2024-06-22 07:38:08
After years of making an attempt with out success to acquire permission to carry out the Hajj in Mecca, Yasser determined to carry out the Hajj illegally, a selection he now deeply regrets.
Though he survived final week’s grueling ceremony within the stifling warmth of western Saudi Arabia, he has not seen his spouse since Sunday and fears she was recorded He was considered one of greater than 1,100 folks killed within the case, which most Egyptians like him went undocumented.
“I searched all of the hospitals in Mecca,” the 60-year-old retired engineer advised AFP.
Greater than half of the pilgrims who died in the course of the annual Muslim pilgrimage final week had been from Egypt: 658 out of 1,100, based on an AFP tally based mostly on knowledge from about 10 nations and diplomats concerned within the search. Human dying operation.
The U.S. State Division reported that “a number of” U.S. residents died in the course of the hajj however gave no additional particulars.
Based on an Arab diplomat, the overwhelming majority of Egyptians who died didn’t have the mandatory permits to make use of facilities in the course of the hajj, equivalent to air-conditioned tents to supply worshipers with relaxation as temperatures soared to 51.8 levels Celsius on the Grand Mosque in Mecca.
In Saudi Arabia’s first feedback on the deaths on Friday, a senior official defended the administration of the hajj and guaranteed that the nation “didn’t fail”.
He stated authorities confirmed 577 deaths in the course of the busiest two days of the hajj: Saturday, when pilgrims gathered underneath the scorching solar on Mount Arafat; and Sunday, once they participated in a ritual of “stoning” the satan to Mina.
“This occurred in opposed climate situations and really extreme temperatures,” he advised AFP, acknowledging that the 577 determine was partial and didn’t cowl the whole hajj, which formally ends on Wednesday.
Bypass official circuits
Hajj is likely one of the 5 pillars of Islam, and each succesful Muslim should carry out Hajj at the very least as soon as in his life.
Licenses are allotted based mostly on quotas after which awarded by lottery in nations equivalent to Egypt. If permitted, pilgrims should undergo an accredited service supplier, which is commonly costly.
Subsequently, many believers attempt to bypass official channels.
Yasir, an unlawful immigrant who requested to stay nameless, rapidly realized the disadvantages of not having a prestigious license. Even earlier than the hajj begins, some outlets and eating places refuse to supply such companies. When the ceremony started, he was unable to board the official bus.
However to make issues worse, he misplaced his spouse Safa within the crowd in the course of the “stoning of the satan” ceremony in Mina, close to Mecca.
Since then, he has continued to postpone his return flight.
Different unlawful Egyptian pilgrims interviewed by AFP described dramatic scenes as worshippers en path to Mina.
“Egypt is gloomy”
“There have been our bodies on the bottom. I noticed folks abruptly falling and dying of exhaustion,” stated 31-year-old Mohammed. He’s an Egyptian residing in Saudi Arabia and attending Hajj along with his 56-year-old mom.
One other Egyptian girl residing in Riyadh claimed she witnessed her mom’s dying earlier than the ambulance arrived. His physique was then transported to an unknown location.
Even some registered pilgrims are having problem accessing emergency companies, an indication that the system is overwhelmed, Mustafa stated. Later died.
“We all know they’re drained,” he stated by telephone from Egypt. “They walked so much, could not discover water, and it was extremely popular.” “We by no means noticed them once more.”
“The entire of Egypt is gloomy,” he lamented, including that his solely comfort was that his mother and father had been buried in Mecca, Islam’s holiest metropolis.
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