In the remote village of Algou, nestled high in the Atlas Mountains, cries for help emanated from the debris immediately following the earthquake. However, as time passed and no specialized rescue teams arrived to aid the desperate villagers, those cries faded into eerie silence.

Three days later, the first professional rescuers, Spanish firefighters, finally reached the devastated community. Their hope was that it wasn't too late, but their experience soon dashed those hopes. Traversing through streets and archways reduced to rubble, they could discern no signs of life.

Even their trained dogs, Igor and Teddy, who were trained to bark at signs of life, remained eerily silent.

Juan Lopez, a firefighter who had responded to his second earthquake, compared this situation to their previous mission in Turkey, where the international response had led to remarkable rescues even days after the quake. He noted the difference in building materials; Moroccan homes were constructed from rocks, whereas Turkish ones were reinforced with steel, making survival more unlikely in Algou.

"We won't find anyone here," Juan concluded, a sentiment echoed by his colleagues.

The team moved on to the next village, Ait Hmid, which was situated precariously on the mountainside. Now, it was a heap of collapsed bricks and stones, once home to 28 people, of whom only seven survived.

At the top of the debris pile, Omar Ait Mahdi stared blankly across the valley. Behind him, a group of men toiled with tools and their bare hands. Omar's wife was in the hospital, and he had yet to locate his two daughters, Hanane, 17, and Khadija, 14. Suddenly, there was a flurry of activity and prayers.

The girls' bodies had been found.

As blankets and a stretcher were brought up to the summit of the wreckage, Omar quietly expressed his plea for help, stating, "I want people to assist me. I want the world to lend a hand. I've lost my children, my home, everything I had."

Pressure mounted on Moroccan authorities to accept aid from more nations, as assistance had thus far only been accepted from four countries, with France and Germany being among those declined.

Hanane and Khadija's uncle, Hamid, arrived to offer comfort, but he too was overwhelmed with tears.

"We desperately need assistance, from anyone willing to provide it," Hamid implored.