A Moroccan restaurant in Mississauga is donating its weekend’s profit to help the victims of a powerful earthquake in Morocco that left more than 1,000 people dead.
"It's gonna go straight to the people who are without homes and without water and light," Mona Ahmed, the owner of Morocco's Kitchen said in an interview with CP24 on Saturday.
Ahmed was up all night frightened and worried about her family back in the North African country. After learning about the magnitude-6.8 quake late Friday evening, she immediately contacted her sister.
"She was not answering. So I started panicking," Ahmed recalled.
"I didn't know what to do. I'm far away. What to do? So I was just trying to call."
Ahmed said she was later able to reach her sister through neighbours.
When they spoke, her sister recounted how the walls began shaking while she was sitting on her sofa. "She tried to run away, but the door won't open. She said, 'That's it, I'm dead.'"
Fortunately, Ahmed said, the door budged, and her sister was able to get out of the house.
"Everybody was crying, everybody hugging everybody, and everybody's just praying," Ahmed said, sharing what her sister saw. "They stayed all night outside."
As of Saturday afternoon, the death toll from the earthquake has climbed to 1,305. Most of those who died were in Marrakech and five provinces near the quake's epicentre. Another 1,832 people were injured – 1,220 critically – according to the country's officials.
"It's a disaster," Ahmed said. That's why she and other members of the Moroccan community in the Greater Toronto Area are urging people to donate to the victims of the quake.
GlobalMedic, a Toronto-based humanitarian organization, said it has offered to deploy its drone team, and provide portable water purification units and family emergency kits to the Moroccan government.
Gerard Ruimy, one of the dozens of volunteers with GlobalMedic helping prepare kits for the victims on Saturday, said the disaster has directly affected him as he has family in Morocco.
"I haven't talked to any family members yet. But as far as I know, everything's okay so far," Ruimy said.
"I'm here to volunteer for whoever I can, whatever I can and do whatever I can for anybody. We try to provide the right aid at the right time for the right people."
Meanwhile, the CN Tower will be dimmed for five minutes at the top of each hour on Saturday evening for the victims of the earthquake.
- with files from The Associated Press
