Sufferings of Hajis

Photo: Internet

3,657,000 Muslims across 189 countries performed their Hajj this year and out if that number 1,752,000 were foreigners. Among the Hajj pilgrims, 500,000 were not registered. This resulted in great difficulties as facilities were not planned adequately as they were not accounted for. However, Prince Khaled, Governor of Makkah called it a great success as casualties were fewer casualties. To stop the irregular pilgrimage, there are suggestions to build a wall around sacred areas which many compare to the wall around Jerusalem. But this may ultimately stop Muslims entering the place as conspiracy theory suggests.
I have seen the suffering of our Hajis with my own eyes and would like to bring some important points to your notice. Private Hajj agents are involved in malpractices and often their charges are enormously high compared to market rates and services available. Suffering of Hajis who go through government programmes is not also less since where they stay is far from the sacred places and transports are not provided either. These Hajis are left on their own as far as their food and transport are concerned. Many suspect that this was done deliberately to make the Hajis go for private packages which are often impractically expensive. Proper evaluation on the age needs to be strictly followed as I observed some of our elderly Hajis were simply not capable physically and in some cases mentally. Lack of education is also a major factor and no guides are provided as it is always mentioned within the arrangements.