The Hajj was pleasant one, say returning pilgrims

SOUTH Africans who took part in this year’s pilgrimage to Mecca will be making their way home this week and, despite a tragic stampede and unbearable heat, they say the Hajj was a pleasant one.

The stampede last Wednesday claimed the lives of more than 700 people and left almost 1 000 injured.

The incident was said to be the deadliest since the 1990 stampede when almost 1 500 people were killed.

Last week’s stampede occurred less than two weeks after a crane collapsed in Mecca, killing more than 100 people and injuring almost 400.

Sheikh Abduragmaan Alexander, of the Masjidul Quds mosque in Gatesville, took a group of eight to Mecca and said they had already passed the site of the stampede. The group had heard about it when they returned from performing a ritual.

“There are two groups, the ones that leave at midnight and others that leave after dawn. We left after midnight.

“I have been coming here with a colleague for about 20 years and, based on experience, we decided to take the group after midnight to be in front of the bigger group that was still coming.”

He added that they were shocked by the incident and prayed for those who had lost their lives.

“When we passed there it was peaceful and we could not believe the loss of life. Within the next hour (after it happened) everything went back to normal. The Saudi (authorities) were geared up for anything.”

Shokab Suleman, from Joburg, believed people not adhering to allocated times could have resulted in too many gathering on the streets, which could have contributed to the stampede.

He said people not going back to their camps after returning from rituals were “part of the major cause” of the tragedy.

“Some people were pushing wheelchairs and those (wheelchairs) that got damaged were being abandoned on the road and if you are in the crowd and you don’t see it until you are on top of it.

“And if you fall people walk over you… the main reason for people being involved was a lot of people moving in three different directions.”

Suleman said he had noticed improvements in the organisation of the Hajj, and the improved management of foot traffic had left him with a better experience than in previous years.

No South Africans were involved in the stampede and most of them were expected home by the end of the week.