LONDON: Since the announcement of the death of Rayan, the five-year-old boy who fell into a well in Morocco, world leaders, celebrities and artists have taken to social media to mourn his death.
Leaders including Dubai ruler Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, French President Emmanuel Macron, Israeli President Isaac Herzog, and Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett took to social media to pay condolences to the boy’s family.
“Our hearts broke last night,” Israeli President Isaac Herzog said in a condolence message to King Mohammed VI, while French President Emmanuel Macron said to Rayan's family and the Moroccan people: “We share your pain.”
خالص تعازينا ومواساتنا لأسرة الطفل ريان .. وللشعب المغربي الشقيق .. وللإنسانية جمعاء التي فجعت لفقده … رحمه الله وأسكنه فسيح جنانه .. وألهمنا جميعاً الصبر والسلوان ..
— HH Sheikh Mohammed (@HHShkMohd) February 5, 2022
بِإسمي وبإسمِ حكومةِ وشعبِ اسرائيل أبعثُ بخالصِ تعازينا لأهلِ وذوي الطفل الفقيد ريان، للشعب المغربي الشقيق لجلالة الملك محمد السادس أطالَ الله عمرهُ، رَحم الله الطفلِ البرئ وأسكنهُ فسيحَ جناتهِ والتَكُن آخرَ مآسيكم بإذن الله
— Naftali Bennett בנט (@naftalibennett) February 5, 2022
Pope Francis described the efforts to save Rayan as “beautiful.” He expressed thanks to the Moroccan people as he greeted the public in St. Peter’s Square. He praised people for “putting their all” into trying to save the child.
Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Ahmad Al-Tayeb expressed his condolences to the boy’s family and said that the Al-Azhar Mosque is mourning Rayan’s death.
Chairman of the General Authority for Entertainment in Saudi Arabia Turki Al-Sheikh also expressed his condolences.
He shared a drawing of the child with angel wings and extended his condolences to “Rayan’s family and the honorable Moroccan people.”
#ريان_المغرب pic.twitter.com/k5Wmz0PajR
— TURKI ALALSHIKH (@Turki_alalshikh) February 6, 2022
Other famous personalities included Lebanese singer Nancy Ajram, Yemeni-Emirati singer Balquees Fathi, Emirati composer Hussain Al-Jassmi, retired Egyptian footballer Mohamed Aboutrika and AC Milan's Algerian midfielder Ismael Bennacer.
العالم كله كان ناطرك وهلق عم يبكيك!! نام يا حبيبي يا ريان... ما في كلام بيوصف الحزن اللي بقلبي. الله يرحمك
#الطفل_ريان— Nancy Ajram (@NancyAjram) February 5, 2022
Arab News Editor-in-Chief Faisal J. Abbas said that Saturday was “a sad night for humanity.”
May he rest in peace, what a sad night for humanity!#SaveRayan #ريان_المغرب
— Faisal J. Abbas (@FaisalJAbbas) February 5, 2022
The famous London Underground Twitter page, All On The Board, also joined global tributes to Rayan.
“You were the bravest boy and your name will never be forgotten,” a board at an unknown London Underground station stated.
Rest in Peace Rayan.
Sending love and prayers to Rayan, all of his family and friends, the rescue workers and the people of Morocco.#Rayan #Morocco pic.twitter.com/6dzvlQVQSG— All On The Board (@allontheboard) February 5, 2022
The Moroccan royal palace announced Rayan’s death on Saturday after he was pulled out of the 32-meter well by rescuers following a lengthy operation that captivated global attention.
On Tuesday, Rayan fell into the well, located outside his home in the village of Ighran in Morocco’s mountainous northern province of Chefchaouen.
The hilly region around Chefchaouen is bitterly cold in winter and rescuers attempted to keep the boy alive by lowering food, water and oxygen through a tube.
They worked round the clock cutting a massive trench through the hillside, then tunneling horizontally towards Rayan, with a constant risk of triggering landslides.
They were eventually able to access the well late on Saturday, and carried his body to a waiting ambulance.
Sadly, he had died before being reached by rescuers.
Artists have also expressed their solidarity with Rayan’s family by sharing emotive art of the child and his tragic story that gripped the world. Some of these can be seen below:
