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Rabat – As rescue operations are ongoing in Tamorot, in Morocco’s Chefchaouen, many Moroccans are waiting with bated breath to learn more updates about the case of a five-year-old boy trapped in a narrowed well since February 1.
The rescue operations have entered the third day, with heavy machinery equipment digging near the 32-meter hole to find a way out and save Rayane’s life.
The case of the little boy has shifted from local news to international headlines. Many people across the world are sharing hashtags and supportive messages not only to Rayane’s family but also to members of the civil protection services.
Amid an outpouring of support and solidarity, questions on wells and risks that such infrastructures pose to children and adults are also among the concerns of Moroccans observing the situation.
The ongoing rescue operation is at the top of people’s minds who continue to discuss the topic at breakfast or while watching televised or online updates about Rayane’s case.
Like any other country, well-drilling operations in Morocco can only legally be conducted in line with legal procedures.
However, many if not hundreds of local reports have highlighted the building or construction of wells or water holes without taking into account proper safety measures.
According to Morocco’s judiciary, the drilling and finishing work on wells and holes has to take place by taking into account legal regulations and requirements.
Morocco’s law emphasized that the required documents include a request from the party seeking to drill a well or a hole. The specifications stipulate that the applicant also has to present a document approving that he or she has the right to use the lands that will host the infrastructure.
The document also has to include a design showing waterpoints.
Parties seeking to drill wells need to file their applications to the water basin agency or the directorate in charge of water management in the region or province they live in.
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The deadline needed to carry out the legal procedure is 40 days.
Fees people pay to complete the application to water basins in accordance with the board of directors range between MAD 400 and MAD 1,000.
Who shares responsibility?
While information about the legal procedures to drill wells and holes seem to be available online, the reality of people drilling such infrastructure without permission remains prevalent.
Several reports have put the spotlight on the situation of the drilling of wells operating without permission across the country.
Last year in April, locals in a town in the Taroudant province filed a complaint about the drilling of a well without permission.
The complaint was against a local who drilled the well, with complainants accusing him of exploiting water that many residents use.
In the Souss-Massa region, citizens in the Ait Chtouka Baha also filed complaints against investors in the agriculture sector who drilled wells for irrigation without any permission. The locals warned that such drilling could drain the water infrastructure in the region.
While information is lacking about the details of the well, concerns regarding the dangers posed by water holes, such as the hole Rayane is trapped in, are emerging.
A source told Morocco World News that the well belongs to Rayane’s father’s side of the family. Rayane fell in the well while he was playing around the hole.
The Moroccan penal code stipulates that drilling wells without permission can lead to prison sentences for wrongful deaths and fees.
Prison sentences can reach up to five years.
Moroccan lawyer Mohammed Almou told MWN in a statement that both local authorities and Rayane’s father share responsibility in the case.
“Deserted or illegal wells and holes pose a real threat to people’s safety. This is the major point that should be discussed and addressed overall. The current case of Rayane is not the first of its kind. I witnessed a similar case in Khmisset in 2008,” the lawyer said.
Almou argued that anyone who committed an act of omission shares the responsibility, including the father.
It is necessary for anyone to mark the hole with cautionary signs to alert people of the danger they could face, the lawyer said stressing that “Anyone who commits an act or omission should be held accountable for endangering somebody’s else life.”
For the lawyer, public authorities also have to be more vigilant and put in place proactive measures to protect citizens’ lives, including children who are more likely to be in danger.
“The authorities should detect all holes, wells, or any other infrastructure issues that could endanger people’s lives. Authorities should also put in place firm and strict measures against anyone who violates the law,” he said.
Bouchra Abdou, a Moroccan human rights activist shared the same sentiment, emphasizing the urgency to tackle such fragile infrastructure.
Abdou, who is the president of the Association Tahhadi for Equality and Citizenship, told MWN that social networks and media played a substantial role to put the spotlight not only on Rayane’s case but also on the infrastructure issues that plagues some towns and major cities.
The family of the child, as well as local authorities who secure seats in communes and provinces both share responsibility, Abdou said.
She emphasized that similar cases happen repeatedly across the country, particularly in smaller towns.
“Authorities have to set up monitoring committees to supervise similar infrastructures that can hurt not only children but also elderly and adults.”
A similar debate has previously emerged after the death of miners in illegal mining wells in the province of Jerada in eastern Morocco. .
In December 2017, the death of two miners in the region made headlines. Another similar incident took place a year later in November 2018 after a 25-year-old man died in a mine collapse.
In 2019, the Moroccan government announced that authorities closed 2,000 abandoned and illicitly exploited shafts in Jerada.
The government vowed to close more shafts throughout the years.
Divided opinions on civil protection efforts
The debate about the efforts and capacity the country has deployed to save Rayan has divided public opinion.
While some criticize the government efforts, others feel support and solidarity for professionals and volunteers deployed in the region is necessary at such a critical time.
“As I am watching the updates on the rescue operation of Rayane near Chefchaouen, I noticed that a lot of people share sarcasm about the efforts made by civil protection, topographers, and local authorities. Those people do not know and are not aware of how the operation is hard. It is easy to express your opinions but it is hard for everyone engaged in the situation,” one Facebook user said.
Citizens and international observers are using the hashtag #SaveRayan on all major social media platforms. Others are sending encouraging messages to civil protection services and local authorities, who have been deployed in the region for drilling work since February 2.
Another Facebook user also paid tribute to all people, including Royal Gendarmerie and topographers, as well as the volunteers who are working without rest to rescue Rayane.
British ambassador to Morocco Simon Martin similarly expressed support for the emergency services who are working “so bravely” to rescue the little boy.
Other internet users and media shared their compassion with families and responded to critics by emphasizing that other country’s emergency services similarly face challenges during rescue operations across the world.
Celebrities, such as football stars such as Achraf Hakimi, Riyadh Mehrez, Herve Renard, and Yassine Bounou, have all expressed support for Rayane’s case.
Other international artists, including Lebanese star Wael Jassar, have all expressed support and solidarity with the family of Rayane on their social media accounts.
