in Marseille, the Mahorais collect news from their families affected by Cyclone Chido

The Mahorese community living in mainland France is waiting for news, in fear. Mayotte was devastated by Cyclone Chido and the human toll could reach hundreds of victims… Communications with the island are still very difficult. In Marseille, the Mahorais are hanging on their phones and hoping to contact their loved ones in the ransacked villages of the island.

On his phone, Marcel Galeski scrolls through the photos he receives from the Mahorais village, Labattoir, on Petite-Terre. He recognizes the neighborhood in which he lived. “Everything is really broken, broken…”he says. Since Saturday, he tries to contact his parents and his brother but no one picks up. “It’s anxiety. As long as I don’t have any news, I’m not at peace”he explains.

He shares this expectation with Barirati Chamassi. His relatives live in the neighboring village, Pamandzi. She doesn't let go of her phone either. From Marseille, she was able to get news from her mother and exchange a few messages with her brother, who “no longer has a roof over his house. Everything was torn away. It’s apocalyptic.”

“We are helpless, here, at a distance, knowing that our families are there. It’s very complicated to live.”

Barirati Chamassi

at franceinfo

To combat this feeling of helplessness, Barirati Chamassi is now trying to launch a solidarity chain for Mayotte. And she's not the only one trying to send help. Naer Abadallah is organizing a food drive, calling associations. “Rice, pasta, cans of tuna… We have to find solutions”he specifies. His brothers live in the village of Combani, their house is one of the only ones still standing, all the tin huts around it have fallen.

Naer Abdallah managed to contact them for a few minutes this morning : “Everything went away. My brother told me that through the window he saw human bodies in the air. Currently, there is no water, no electricity, no food, so they left on foot to Mamoudzou. They were only able to get two bottles of water and a bag of rice. My big brother told me that on the road, almost every kilometer, he saw people. digging graves and lots of bodies on the ground.”

“The island is destroyed”summarizes by message one of Naer Abdallah's brothers. Mayotte will take decades to rebuild, says this Marseillais of Mahorese origin.