Mayotte: Rebuilding after the cyclone Chido

When Cyclone Chido hit Mayotte on December 14, it swept across the archipelago and caused considerable damage, both material and, above all, human, exacerbating an already record-breaking poverty situation. Faced with difficulties accessing healthcare and immense psychological needs, the Doctors of the World team on the ground adapted its health outreach program to respond to the emergency.

The heat is overwhelming. The narrow streets of Mamoudzou are gradually filling up despite the early hour. Passersby step over debris piled on the side of the roads in places, but at first glance, one might think that the French department has rebuilt itself and no longer bears the scars of the natural disaster. Yet, if you keep your eyes peeled, you’ll quickly notice the shaky signs, the boats stranded on the banks of the Mozambique Channel, and the letters flying off the signs of stores and institutional buildings. Near the ferry terminal, a landfill is overflowing with debris caused by the cyclone’s destruction, a veritable monster of waste, sheet metal, unusable household appliances, and car wrecks. These are all signs that reveal the extent of the damage, although the lush nature partially masks the material damage six months after the disaster. No, reconstruction hasn’t taken place. And the aftermath of the cyclone is still very much alive.

While the entire island was affected by flooding, power outages, and difficulties accessing water and food for several weeks, the consequences were most severe for the inhabitants of the shantytowns in the hills of Mayotte. After reaching a very large number of people during health outreach campaigns in the months following Chido, Doctors of the World refocused its efforts on these particularly vulnerable populations almost a month ago, in Longoni and Dzoumogné.

The After-Shock 

Ahmed, in his sixties, lives with his family in one of the highest bangas in the Dzoumogné neighborhood. Sitting on the floor of this barely 4m² sheet metal hut, which had just been rebuilt, he says:  “The ceiling was ripped off. I, who am no longer afraid of anything, thought the sheets were going to fall on the back of my neck and kill me instantly.”

Chido remains a trauma, especially in people’s minds. Everything happened so quickly. The day before the cataclysm, shelters were not operational, and warnings did not reach the populations furthest from the bustling cities. Many were at home, first stunned and then frightened by the force of the wind and the massive destruction. Now supported by Doctors of the World, Ahmed has had a leg amputated and suffers from several chronic illnesses. “After the cyclone, I went a month without treatment for my blood pressure. I took a friend’s medication, but I couldn’t take it every day,” he recalls.

Adding to the difficulties of accessing care was the lack of food. “There were times when Ahmed didn’t dare take his medication because he hadn’t eaten: he lived on one meal a day, in the evening. Aid and food distributions didn’t reach him,” adds Mohammed El-Hadi Moiouya, a social worker at Doctors of the World.

Today, the team meets him directly at his home because his dizziness prevents him from descending the steep dirt roads that lead to the association’s bi-monthly medical-social clinic. As soon as the team managed to reconnect with him, as with other beneficiaries, the health supervisor immediately arranged an appointment with specialists so Ahmed could reintegrate into the healthcare system.

Process of Rebuilding

After the tragedy, the priority was to find shelter. Difficulties accessing water and food came next. “These problems, which had already been present for three years, were exacerbated,” laments Géromine Gouleau, health mediator for Doctors of the World in Mayotte. “It was very complicated to find drinking water. We feared a resurgence of numerous waterborne diseases like cholera.”

In this context, Doctors of the World is conducting a health mediation and awareness program on the risks of waterborne diseases, one of the main focuses of which is reaching out to people who have lost access to care. “We seek to maintain the connection, create contact, and ensure that they can regain access to care,” explains Géromine.

The task is proving complicated. The island’s health centers are few in number and often overwhelmed due to a lack of caregivers, and paid consultations are too expensive for people who earn less than one euro a day. Adding to these difficulties is the increase in the number of police checks around health centers since the cyclone. The fear of expulsion is constant, even though Chido destroyed all the belongings of those who already had little, including the papers needed for people seeking regularization. “Chido revealed the dysfunctions and problems that were already present in Mayotte,” Géromine laments.

The presence of associations is now a necessity on the island. “It’s only thanks to Doctors of the World that I can go to the hospital and have access to my treatment; I wouldn’t be able to get treatment for myself or my children otherwise,” says Saindou, a mother regularly monitored by Doctors of the World teams. Despite the difficulties, employees and peer volunteers alike remain mobilized, aware of the collective interest of their mission. In the coming months, they will deploy support actions in sexual and reproductive health and mental health. Because the reconstruction of Mayotte must also involve the reconstruction of its inhabitants.

Testimonial : Mohammed El-Hadi Moiouya, Social Worker

“Mayotte is the 101st French department, and it’s also the poorest. It’s a laboratory for restrictive and dysfunctional social policies, where benefits are not aligned with those of other departments. In this context, Cyclone Chido was devastating. An upheaval that was material, institutional, political, and social.

The people we meet while out patrolling slums or at medical and social services are still deeply scarred, nearly six months later. The aftereffects are evident on their faces. They have lost loved ones, their homes, and are struggling to access water. Faced with this distress, the authorities’ only response is to repress rights: birthright citizenship, for example, has just been restricted in Mayotte, an exception in France.

Doctors of the World’s intervention in Mayotte is crucial. We reach out to people who receive no consideration from the state. The association makes no distinctions: everyone must have the right to receive treatment, guidance, or support.”

Photographs:

1. Olivier Borson
2. Fiora Garenzi