The municipal councilor finds herself stuck on the archipelago located in the Indian Ocean because of the deadly cyclone Chido which devastated everything in its path in this French department.
“It’s crazy, it’s a French department, but we have the impression that the State has completely abandoned the population.” Clothilde Ollier, the opposition municipal councilor of Montpellier, testifies to the catastrophic situation she has been experiencing for several days in Mayotte, stuck on site.
She, who had come for work – training in labor law – had no idea what she was going to have to face when she arrived on the Indian Ocean archipelago. Until Cyclone Chido.
“Before the cyclone hit, everything seemed to be well taken care of, but since then it’s been a disaster,” she exclaims.
Latest water bottles
“The entire population is abandoned. We have zero news, there is no longer a drop of water, no more electricity. We are carefully keeping our last bottles of water without knowing what we are going to do next.”
During the storm, she was staying in a hotel, “but the ceiling in my room collapsed.” She had to flee in the middle of a cyclone and managed to take refuge with the police.
“That's when the photo was taken. We had to hold the wall up so the building wouldn't collapse.” That didn't hold up there either. “We had to hide under the tables with mattresses to protect ourselves.”
Since then, she has deplored the lack of support from the state. “There is nothing organized. I went to the town hall, they don’t know anything.”
And while pronouncing these words, the elected representative from Montpellier adds: “Apart from the vehicle of a French minister who has just passed by, I have covered the length and breadth of the territory, I have not seen anyone. It's incredible, we are in France all the same.”
And to describe the action of the inhabitants and their solidarity: “These are the people who use axes to cut down fallen trees to clear the roads, but not a single state employee.”
“Everyone manages, helps each other…” Clothilde Ollier was able to be hosted by residents. “I have to look for it tonight. I should be on the plane but now I have to find water.”
Before ending your phone call: “My case is not serious, but I worry about those who live there in extreme precariousness. They lived mainly on fruit, but now there aren’t even any trees…”
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