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Why we will never know the true number of deaths in Mayotte

“Several hundred [de morts]a thousand, or even a few thousand.” While the island of Mayotte has just suffered the full brunt of Hurricane Chido on December 14, the first estimates of the number of victims are appearing. Here, it is the prefect of Mayotte who speaks the day after the disaster. Attempts at a skeevy, if not blind, assessment based on the little information that reaches us from the rescuers already on site.

A lack of information which causes excitement, taken up by politicians and the media, who cling to the slightest figure arriving from the island. This is how this terrifying estimate of 6,000 deaths appeared, published in a report La Réunion la Première, which shows the vagueness in which the public authorities on site find themselves. A report since deleted by the channel, but which claimed to be based on the first estimates of the rescuers on site.

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Even the prefect of Mayotte, François-Xavier Bieuville, ventured to give a very wide range the day after the passage of the cyclone, mentioning “several hundred [de morts]perhaps we will approach a thousand, or even a few thousand. »

Rumors of mass graves and mass graves, dug in an emergency, had appeared, relayed in particular by the Mahorese MP Estelle Youssouffa (LIOT). “False information” according to the prefect, who assures that flights over the island were carried out by drone to ensure this.

Calm after the cyclone

Today, the excitement has given way to relative calm. If on site, rescue operations continue on the ravaged island, the Republic's accountants put the first alarming figures into perspective. Monday, on BFM , the new Prime Minister François Bayrou preferred to speak of “tens, rather than thousands” of deaths. “I believe that the alarmist, terrifying figures from the first hours will not be verified,” he assured.

How to explain such excitement? For Mahorean senator Salama Ramia (Rally of Democrats, Progressives and Independents), present on site, it is above all the size of the slums which makes counting difficult.

« “We had no idea how many people lived in these slums. These are people who arrived by boat, who were not listed, so it is impossible to have even an estimate. » »

Housing “in constant evolution” according to the MP, in several localities, impossible for the public authorities to identify.

Bodies buried urgently

Another explanation, this time religious, explains the difficulties in counting the victims of this cyclone. In the Muslim religion, practiced by a large part of the Mahorese population, it is customary to bury bodies less than 24 hours after death.

In the urgency of the situation, many families buried their dead without warning the surrounding town halls. This would be all the more the case for families in an irregular situation who prefer to avoid contact with the authorities.

On site, Senator Salama Ramia confirms: “I received several testimonies of these graves dug by the inhabitants of the slums, which can be identified by the presence of fresh turned up earth. I have obtained several photos of these graves, but I have not been able to see any with my own eyes yet. » For her, these checks will take time, since the search teams cannot yet access all the remote communities, where the damage has been massive. Prefect François-Xavier Bieuville tempers this phenomenon: “We had information to go and see burial sites, but we found very few in the end,” he assured.

A special counting mission

From Tuesday, December 17, the crisis meeting at Place Beauveau entrusted the Mayotte prefecture with a “mission to search for the dead”, accompanied by a “specialized team” responsible for the census. Questionnaires were given to the mayors of each municipality so that they could participate in this count and provide the first local assessments.

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But for Senator Samala Ramia, this is not the priority.

« “The main thing today is to continue the search to find potential survivors. We must ensure that emergency services can do their job. Then, we will take care of providing water, food and shelter to all those who need it. » »

Saving what can still be saved, far from speculation and the search for the exact figure, this is the objective in recent hours on the island of Mayotte.

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