AMIZMIZ, Morocco (AP) — An earthquake months ago left parts of her home cracked and crumbling, but Fatima Barri felt wrong spending Islam's holy month of Ramadan in a tent.
Thankful to be spared by the 6.8-magnitude quake that killed thousands around her in Morocco's Atlas Mountains, she stood in her damaged house and cooked the traditional meals to break the daily fasts. It felt safe enough, she said, until a 3.3-magnitude tremor rumbled through two weeks ago.
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AMIZMIZ, Morocco (AP) — An earthquake months ago left parts of her home cracked and crumbling, but Fatima Barri felt wrong spending Islam's holy month of Ramadan in a tent.
Workers clear the rubble left after the earthquake in Amizmiz, near Marrakech, Thursday, April 4, 2024. (AP Photo)
Khadija, a woman who was displaced by the earthquake stands outside her tend, in Amizmiz, near Marrakech, Thursday, April 4, 2024. (AP Photo)
Allal Oli Lahcen stands inside his tent after he was displaced by the earthquake, in Amizmiz, near Marrakech, Thursday, April 4, 2024. (AP Photo)
A man who has been displaced by the earthquake prepare Iftar to break his Ramadan fast with his family, in Amizmiz, near Marrakech, Thursday, April 4, 2024. (AP Photo)
Allal Oli Lahcen stands outside his tent after he was displaced by the earthquake, Amizmiz, near Marrakech, Thursday, April 4, 2024. (AP Photo)
Boys who have been displaced by the earthquake walk up a hill in their hometown of Amizmiz, near Marrakech, Thursday, April 4, 2024. (AP Photo)
Makeshift homes for people who have been displaced by the earthquake, in Douzrou, near Marrakech, Thursday, April 4, 2024. (AP Photo)
Khadija, a woman was was displaced by the earthquake prepares for Iftar to break her Ramadan fast in her tent, in Amizmiz, near Marrakech, Thursday, April 4, 2024. (AP Photo)
Allal Oli Lahcen stands outside his tent after he was displaced by the earthquake, Amizmiz, near Marrakech, Thursday, April 4, 2024. (AP Photo)
A view of homes which were destroyed by the earthquake in Atlas mountain village of Anerni, near Marrakech, Thursday, April 4, 2024. (AP Photo)
People who have been displaced by the earthquake prepare to host a group Iftar to break their Ramadan fast, in Amizmiz, near Marrakech, Thursday, April 4, 2024. (AP Photo)
People who have been displaced by the earthquake prepare to host a group Iftar to break their Ramadan fast, in Amizmiz, near Marrakech, Thursday, April 4, 2024. (AP Photo)
Fatima Barri, 57, prepares food to break her Ramadan fast in her home which was damaged by the earthquake last year, in Amizmiz, near Marrakech, Thursday, April 4, 2024. (AP Photo)
She was terrified, but stayed.
“It’s my house. I have nowhere else to go,” the 57-year-old mother of three said and shrugged.
Like many of her neighbors, she’s tired of waiting for normal life to resume. For months after the quake killed nearly 3,000 Moroccans in September, Barri stayed in a hot and stuffy government-provided tent.
For Ramadan, she and others honored their traditions amid the rubble, cooking tagine in clay pots and making bread and tea on their stoves. On Wednesday, as Eid al-Fitr began, the holiday mood for many Moroccans vacillated between festiveness and despair.
During the month of reflection, Barri appreciated the family and community gatherings as well as small pleasures like the mint and verbena she replanted in buckets near the debris on her roof.
Her community of Amizmiz is one of the larger towns shaken by the earthquake. Many people who had promised to stay and rebuild such communities have since moved to larger cities.
For Morocco, the task of rebuilding is daunting. The government estimates that more than 300,000 people were affected by the earthquake in Marrakech and the five hardest hit mountain provinces, where more than 4.2 million reside. There are plans to rebuild schools, roads and hospitals and help farmers who lost their herds.
The government has said it is committed to returning people to their homes and hopes the reconstruction will bring new development opportunities to a region that has long lacked the infrastructure of Morocco’s tourist hubs and coastal cities.
But on the ground, there is frustration.
Construction crews working to restore multi-story buildings for community associations are angry that they haven’t received more guidance from the government on how to build for future quakes. Untrained, they are stacking cinderblocks and plaster in the ruins of multi-story buildings.
A month after the disaster, protesters angry at local authorities and suspicious of corruption marched through the town demanding the promised government aid.
At the end of January, a government rebuilding commission said nearly 58,000 families had received monthly stipends of 2,500 dirhams — or $250 — and more than 20,000 households had received an initial installment of reconstruction assistance.
