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Bahae Ddine El Idrissi Lamsarhri is one of the Moroccan students who decided to stay in Wuhan, the epicenter of the novel coronavirus. In January, he was offered to be repatriated to Morocco, alongside several students stranded in the city after it was locked down.
The international economics and trade student preferred to stay quarantined at his university’s dorm but for good reason. «When the virus started rapidly spreading, the university closed its doors and we were no longer allowed to go out», Bahae Ddine recalls.
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Speaking to Yabiladi through his campus room at the Hubei University of Technology (HBUT), the 19-year-old Moroccan said that after the outbreak he decided to venture into volunteering, at a time when his fellow classmates needed him.
«I was among the students who volunteered to manage the situation with the university’s administration amid the crisis», he proudly recalled. «I was in charge of the economic part, helping with the food and supplies at the campus», he explained.
Volunteering amid the crisis
Alongside ten other students, Bahae Ddine helped manage a small market at the campus for students stranded inside. «We did everything the right way (…) we wore special clothes and changed them every day to avoid infections and protect ourselves and other students and thankfully we did not record any case at the university», he declared.
Bahae Ddine recalls that during those critical days, he kept himself busy, which allowed him to steer away from the whole panic over the virus. «China helped me by giving me a chance to study at one of its best universities and I felt that I owed them (…) I had to help with what I had and it made me feel so proud», Bahae said.
«The university provided us with everything we needed, including the food and masks and even protective clothes», he explained.
During this period, other Moroccan students were getting ready to leave Wuhan. «I thought about it and said to myself why go there and put the life of my parents and family in jeopardy?», Bahae Ddine said.
«I spoke to my parents in Morocco and they advised me against going to the airport because that could be dangerous due to the number of passengers visiting everyday», he said. «But like other students, I handed my number to the embassy and when they called I said that I preferred to stay and they were very nice to me explaining that if I needed anything they would help at any moment», he added.
«There are family members who did not understand my decision and asked me to return, but when I explained the situation to my father and my mother, they were happy and they approved of it».
Fortunately, Bahae Ddine was able to survive the difficult days in Wuhan. Now the city is living better days after China declared that it had managed the situation. «Life is starting to get back to normal here in Wuhan. Although we are still studying online, we are allowed to go out and work but always by taking preventive measures and protecting ourselves», he happily announced.
As someone who lived in the epicenter of the coronavirus, Bahae Ddine said that his advice to Moroccans is to «trust the authorities and follow their recommendations».
«They should not panic», he stressed, adding that «by complying with the sanitary measures and recommendations, Moroccans can survive the crisis by staying indoors and taking care of their most vulnerable loved ones».
