In Rayan’s memory, the world must ensure no other child shares his fate 
The world is mourning Rayan Awram, the five-year-old Moroccan child who succumbed to his injuries after falling into a 100-foot-deep well last week.
His tragic death sparked an outpouring of sympathy and grief from world leaders, celebrities and people of all backgrounds, faiths and affiliations.
The child lived in a poor, rural village in the north of Morocco, where the only recreation available to him was playing outside in the area around his family’s house, in an agricultural area pockmarked with holes and ditches.
For five long, heart-wrenching days we followed the news and watched live streams of the excavation process as rescuers attempted to retrieve Rayan from the narrow borehole.
As he was finally pulled from the well and whisked to an ambulance we were filled with joy — but, alas, only for a very short, and rapidly fading, moment of hope. Our hearts were broken when news of his death was announced by the Moroccan Royal Court.
From the moment Rayan’s plight became known, the gravity of his ordeal evoked the story of Joseph, whom God delivered out of the pit and sent to Egypt where, for more than 14 years, he saved people from famine through his farsightedness and wise management of the grain harvest.
We also recall the story of Jonah, who was delivered out of the belly of the great whale and sent to the people of Nineveh, where 100,000 people or more heard his message and returned to God.
His death reminded all of us how fragile the gift of life is, and how precious children are to their parents, families and communities.
Dr. Hasan Massloom
We prayed, along with millions of other people around the globe, for a miracle, like that of Joseph or Jonah, that would save this child’s life. The tragedy united people everywhere in an unprecedented fashion and rekindled the best in humanity: Empathy, compassion and kindness.
His death reminded all of us how fragile the gift of life is, and how precious children are to their parents, families and communities.
Most certainly, Rayan’s death revealed the failure of the international community to come together and work to save a child who was suffering and dying before its eyes for five days. Therefore his death must not be in vain, for there will be many more young victims such as Rayan, mostly anonymous, who will lose their lives because we could not prevent their deaths.
In the field of trauma care, there is a period of time that begins immediately after an injury, known as “the golden hour,” during which prompt medical and surgical treatment will most likely prevent death. Each hour that passes after the injury without effective treatment increases the risk of death and permanent organ damage.
Over the course of five days, Rayan did not miss this “golden hour” once or twice but, regrettably, more than 120 times. Video footage showed that he was alive for the first three days, which means he did not suffer severe injuries in the beginning. But mild or moderate injuries, if untreated for many hours and days, can deteriorate and become fatal, especially if the child has lost blood or develops an infection.
From this, one can easily deduce that five days with no access to medical care after suffering trauma is not compatible with survival.
It is also obvious, judging from the sad outcome, that the requirements for the child’s safe retrieval far exceeded the technical and human capabilities of the teams working at the excavation site. But what about the rest of the world? Did it offer anything to help resolve this disaster? Or was it just watching from a distance?
The international community could have contributed its most advanced knowledge, expertise and technology to save this child. But it did not.
For example, space technology can pinpoint an object in any layer of the earth and track its slightest movements. Modern geophysical methods and technical engineering tools could have delicately and swiftly dug through the various layers of soil without subjecting the child to any significant degree of risk.
I am astonished as to why it took so long to dig this child out of the well when, elsewhere in the world, tremendous feats of engineering have been achieved, such as a bridge that is 120 feet long, a hospital that has 1,500 beds, and a 10-story high building being built in five days or less.
I understand that the risk of a landslide affected the excavation and rescue operation but there should have been some mechanical solutions to this problem.
To reiterate, five days, by any measure, is a very long time for a victim of trauma to be deprived of basic and advanced life support. In the aftermath of Rayan’s tragic death, an extensive review and root-cause analysis of the incident should be carried out.
The world is an ever-dangerous place, awash with wars, conflicts and natural disasters. It is to be expected that many vulnerable victims, especially women and children, might fall into holes or be trapped under debris and lose their lives, either instantly or after hours and days of pain, agony and despair.
It behooves the international community to learn lessons from this debacle about to how to plan and execute concerted, effective and well-timed interventions to save the lives of those who end up in similar perilous situations.
Furthermore, protecting children is our collective responsibility, which should begin with creating a safe environment in which they can play, grow and enjoy life. Wherever they exist, environmental hazards such as debris, sharp rocks, ditches, holes, wells and traps should be removed.
To conclude, God said: “And whoever saves a life, it is as though he had saved the lives of all mankind.”
Thus the preservation of even one human life should transcend all financial calculations and geopolitical sensitivities, and technical innovations in the military and civilian fields should be at the service of search-and-rescue operations to save lives.
• Dr. Hasan Massloom is a board certified cardiothoracic surgeon and a member of the Shoura Council of Saudi Arabia. Twitter: @massloom