In total, officials have said rebuilding will cost 120 billion dirhams ($12 billion) and take about five years. International aid has been offered, including a $1.3 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund.
In Amizmiz, some residents said they were surviving on the monthly stipends and waiting on a larger sum promised for reconstruction. Many told The Associated Press they had received nothing at all.
Last month, the Moroccan Institute for Policy Analysis published survey data taken from October to December in which only 11% of people directly affected by the earthquake said they had received support from the government.
The most difficult to reach areas have faced more challenges.
In some villages, the government has used sheet metal and concrete to build barracks-style temporary homes. In Amizmiz there are only tents.
The community is proud of coming together to help one another. A community association, Alyatim, hosted nightly dinners serving up to 250 people breaking their Ramadan fasts.
“The help only comes from the associations. No help comes from the government,” said Abdelaziz Smina, a 50-year-old blacksmith.
Smina said local authorities told him that his cracked concrete home — currently held upright by wooden stilts — wasn’t damaged enough to qualify for aid. His neighbors have yet to receive assistance funds to allow them to buy metal doors from him for their own rebuilding.
But Smina and his family have seen Ramadan as a chance to reaffirm their faith in the face of disaster.
“It's all up to God,” he said.
A man drives a motorcycle through rubble left after the earthquake in Amizmiz, near Marrakech, Thursday, April 4, 2024. (AP Photo)
Workers clear the rubble left after the earthquake in Amizmiz, near Marrakech, Thursday, April 4, 2024. (AP Photo)
Khadija, a woman who was displaced by the earthquake stands outside her tend, in Amizmiz, near Marrakech, Thursday, April 4, 2024. (AP Photo)
Allal Oli Lahcen stands inside his tent after he was displaced by the earthquake, in Amizmiz, near Marrakech, Thursday, April 4, 2024. (AP Photo)
A man who has been displaced by the earthquake prepare Iftar to break his Ramadan fast with his family, in Amizmiz, near Marrakech, Thursday, April 4, 2024. (AP Photo)
Allal Oli Lahcen stands outside his tent after he was displaced by the earthquake, Amizmiz, near Marrakech, Thursday, April 4, 2024. (AP Photo)
Boys who have been displaced by the earthquake walk up a hill in their hometown of Amizmiz, near Marrakech, Thursday, April 4, 2024. (AP Photo)
Makeshift homes for people who have been displaced by the earthquake, in Douzrou, near Marrakech, Thursday, April 4, 2024. (AP Photo)
Khadija, a woman was was displaced by the earthquake prepares for Iftar to break her Ramadan fast in her tent, in Amizmiz, near Marrakech, Thursday, April 4, 2024. (AP Photo)
Allal Oli Lahcen stands outside his tent after he was displaced by the earthquake, Amizmiz, near Marrakech, Thursday, April 4, 2024. (AP Photo)
A view of homes which were destroyed by the earthquake in Atlas mountain village of Anerni, near Marrakech, Thursday, April 4, 2024. (AP Photo)
People who have been displaced by the earthquake prepare to host a group Iftar to break their Ramadan fast, in Amizmiz, near Marrakech, Thursday, April 4, 2024. (AP Photo)
People who have been displaced by the earthquake prepare to host a group Iftar to break their Ramadan fast, in Amizmiz, near Marrakech, Thursday, April 4, 2024. (AP Photo)
Fatima Barri, 57, prepares food to break her Ramadan fast in her home which was damaged by the earthquake last year, in Amizmiz, near Marrakech, Thursday, April 4, 2024. (AP Photo)
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Workers, activists and others in Asian capitals and European cities took to the streets on Wednesday to mark May Day with protests over rising prices and government labor polices and calls for greater labor rights.
May Day, which falls on May 1, is observed in many countries to celebrate workers’ rights. May Day events have also given many an opportunity to air general economic grievances or political demands.
Police in Istanbul detained dozens of people who tried to reach the central Taksim Square in defiance of a government ban on marking Labor Day at the landmark location.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government has long declared Taksim off-limits for rallies and demonstrations on security grounds, but some political parties and trade unions have vowed to march to the square, which holds symbolic value for labor unions.
In 1977, unidentified gunmen opened fire on a May Day celebration at Taksim, causing a stampede and killing 34 people.
On Wednesday, police erected barricades and sealed off all routes leading to the central Istanbul square. Public transport in the area was also restricted. Only a small group of trade union representatives was permitted to enter the square to lay a wreath at a monument in memory of victims of the 1977 incident.
Riot police apprehended some 30 members of the left-wing People’s Liberation Party who tried to break through the barriers.
In Indonesia, workers voiced anger at a new law they said violates their rights and hurts their welfare, and demanded protections for migrant workers abroad and a minimum wage raise.
