While the world is sharing Morocco’s grief following the death of five-year-old Rayan, the Algerian government has sent no condolences or sympathy to the Moroccan people or the family of the deceased child.
In the past few days, Morocco received an outpouring of condolences and heartfelt messages of solidarity from world leaders, celebrities, and ordinary people.
It has been four days since Rayan died, yet Algeria’s government has shared no official or unofficial statements on the sad event.
Algeria’s news agency APS did not even cover Rayan’s tragic story. In its “world news” section, APS only shared pro-Polisario propaganda against Morocco’s sovereignty over Western Sahara.
In another news in that section, Algeria’s news agency covered the rate of unemployment in Morocco, blatantly ignoring Rayan’s case amid international solidarity and support.
Rayan fell in a 32-meter well on February 1. Due to the narrowness of the shaft, it took rescuers four days of sleepless and heroic work to pull the five-year-old child out of the well.
The boy was pronounced dead when rescuers finally reached him on February 5, and news of his sad passing sparked an outpouring of messages of support and sympathy from the four corners of the world.
In addition to football stars and other celebrities, Pope Francis and France’s Emmanuel Macron were among the large number of world leaders who joined Morocco and Rayan’s bereaved family in mourning the death of the five-year-old boy.
On February 7, the US State Department released a communique lauding Morocco’s rescue efforts and shared the country’s sorrow.
“Today, we grieve with the people of Morocco as they mourn the passing of five-year-old Rayan Oram, who died tragically after falling into a well in the country’s northern region last week – despite a heroic four-day rescue operation,” State Department spokesperson Ned Price said.
Like millions around the world, many in the US were “awed” by the dedication of the rescue team and the solidarity the Moroccan people showed as news emerged of Rayan’s plight, Price noted.
“We offer our deepest condolences to Rayan’s family and all Moroccans,” he said.
Countries such as the UAE, Israel, the UK, Egypt, among many have shared cables of condolences with Morocco. But the Algerian regime appeared untouched and has remained conspicuously silent, despite messages of wholehearted sympathy and solidarity from Algerian people.
Meanwhile, Morocco’s government showed full support after the wildfires that hit Algeria’s Kabylie region in August 2021.
King Mohammed VI personally instructed the government to express Morocco’s readiness to assist Algeria in putting out the forest fires and helping in attendant relief efforts.
In line with the King’s instructions, the Moroccan Ministry of Foreign Affairs extended to the Algerian government Morocco’s offer to send two firefighting jets to help extinguish the Kabylie forest fires and participate in rescue operations.
But Algiers ignored Morocco’s helping hand and, mere days later, the Algerian government announced its decision to sever relations with Rabat while strangely accusing Morocco of causing the wildfires to undermine Algerian security and interests.
