Egypt buries victims of Libya’s Storm Daniel, grants financial aid to families

As Egypt has been sending relief to Morocco and Libya in the wake of the huge earthquake that hit the former and the devastating storm that struck the latter, villages in Egypt bury victims of Derna disaster.

In Morocco, a 6.8 magnitude earthquake on 8 September left close to 3000 victims and 2560 injured, destroying homes and entire villages. In Libya, Storm Daniel ripped through the Mediterranean district of Derna; dams above Derna collapsed, “sweeping whole neighbourhoods with their residents into the sea”, according to Libyan officials. Some 5,000 lost their lives, and more than 10,000 are missing.

According to the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 84 Egyptians were identified among the Derna victims, but this is not the final toll, as work is still underway, the Ministry said, to find out the exact numbers of Egyptian victims.

Funerals

The bodies of the Egyptian Libya victims who were identified were shipped back to their hometowns in Egypt where their families buried them amid deep public mourning.

In Beni-Sweif, some 100km south of Cairo, the villagers in al-Sherif, Beba, held a mass funeral for 70 men who lost their lives in Derna. Thousands of villagers participated in the funeral as a long line of vehicles that carried the victims’ bodies stood by waiting for burial. The sound of crying and wailing filled the air.

One of the villagers, Ragab Mohamed, told Watani that some families lost two or three members who had been to Derna for work. The workers mostly worked in the field of construction, as builders, painters, carpenters, or concrete and steel workers. They all came from poor families and worked for a livelihood, leaving behind wives, small children, parents and siblings. Another villager, Hassan Amer , sadly said. “It is a true calamity; the victims are all between 18 and 30.”

Mourning

In the evening, a huge make-shift marquee was set up for the families to receive condolences. Beni-Sweif Governor, Mohamed Hany Ghoneim went to extend his and President Sisi’s condolences, and to promise the families of the deceased the support of the State and all its apparatuses. He promised the State’s help in tracking down the Egyptians who have been lost in the storm in Derna.

Governor Ghoneim also told the villagers that the Ministry of Social Solidarity was to pay out EGP100,000 for each of the deceased’s families, and EGP25,000 for each of those injured. The department of social solidarity in Beni-Sweif is currently preparing the lists of the deceased and injured to start paying out the compensations, and representatives of the Ministry have been offering the families psychological assistance ever since the crisis broke out.

In Beheira, west of the Nile Delta, the streets of Ramses village in Itay al-Baroud saw a huge funeral held for four villagers who had been victims of the storm. They had been living in Derna for several years, working in the construction industry; two of the victims were brothers. A delegation from the Beheira governorate as well as public leaders participated in the funeral.

Aid to victim families

The Ministry of Social Solidarity announced on 13 September that, as per directives of the political leadership, each family of Egyptian victims who lost their lives in Storm Daniel in Libya will receive EGP100,000, and that each of the injured will receive EGP25,000.

Furthermore, the Ministry announced that school and university students who lost their parents in the calamity would be exempted from paying tuitions for the upcoming academic year. The families will also receive monthly food assistance until their economic and social conditions stabilise, Minister of Social Solidarity Nivine El-Kabbaj said.

Relief for Libyans

Egypt had declared on 12 September, a three-day national mourning in solidarity with the victims of humanitarian disasters in Morocco and Libya.

As soon as the crisis hit in Libya, Egypt took immediate action to help, starting by establishing camps within the Western Military Zone to shelter Libyan victims who were left homeless due to the storm.

Furthermore, Egypt dispatched three military planes to Libya carrying humanitarian aid, including medications and medical supplies, in addition to an Egyptian aircraft dispatched to the Libyan coast to serve as a field hospital for the victims. Egypt has allocated EGP10 million to support Libya in the aftermath of the storm.