Morocco Mourns Rayan Oram, The 5-year-old Boy Dead In A Well
Plus: Tunisian President Saied dissolves judicial council, Israeli high-tech companies are worried over the Russia-Ukraine crisis, China cooperates with other countries to target Uyghurs, and more.
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Morocco
On Tuesday, February 2, Moroccan 5 years old Rayan Oram fell into a 32-meter (105-feet) well in the village of Ighran. Rescue worked tirelessly to save him, using a rope to send oxygen and water down to the boy as well as a camera to monitor him.
But Saturday, February 6, hopes faded away. Rayan died after four days of being trapped in the deep well. After a lengthy operation that captivated global attention, he was pulled out Saturday night by rescuers. His parents had been escorted to an ambulance before the boy emerged.
Rayan's father, Khaled Oram, said he had been repairing the well, close to the family home, when his son fell in. Rescue workers used bulldozers, and front-end loaders excavated the surrounding red earth down to the level where the boy was trapped before drill teams carefully dug a horizontal tunnel to reach him from the side to avoid causing a landslide.
Vast crowds came to offer their support, singing and praying to encourage the rescuers who worked around the clock. But the boy's death left Morocco and the Arab world in shock.
Messages of support, concern, and grief for the boy and his family poured in from around the world as the news of Rayan's death.
Condolences to the parents came from Morocco's King Mohammed VI, Pope Francis, French President Emmanuel Macron, Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum and others.
On Monday, February 7, hundreds of mourners climbed the hilly to the cemetery in Ighran in Chefchaouen province in northern Morocco. They waited for hours for the funeral to observe the Muslim burial rituals.
Following the death of a 5-year-old boy, Algeria launched a campaign to cover wells nationwide.
Source: Al-Jazeera and others.
Tunisia
Tunisian President Kais Saied dissolved on Sunday, February 6, a judicial council that deals with the independence of judges after he dismissed the government and suspended parliament last July. He also accused council members of taking "billions" in bribes and delaying politically sensitive investigations. Judges associations, civil society groups, opposition parties, rights groups, Western donors, and U.N. agencies have all criticized his move. Many judges are also protesting, partially shutting down the justice system planning a street demonstration, and rallying support from civil society groups. Rights groups fear that dissolving the Supreme Judicial Council could represent the precursor to a more thorough crackdown on dissent. Read more on Reuters.
Israel
As tensions between Russia and Ukraine intensify, Israeli high-tech companies are worried over the safety of thousands of Ukrainian programmers. The conflict between Russia and Ukraine is causing problems for Israeli high-tech firms, which rely on around 20,000 Ukrainian employees, who work as programmers directly with Israeli high-tech companies, and several thousand more freelancers and people providing support services to the high-tech centers where these workers are located. Many native Russian and (or) Ukrainian speakers already work in high-tech in Israel. Ukrainian workers are skilled and highly educated and work for as little as half the salary of their counterparts in Israel or the U.S. Several Israeli companies opened branch offices and programming centers in Ukrainian cities, such as Kharkiv, Donetsk, and Kyiv. Read the full article on Al-Monitor.
China and the Uyghurs
Chinese agents and police routinely operate in other countries, attempting to identify Uyghurs who have fled China, Sky News investigation found on Wednesday, February 9. Some are coerced into spying for the Chinese government. Others, once detained in a third country, vanish. China's Uighur minority, originating from the Xinjiang region, has been in the international spotlight in recent years after mounting evidence has come to light that they are subjected to mass detention, forced labor, and sterilization in re-education camps run by the Chinese government. Read the full investigation here.
Lebanon
Lebanon's economic meltdown leads to dozens of Lebanese joining jihadists in Iraq. Since August, dozens of young men have disappeared from Tripoli, which the country's financial crash has especially hard hit.According to security officials, they all came from impoverished Tripoli districts and were allegedly lured into joining the Islamic State group by the promise of a decent salary. The group is luring its recruits with the promise of wages reaching up to $5,000 a month. For years, Tripoli has been known as a city of conflict, a hotbed of "extremism," and a symbol of sectarian and political rifts in Lebanon. Read one of these stories on France24 and Al-Jazeera.
Palestine
Israeli forces shot dead three Palestinians in the occupied West Bank city of Nablus on Tuesday. The Palestinian health ministry confirmed a special forces unit fired at three Palestinians in the Al-Makhfieh neighborhood in the city. According to Palestinian news agency Wafa, they were identified as Ashraf Mubaslat, Adham Mabrouka, and Mohammad Dakhil. Israeli police claimed that they were armed terrorists killed during clashes with the security forces. Israeli special forces carried out the killings after storming the neighborhood. There were no casualties reported in those reported attacks. Read more on The New Arab.
Turkey
On Friday, February 4, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan was quoted as saying that Turkey and Israel can work together to carry Israeli natural gas to Europe, and the two countries will discuss energy cooperation during talks next month. "We can use Israeli natural gas in our country, and beyond using it, we can also engage in a joint effort on its passage to Europe," Erdogan told reporters on a return flight from Ukraine. The two countries expelled their ambassadors in 2018 after Ankara condemned Israel's occupation of the West Bank and its policy toward Palestinians. Israel called on Turkey to drop support for the militant Palestinian group Hamas which rules Gaza. Read more on Reuters.
That's all for this week. Thanks for reading Inshallah. Share this article and subscribe to be up to date about news from the Middle East every week. It's free.
About me
My name is Dario Sabaghi, a freelance journalist. I am interested in human rights and international news focusing on the MENA region.
Check out my work at dariosabaghi.com.
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Cover photo: google.com