolo, delegate of the departmental council of Mayotte in Reunionat franceinfo
Among them, Zaïna Madi came to bring many donations and seek a little comfort. “Here, we support each other. We even try to laugh sometimes”slides the Mahoraise, surrounded by several women wearing M’dzinzano, the traditional makeup of Mayotte. His loved ones are fine “physically”, but they are “psychologically terrorized”she says. “They no longer have the strength to speak and they don’t want to traumatize us.”
As soon as the disaster was announced, Zaïna Madi tried to find a way to return to Mayotte. In vain. “As soon as the flights are reopened, I will leave to help them”she assures. In the meantime, she is taking part in the collection organized in the department’s premises which has taken on the appearance of Ali Baba’s cave. If the authorities instead recommend financial donations to recognized associations and donations of reconstruction materials to municipal social action centers (CCAS), here everything is accepted. “We cannot refuse the spontaneous gestures of families”explains Mohamed Bamcolo.
Through the large blue portal of the delegation, on which a plaque in the colors of Mayotte is screwed, the influx of inhabitants does not stop. “We sort and take inventory, then we will move on to packaging and putting on pallets”explains Lissilamou Toumbou, running between the truck and the premises. “Once we have a certain tonnage, we will be able to send all this with the support of local elected officials and the prefecture”adds the president of the Union of Mahorais Students of Reunion. While he still has no news from part of his family, the young man is now fully dedicated to humanitarian aid to his island of birth.
“There are many links between Reunion and Mayotte. We are much closer than Paris. Here, everyone feels concerned.”
Lissilamou Toumbou, president of the Union of Mahorais Students of Reunionat franceinfo
Among the donors, Fayadhui Ousseni came with particularly full hands. This employee of the Agathe association delivered a cargo of 1.7 tonnes of water on Monday. The next morning, this 22-year-old from Mahor filled the association’s van again with tens of kilos of unsold food, at the back of a supermarket on the island.
“I spoke to my mother on the phone: in Mayotte, they have nothing left to eat”reports the young man, Olympique de Marseille t-shirt on his back. “She’s not going to tell me she sleeps outside, but I know.”he assures. All his relatives live in tin huts in Kaweni, the largest slum in France, which has now been wiped off the map. One of his daughters, accompanied by her mother, was able to find refuge in a local school.
“If I were still in Mayotte, I don’t know if I would still be alive.”
Fayadhui Ousseni, employee of the Agathe associationat franceinfo
Less than six months after his arrival in Reunion Island, the young man is more involved than ever in community life and prepares, several times a week, dozens of meals for the most deprived. Since the beginning of December, he has been employed, thanks to new subsidies. But his first salary won’t stay in his bank account for long. “I’m not going to eat ithe smiles. I’m going to send everything to Mayotte.”
Since the cyclone hit, the Agathe association has increased its strengths. “Everything happened in a second, when we understood the scale of the disaster”explains its president, Adèle Brial. A commitment that is all the more natural as several volunteers also come from Mayotte. The founder of the association is even considering setting up an antenna there “to help with long-term reconstruction”. “We don’t want to let go of them”she assures.
A priority issue for all Mahorais. “France must rebuild Mayotte”says Fayadhui Ousseni, before resuming sorting the bags of rice which can be sent to the island and the perishable foodstuffs which he will cook for the next raid on Reunion Island. “We don’t want to return to oblivion as soon as the next disaster occurs”slips another Mahorais, installed in the middle of the piles of donations stored in the delegation of the 101st French department. “This has happened too often, especially for Mayotte.”
