Tragedy in Makkah

The loss of over 700 Hajis in a stampede is indeed a tragedy. It comes close after the deaths of 107 people by the toppling over of a construction crane at the Grand Mosque. In between these two were also two other minor incidents in which mercifully there was no loss of life.

Whether these accidents could have been avoided remains a question to be answered by a number of inquiries that the Saudi government has set up. The stampede is the worst such incident in 25 years at the Hajj. So far, the Saudi government has blamed the stampede on the pilgrims while the crane collapse was blamed on bad weather.

The Imam-e-Kaaba has absolved the Saudi government of negligence in the matter. The families of many of those who died also say that to pass away in Makkah during Hajj is a matter of honour.

To put things in perspective, the number of Muslims coming to perform Hajj has risen tremendously over the past few decades. As the Muslim world’s population has exploded and travel to Makkah has become more affordable and easier, we have seen a corresponding rise in the number of pilgrims to the holy sites. The Saudi government has spent billions in upgrading the sites so that more and more pilgrims can be accommodated.

The Grand Mosque in Makkah has seen tremendous development over the past decade. The capacity for housing more than two million pilgrims continues to be enhanced every year. More recently, finishing touches are being applied to a hotel that will house 10,000. Not only does the Hajj produce such large numbers, but the more unique aspect is the diversity of those who come on pilgrimage.

The Hajj has seen its share of human tragedies. For example, there have been seven deadly stampedes since 1990. In this, what we see is that investment in infrastructure is not the only thing that needs to be done.

The tragedy occurred on Street 204, which is one of the two main arteries leading through the camp at Mina to Jamarat, where pilgrims ritually stone Shaitaan by hurling pebbles at three large pillars. It is believed that entry and exit points along the way were closed to facilitate a VIP movement. But there is no official word on this.

For its part, the Pakistan government has been its usual dormant self when it comes to helping those in distress. It is feared that a sizeable number of those who died were Pakistanis. But three days on, the government could only identify 17 pilgrims. The embassy has been more concerned in protocol duties; as it usually is.

A number of questions are being asked in the aftermath of this disaster. For one, is the Saudi government spending money on the right things? While the buildings and bridges around the Grand Mosque keep getting bigger and bigger, what is being done in terms of crowd control or facilitating the pilgrims in the event of a crisis. A minister informed that over 100,000 soldiers had been deployed in that area on the fateful day. The Saudi authorities have come under criticism for their forces who are deployed on such occasions but have no training on how to help or rescue.

Apart from this tragedy itself, what is also horrifying is how the bodies are being handled. Corpses stacked on top of one another and using bulldozers to move them are being shared on social media. One does not know how authentic the pictures are but if true adds more questions on the whole episode.

While we have seen heavy construction around the Grand Mosque, what we are also told is that there is no arrangement for a hospital that could cater to such tragedies. The development over the past few years has been haphazard and have an element of commercialisation , which contrasts directly with the billions that the Saudi government has spent over the years at no cost to the Hajis.

It is imperative that the Saudis launch an independent inquiry into the matter.  The stampede could have been caused by a number of reasons and this needs to be identified. The incident has put a very big question mark on the abilities of the Saudis to manage the Hajj. Let them learn from their mistakes.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 28^th, 2015.

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