Morocco earthquake: The teacher who lost all 32 of her pupils
When the 6.8-magnitude earthquake struck a week ago, the immediate concern of a Moroccan schoolteacher, Nesreen Abu ElFadel, was for her students.
She was in Marrakesh at the time, but her school and pupils were located in Adaseel, a mountain village much closer to the earthquake’s epicenter.
As an Arabic- and French-language teacher, she felt compelled to return to Adaseel in search of the children. Tragically, upon her arrival, she learned the devastating news that all 32 students, aged six to 12, had perished.
Recalling the heartbreaking moment, she said, “I went to the village and started asking about my kids: ‘Where is Somaya? Where is Youssef? Where is this girl? Where is that boy?’ The answer came hours later: ‘They are all dead.’ I envisioned holding my class’s attendance sheet and crossing out one student’s name after another until I had marked off all 32 names; they are all gone now,” she shared with the BBC.
These children were among the nearly 3,000 lives lost in the most powerful earthquake ever recorded in Morocco, which occurred on the evening of September 8. The hardest-hit areas were located to the south of Marrakesh, where numerous mountain villages were completely demolished, including Adaseel.
Ms. ElFadel also recounted the heart-wrenching moment when she learned about the fate of six-year-old Khadija.
Rescuers found the body of the child lying next to her brother Mohamed and her two sisters, Mena and Hanan. They had all been in their bed – probably asleep – during the quake, and they all went to Ms. ElFadel’s school.
“Khadija was my favorite. She was very nice, smart, active, and loved to sing. She used to come to my house, and I loved studying and talking to her.”
The language teacher described her students as “angels”, and respectful children who were eager to learn. Despite struggling with poverty and a crushing cost-of-living crisis, the children and their families thought of going to school as “the most important thing in the world”.
“Our last class was on Friday night, exactly five hours before the quake hit,” Ms ElFadel said.
“We were learning Morocco’s national anthem, and planned to sing it in front of the whole school on Monday morning.”
Despite her calm voice, Ms ElFadel has been suffering from trauma. She still cannot process what happened to her students and to her school.
“I don’t sleep; I’m still in shock,” she said.
“People consider me one of the lucky ones, but I don’t know how I can continue living my life.”
Ms. ElFadel loved teaching Arabic and French to children in a village populated by Amazigh – who mainly speak their own language, Tamazight.
“Arabic and French were very hard to learn, but the kids were very bright, and they were almost fluent in both languages,” she recalled.
She plans to continue her career in teaching and hopes authorities will rebuild Adaseel’s school – which collapsed during the earthquake.
A total of 530 educational institutions have been damaged to varying degrees, including some of which have completely collapsed or suffered severe structural damage, according to official statements.
The Moroccan government has temporarily halted classes in the hardest-hit areas.
“Maybe one day when they rebuild the school and classes are back in session, we can commemorate those 32 kids and tell their story,” Ms ElFadel said.
When the 6.8-magnitude earthquake struck a week ago, the immediate concern of a Moroccan schoolteacher, Nesreen Abu ElFadel, was for her students.
She was in Marrakesh at the time, but her school and pupils were located in Adaseel, a mountain village much closer to the earthquake’s epicenter.
As an Arabic- and French-language teacher, she felt compelled to return to Adaseel in search of the children. Tragically, upon her arrival, she learned the devastating news that all 32 students, aged six to 12, had perished.
Recalling the heartbreaking moment, she said, “I went to the village and started asking about my kids: ‘Where is Somaya? Where is Youssef? Where is this girl? Where is that boy?’ The answer came hours later: ‘They are all dead.’ I envisioned holding my class’s attendance sheet and crossing out one student’s name after another until I had marked off all 32 names; they are all gone now,” she shared with the BBC.
These children were among the nearly 3,000 lives lost in the most powerful earthquake ever recorded in Morocco, which occurred on the evening of September 8. The hardest-hit areas were located to the south of Marrakesh, where numerous mountain villages were completely demolished, including Adaseel.
Ms. ElFadel also recounted the heart-wrenching moment when she learned about the fate of six-year-old Khadija.
Rescuers found the body of the child lying next to her brother Mohamed and her two sisters, Mena and Hanan. They had all been in their bed – probably asleep – during the quake, and they all went to Ms. ElFadel’s school.
“Khadija was my favorite. She was very nice, smart, active, and loved to sing. She used to come to my house, and I loved studying and talking to her.”
The language teacher described her students as “angels”, and respectful children who were eager to learn. Despite struggling with poverty and a crushing cost-of-living crisis, the children and their families thought of going to school as “the most important thing in the world”.
“Our last class was on Friday night, exactly five hours before the quake hit,” Ms ElFadel said.
“We were learning Morocco’s national anthem, and planned to sing it in front of the whole school on Monday morning.”
Despite her calm voice, Ms ElFadel has been suffering from trauma. She still cannot process what happened to her students and to her school.
“I don’t sleep; I’m still in shock,” she said.
“People consider me one of the lucky ones, but I don’t know how I can continue living my life.”
Ms. ElFadel loved teaching Arabic and French to children in a village populated by Amazigh – who mainly speak their own language, Tamazight.
“Arabic and French were very hard to learn, but the kids were very bright, and they were almost fluent in both languages,” she recalled.
She plans to continue her career in teaching and hopes authorities will rebuild Adaseel’s school – which collapsed during the earthquake.
A total of 530 educational institutions have been damaged to varying degrees, including some of which have completely collapsed or suffered severe structural damage, according to official statements.
The Moroccan government has temporarily halted classes in the hardest-hit areas.
“Maybe one day when they rebuild the school and classes are back in session, we can commemorate those 32 kids and tell their story,” Ms ElFadel said.
