More than 1,300 people died during the Islamic pilgrimage of Hajj in Saudi Arabia this month, most of them lacking a permit to participate in the occasion, meaning they walked kilometers under scorching heat after paying thousands of dollars to illicit or fraudulent tour operators.
While licensed pilgrims are transported around the holy city of Mecca in air-conditioned buses and rest in air-conditioned tents, unregistered ones are often left exposed to the heat. In recent days, when temperatures exceeded 120 degrees (F), some pilgrims described seeing people fainting and bodies in the street.
On Sunday (23), in an interview with state television, Saudi Health Minister Fahd al-Jalajel said that 83% of the 1,301 reported deaths involved pilgrims who did not have authorization.
Hajj is a strenuous spiritual ritual that Muslims are encouraged to perform once in their lifetime if they are physically and financially able.
With nearly two million participants every year, it is not uncommon for pilgrims to die from heat or illness. It is unclear whether the death toll this year was higher than usual, as Saudi Arabia does not regularly disclose these statistics. Last year, 774 pilgrims died just in Indonesia, and in 1985, more than 1,700 people died, most of them due to heat, according to a study from that time.
But as many of those who died were unlicensed, this year’s death toll exposed the trade of tour operators and smugglers worldwide who profit from desperate Muslims wanting to make the journey.
About 400,000 unlicensed people attempted to perform the pilgrimage this year, a senior Saudi official told Agence France-Presse, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The number of unregistered pilgrims appears to have increased this year due to rising economic stress in countries like Egypt and Jordan. An official Hajj package can cost more than $5,000 or $10,000, depending on the pilgrim’s country of origin – in addition to the financial possibilities of many who wish to make the journey.
Irregular pilgrims paid an average of $2,000 to $3,000, according to relatives of the participants.
Entry into Mecca is generally prohibited weeks before Hajj for unauthorized visitors. However, many pilgrims manage to evade restrictions by arriving early in Mecca and hiding, or paying smugglers to transport them to the city.
Even for the young and fit, Hajj is a physically challenging event, and many pilgrims are already elderly or ill when they can make the journey. Some believe that Hajj may be their final rite and that dying in Mecca will ensure great blessings.
Source: The New York Times