About 50,000 workers from Jakarta’s satellite cities of Bogor, Depok, Tangerang and Bekasi were expected to join May Day marches in the capital, said Said Iqbal, the president of the Confederation of Indonesian Trade Unions.
They gathered amid a tight police presence near the National Monument park, waving the colorful flags of labor groups and chanting slogans against the Job Creation Law and loosened outsourcing rules during a march to Jakarta’s main sports stadium, Gelora Bung Karno.
“With the enactment of this law, our future is uncertain because many problems arise in wages, severance pay and the contract system,” said Isbandi Anggono, a protester.
Indonesia’s parliament last year ratified a government regulation that replaces a controversial law on job creation, but critics said it still benefits businesses. The law was intended to cut bureaucracy as part of President Joko Widodo’s efforts to attract more investment to the country, which is Southeast Asia's largest economy.
In Seoul, the South Korean capital, thousands of protesters sang, waved flags and shouted pro-labor slogans at the start of their rally on Wednesday. Organizers said their rally was primarily meant to step up their criticism of what they call anti-labor policies pursued by the conservative government led by President Yoon Suk Yeol.
“In the past two years under the Yoon Suk Yeol government, the lives of our laborers have plunged into despair,” Yang Kyung-soo, leader of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, which organized the rally, said in a speech. “We can't overlook the Yoon Suk Yeol government. We'll bring them down from power for ourselves.”
KCTU union members decried Yoon’s December veto of a bill aimed at limiting companies’ rights to seek compensation for damages caused by strikes by labor unions. They also accuse Yoon’s government of handling the 2022 strikes by truckers too aggressively and insulting construction sector workers whom authorities believed were involved in alleged irregular activities.
Since taking office in 2022, Yoon has pushed for labor reforms to support economic growth and job creation. His government has vowed to sternly deal with illegal strikes and demand more transparent accounting records from labor unions.
“The remarkable growth of the Republic of Korea was thanks to the sweat and efforts of our workers. I thank our 28.4 million workers,” Yoon said in a May Day message posted on Facebook. “My government and I will protect the precious value of labor.”
Seoul rally participants later marched through downtown streets. Similar May Day rallies were held in more than 10 locations across South Korea on Wednesday. Police said they had mobilized thousands of officers to maintain order, but there were no immediate reports of violence.
In Japan, more than 10,000 people gathered at Yoyogi park in downtown Tokyo for a May Day event, demanding salary increases that they said could sufficiently set off price increases. During the rally, Masako Obata, the leader of the left-leaning National Confederation of Trade Unions, said that dwindling wages have put many workers in Japan under severe living conditions and widened income disparities.
“On this May Day, we unite with our fellow workers around the world standing up for their rights,” she said, shouting “banzai!" or long life, to all workers.
In the Philippine capital, Manila, hundreds of workers and left-wing activists marched and held a rally in the scorching summer heat to demand wage increases and job security amid soaring food and oil prices.
Riot police stopped the protesting workers from getting close to the presidential palace. Waving red flags and holding up posters that read: “We work to live, not to die” and “Lower prices, increase salaries,” the protesters rallied in the street, where they chanted and delivered speeches about the difficulties faced by Filipino laborers.
Poor drivers joined the protest and called to end a government modernization program they fear would eventually lead to the removal of their dilapidated jeepneys, a main mode of public transport, from Manila’s streets.
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Associated Press journalists Niniek Karmini in Jakarta, Suzan Fraser in Ankara, Turkey, Mari Yamaguchi in Tokyo and VJ Basilio Sepe in Manila contributed to this report.
