10 | SEPTEMBER 21 • 2023 

column

On the Ground in Morocco: 
Sharing Hope, Paving the Way
I 

was asked to join a jump 
team of first responders 
heading to Morocco 
to provide initial medical 
treatment and assess how the 
organization I 
volunteer for, 
United Hatzalah, 
could best assist 
survivors of the 
earthquake that 
killed more than 
2,800 people — 
and counting.
As a paramedic and 
volunteer first responder 
who is always on call, I’m 
used to dropping everything 
— but this emergency was 
a lot bigger than the ones 
I’m usually called to, which 
at most involve a handful 
of patients. The situation 
in Morocco involves a large 
segment of the country’s 
population. How could I not 
help? I immediately packed a 
bag.

As the town where I live, 
Kanaf, is in the far north of 
Israel, I only had about 30 
minutes from the time I got 
the call to leave for the airport; 
the jump team was to depart 
that night. 
Everything was moving very 
quickly, there was no time to 
absorb information or prepare 
for what was ahead. We had 
very little information to go 
on until we hit the ground in 
Morocco. Leaving my family 
behind, and calling out of 
work for a week, was a bit 
surreal, but I knew people 
needed help, so that’s what I 
did. 
We arrived in Marrakesh 
after a stopover in Europe. 
The jump team’s goal was to 
meet with community leaders 
and government officials 
and map out where help was 
most needed. This was done 
in order to pave the way for a 
much larger team, should one 
be needed.
From what we have seen so 
far, the need here is great, and 
everyone we meet is thankful 
that we came to help. In spite 
of the stress and tragedy of the 
situation, I’m happy to be here 
to pave the way for a larger 
team, to enable them to reach 
more people, more efficiently. 
As we travel through the 
mountain villages to the 
southwest of Marrakesh, 
areas local teams haven’t 
been able to reach yet, we 
are gaining a much greater 
understanding of what’s 
needed here. We focused 
on these areas specifically 

because other agencies haven’t 
been here yet, and there 
are no local hospitals in the 
region. We’ve gained a much 
greater understanding of their 
immediate basic needs and 
are trying to provide as best 
we can, while connecting the 
individuals we help with local 
resources. 
The overall impression I 
am left with, based on my 
interactions with all those I’ve 
met with and helped thus far, 
is one of simple shock. The 
people here lost everything, 
including their homes, in a 
matter of seconds.
We learned of one such 
family from a representative of 
the local Jewish community in 
Marrakesh. The family, whose 
home was in the old city, 
had been left with nothing. 
Some family members were 
in shock, while others were 
strong and resilient; the head 
of the household had still 

opened his store, despite 
losing his house.
We worked with the 
family to help them process 
the situation and made 
sure to connect them with 
local resources — but those 
resources are spread thin. 
Outside help is needed, and 
we relayed that back to our 
teams in Israel.
I hope that in the coming 
days, we are able to reach 
many others and that our 
second and much larger team 
will arrive soon to continue 
and widen the scope of the 
work we have begun. I am 
proud to be here to share hope 
with the survivors and pave 
the way for additional aid for 
them. 

Erez Gollan is a volunteer paramedic 

from Kanaf in Israel’s Golan Heights. 

He works as a clinical medical 

researcher and is married with two chil-

dren. He was born in Israel but spent 

his teenage years in South Africa.

PURELY COMMENTARY

Erez Gollan
JNS.org

United Hatzalah volunteer Erez Gollan works with local community 
members in earthquake-stricken Marrakesh, Sept. 10, 2023. 

United Hatzalah on the ground 
in quake-stricken Morocco, Sept. 
11, 2023

