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On Sunday, 7th of October, an unemployed blind protestor died after falling off the roof of Morocco’s Ministry of Family, Solidarity, Equality and Social Development in Rabat. His death was announced in a video that went viral, showing a number of blind and visually impaired people denouncing the accident that took the life of their comrade.
According to the same clip, the diseased identified as Sabir E. was one of the many unemployed blind and visually impaired people who are currently holding a sit-in at the Ministry’s facilities as a way of protesting against unemployment.
Few hours after the above-mentioned video was published, the Minister of Family's office issued a communiqué, commenting on the accident.
In its statement, the Ministry explained that after the man fell off the building he «was immediately transferred to the Ibn Sina hospital thanks to an ambulance that was waiting in front of the Ministry». The latter stressed that the deceased died «on his way to the hospital», indicating that «an investigation was opened» to determine the circumstance of «the tragic incident».
The Coordination for the Disabled, Unemployed Degree-Holders' version of the story
But for the National Coordination for the Disabled, Unemployed Degree-Holders, an association that organized the sit-in the deceased was taking part of, Sabir E. «died on the spot after the infamous accident».
Speaking to Yabiladi on Monday, member of the National Coordination Abdellah Tounsi who was also on the Ministry's roof when the accident took place stressed that Sabir E. «was on the phone with his parents who live in Marrakesh to ask for money, when [he] heard a weird noise».
«He fell off the fifth floor of the Ministry’s building», he sadly declared, explaining that the accident marked the 12th day of the sit-in the Coordination is holding in the facility.
Unlike the version of the story published by the Ministry, Tounsi told Yabiladi that «the deceased died on the spot and even when the ambulance took his body it was put in a plastic bag.
«Members of the Coordination who could see, saw that they put him in plastic bag, he was already dead when they took his body on an ambulance to the hospital».
Members of the National Coordination for the Disabled, Unemployed Degree-Holders managed to break into the Ministry of Family as a way of protesting against the department’s policy. Said Alami, a member of the body, told Yabiladi Monday that on the «26th of September [they] decided to put more pressure on Minister Bassima Hakaoui by breaking into the Ministry».
«30 of us are currently on the Ministry’s roof and 180 others are in front of the building», he reported.
Alami said that Hakkaoui refused to present concrete solutions to their situation, after a dialogue they held on October the 2nd, which made things escalate. «Instead of suggesting solutions, she criticized our attitude and made inappropriate comments».
According to the same source, unemployed blind and visually impaired men and women have been urging the government since 2011 to employ them and find solutions for their difficult situations.