Russia's Emergency Situations Ministry female cadets march during a rehearsal for the Victory Day military parade which will take place at Dvortsovaya (Palace) Square on May 9 to celebrate 79 years after the victory in World War II in St. Petersburg, Russia, Tuesday, April 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky)
A pigeon passes by during a rehearsal for the Victory Day military parade which will take place at Dvortsovaya (Palace) Square on May 9 to celebrate 79 years after the victory in World War II in St. Petersburg, Russia, Tuesday, April 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky)
Servicewomen march during a rehearsal for the Victory Day military parade which will take place at Dvortsovaya (Palace) Square on May 9 to celebrate 79 years after the victory in World War II in St. Petersburg, Russia, Tuesday, April 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky)
Honour guard soldiers march during a rehearsal for the Victory Day military parade which will take place at Dvortsovaya (Palace) Square on May 9 to celebrate 79 years after the victory in World War II in St. Petersburg, Russia, Tuesday, April 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky)
Workers march during a May Day rally in Jakarta, Indonesia, Wednesday, May 1, 2024. Thousands of workers urged the government to raise minimum wages and improve working condition. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)
People walk towards the site of a May Day rally in Tokyo, Wednesday, May 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)
Taiwanese workers hold slogans reading "Congress amended the law to support workers' rights" and ''The regime has no honeymoon'' during a May Day rally in Taipei, Taiwan, Wednesday, May 1, 2024. Thousands of protesters from different labor groups protest on the street to ask for labor rights and interests. (AP Photo/Chiang Ying-ying)
Members of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions shout slogans during a rally on May Day in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, May 1, 2024. Workers, activists and others in Asian capitals took to the streets on Wednesday to mark May Day with protests over rising prices and governments' labor polices and calls for greater labor rights. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
Members of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions gather to attend a rally on May Day in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, May 1, 2024. Workers, activists and others in Asian capitals took to the streets on Wednesday to mark May Day with protests over rising prices and governments' labor polices and calls for greater labor rights. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
Anti riot police officers stand guard blocking the route to protesters as Union members march during Labor Day celebrations in Istanbul, Turkey, Wednesday, May 1, 2024. Police in Istanbul detained dozens of people who tried to reach the city's main square, Taksim, in defiance of a government ban on celebrating May 1 Labor Day at the landmark location. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel)
Anti riot police officers stand guard blocking the route to protesters as Union members march during Labor Day celebrations in Istanbul, Turkey, Wednesday, May 1, 2024. Police in Istanbul detained dozens of people who tried to reach the city's main square, Taksim, in defiance of a government ban on celebrating May 1 Labor Day at the landmark location. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel)
Union members scuffle with Turkish police officers as they march during Labor Day celebrations in Istanbul, Turkey, Wednesday, May 1, 2024. Police in Istanbul detained dozens of people who tried to reach the city's main square, Taksim, in defiance of a government ban on celebrating May 1 Labor Day at the landmark location. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)
A union member scuffles with plainclothes policemen as he marches with others during Labor Day celebrations in Istanbul, Turkey, Wednesday, May 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)
A man with a flag of a local workers group waits for a May Day rally to start in Tokyo, Wednesday, May 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)
People clap hands as they hear a speaker during a May Day rally in Tokyo, Wednesday, May 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)
People walk towards the site of a May Day rally in Tokyo, Wednesday, May 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)
Masako Obata, president of Japan's National Confederation of Trade Unions, also known as Zenroren, speaks during a May Day rally in Tokyo, Wednesday, May 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)
People listen to a speaker during a May Day rally in Tokyo, Wednesday, May 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)
Participants march after a May Day rally in Tokyo, Wednesday, May 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)
Participants march after a May Day rally in Tokyo, Wednesday, May 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)
People listen to a speaker during a May Day rally in Tokyo, Wednesday, May 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)
Participants prepare for a march after a May Day rally in Tokyo, Wednesday, May 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)
Participants march after a May Day rally in Tokyo, Wednesday, May 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)
Members of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions gather to attend a rally on May Day in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, May 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
Members of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions gather to attend a rally on May Day in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, May 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
Members of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions gather to attend a rally on May Day in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, May 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
Filipino activists march towards the U.S. Embassy during a protest to mark International Labor Day in Manila, Philippines on Wednesday, May 1, 2024. Hundreds of Filipino workers from various labor groups took to the streets to mark Labor Day and demand a wage increase and job security amid soaring food and oil prices. (AP Photo/Basilio Sepe)
Policemen try to block activists as they tried to march towards the U.S. Embassy during a protest to mark International Labor Day in Manila, Philippines on Wednesday, May 1, 2024. Hundreds of Filipino workers from various labor groups took to the streets to mark Labor Day and demand a wage increase and job security amid soaring food and oil prices. (AP Photo/Basilio Sepe)
Filipino workers carry streamers and posters during a protest to mark International Labor Day near the presidential palace in Manila, Philippines on Wednesday, May 1, 2024. Hundreds of Filipino workers from various labor groups took to the streets to mark Labor Day and demand a wage increase and job security amid soaring food and oil prices. (AP Photo/Basilio Sepe)
A man carries a poster during a protest to mark International Labor Day near the presidential palace in Manila, Philippines on Wednesday, May 1, 2024. Hundreds of Filipino workers from various labor groups took to the streets to mark Labor Day and demand a wage increase and job security amid soaring food and oil prices. (AP Photo/Basilio Sepe)
Filipino workers carry streamers and posters during a protest to mark International Labor Day near the presidential palace in Manila, Philippines on Wednesday, May 1, 2024. Hundreds of Filipino workers from various labor groups took to the streets to mark Labor Day and demand a wage increase and job security amid soaring food and oil prices. (AP Photo/Basilio Sepe)
