Le chaos. The apocalypse. Julie, 44, is exhausted. In her voice messages, the young woman searches for words. “I believe that from thousands of miles away, it is impossible for you to understand what is really going on here. » Cyclone Chido devastated everything in its path on Saturday. His house included. The sheets of the roof of his home were quickly torn off and then blown away, under the force of the wind. The teacher then took refuge with her partner, her 4-year-old daughter and her infant in the bathroom, from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. “It was the only room over which there was a concrete roof. All the walls were shaking. At any moment, a beam could have fallen on us… It was so traumatic. »
After fifteen years spent in Agen, where she worked as a hairdresser, Julie left Lot-et-Garonne in 2016 to join Mayotte. She has since lived on the island of Petite Terre, where she built her family life. “We have nothing left,” she said in a sob. “I saw and I still see horrible things today… To say that there are only twenty deaths is false. There are thousands of them under the metal sheets of the shanty towns. And in any case, we will never have the exact number because here, the Muslim tradition is to bury the deceased the same day. »
The roof of Julie’s family’s house did not hold.
J. H.
In the middle of the week, anger and incomprehension were added to the trauma. Julie and her companion remain upbeat against “the inertia of the French state. Since Saturday, as we were told, we have still not seen a hint of military aid. Not the shadow of an outstretched hand… Maybe we don’t see them… But I doubt it! We don’t understand why it’s taking so long. And the arrival of Emmanuel Macron will not change anything! » She adds: “Also, in the streets, it’s chaos. People are reclaiming jails, rebuilding houses themselves. There is beginning to be anarchy: the looting is intensifying. Already, as soon as the cyclone ended, there were some. »
To say that there are only twenty deaths is false. There are thousands of them under the metal sheets of the shanty towns”
“The Water War”
J. H.
Julie and her family can no longer live in this house.
Julie and her little family are hosted here and there by friends, colleagues and acquaintances. “We change houses every day! We are staying in a short distance. With the suitcases and the few things I was able to salvage. And again, we are aware that our situation is not the worst. » Added to these material contingencies, life with a newborn… “With the shock, I no longer have milk flow. I managed to find some powdered milk but yesterday we only had a pack of water left. Fortunately, I have a colleague who has several packs and who helps us out. In stores, at least those that can reopen a little, it’s impossible. It’s the water war…”
Julie hopes to be quickly repatriated with her family to mainland France, where her parents are based. In the meantime, she explains having the feeling of being “taken hostage”. “We are forbidden from leaving. We must help. Yes, okay. But I no longer have a home here. I have nothing left. I am the mother of a newborn, of a little girl… What can I really do? »
