A Two-day Pivot — From BRC to Helping Earthquake Victims in Morocco
Full story here by Kirsten Weisenburger
“Sometimes our Burner know-how comes in handy close to home. Other times, we get to apply our logistical and interpersonal learnings in response to faraway humanitarian crises.
Yasmine Elbaggari had a circuitous route to Burning Man. At 17, she moved from Morocco to Kansas as part of a program to break down cultural misconceptions. She eventually traveled to all 50 states, meeting with everyday Americans at every stop. Along her journey Yasmine came across Burners… and became one herself.
2023 marked Yasmine’s eighth BRC Burn — and her second year camping with BWB. “I go back every year to remind myself that this world of peace and connection and empathy and understanding is possible.” Her experiences led her to launch Voyaj, a global platform that connects like-hearted people through unique cultural experiences.
Fresh out of Black Rock City 2023, Yasmine received a call from her friend and fellow Burner Sam Bloch, who serves as Director Of Emergency Response for World Central Kitchen. A 6.8 magnitude earthquake had just destroyed hundreds of villages and displaced 300,000 people in Morocco. Could she jump on a plane and help deliver meals and ensure injured villagers were safely evacuated?
Yasmine didn’t hesitate to say yes. “If we don’t go do this kind of work, then what is the point? I really feel that we go to Burning Man to prepare for the world. That’s our one week where we get to build our resilience, build our capacity — emotional, spiritual, physical — to go back and serve in the world and be able to give back.”
Yasmine was in Morocco two days after leaving Black Rock City. She found herself in the remote Atlas Mountains, where villages had been leveled by the earthquake. “We were on the helicopter team… two helicopters going in because all the roads were completely destroyed… We ended up delivering over two million hot meals that month.”
Here, we’ve shared a few of the thousands of stories of Burning Man community members who have found their calling through learning skills and building community in Burning Man events around the world. We can’t even begin to quantify the accumulated impact that the Burning Man movement is having on the world today.
“It’s training the community in the field,” DA observed. “That perspective is one you can only get from doing it, and you understand what the impact is on a big level… and realize the work that you’re doing is magnificent and Herculean.”
