A tense confrontation unfolded in the cyclone-ravaged neighbourhoods of Mayotte on Friday, as angry residents confronted French President Emmanuel Macron during his tour of the devastated Indian Ocean territory.
“Seven days and you’re not able to give water to the population!” Reuters reports that one resident shouted at Macron in the Tsingoni neighbourhood, where people sweltered in the heat without basic provisions nearly a week after Cyclone Chido struck the French overseas territory.
The devastation, Reuters reveals, has been catastrophic. While officials have only confirmed 31 deaths, fears run deeper, with some suggesting thousands may have perished in France’s poorest overseas territory. In the hillside shantytowns, home to undocumented migrants, rescue workers have yet to reach some of the worst-affected areas, their flimsy huts bearing the full brunt of the most severe storm to hit Mayotte in 90 years.
Reuters describes a particularly poignant moment when a 70-year-old woman offered Macron a blessing, patting him on the head, even as others in the crowd demanded his resignation. The previous evening, Reuters reports, Macron had responded testily to protesters, declaring, “You are happy to be in France. If it wasn’t for France, you would be 10,000 times worse off.”
The human toll of the disaster comes alive through Reuters’ reporting of Ali Djimoi, a resident of the Kaweni shantytown near the capital Mamoudzou. He told Reuters that eight people in his immediate neighbourhood had perished, with two being hastily buried near a mosque. “The water running out the pipes – even if it’s working you can’t drink it, it comes out dirty,” he said.
According to Reuters, the catastrophe has laid bare Mayotte’s deep-seated challenges. Three out of four residents live below the national poverty line in this territory, which lies some 8,000 kilometres from metropolitan France. The situation is further complicated by the presence of undocumented migrants from Comoros, Madagascar, and other countries, making the true population count uncertain beyond the official figure of 321,000.
Reuters reports that help is finally arriving, with Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau announcing the distribution of 80 tons of food and 50 tons of water. European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen has confirmed additional aid from Germany, Belgium, Sweden, and Italy, including tents and beds for the homeless.
The cyclone’s destructive path, Reuters notes, extended beyond Mayotte, claiming at least 73 lives in Mozambique and 13 in Malawi after reaching continental Africa, marking one of the region’s most devastating natural disasters in recent memory.
