BABY BORN IN A SEA OF DEATH

MARRAKESH. – Khadija’s baby doesn’t even have a name yet, but her first home is a tent by the side of the road.

She was born just minutes before Morocco’s deadly earthquake, which killed more than 2500 people, struck on Friday night.

Though the mother and daughter were unhurt, the hospital in Marrakesh they were in was evacuated. After a quick check up, they were asked to leave just three hours after the birth.

“They told us we had to go due to the fear of aftershocks,” she said.

With their new-born, Khadija and her husband tried to take a taxi early on Saturday to their home in Taddart in the Atlas Mountains, about 65km (40 miles) from Marrakesh.

But on their way there they found that the roads were blocked by landslides, and only made it as far as the village of Asni.

The family have been living in a tent by the side of the main road since.

“I haven’t received any help or assistance from authorities,” she told us, holding her baby while sheltering from the sun under a flimsy piece of tarpaulin.

“We asked some people in this village for blankets so that we had something to cover us up.”

“We have only God,” she added.

Since then, they have managed to build a basic tent. Khadija told us she has only one set of clothes for the baby.

Friends from their hometown have told the family that their house is badly damaged, and they have no idea when they might have somewhere suitable to stay. – BBC.