Covid shatters Haj dreams of the elderly
Foreign pilgrims who saved for years lose hope as pilgrimage is downsized again
Samia Ahmad saved up for 16 years, but like many older Muslims she fears that renewed Covid-19 curbs will prevent her from ever making the Haj pilgrimage.
Samia, a 68-year-old Egyptian, cried for days when restrictions were announced, limiting Haj, which starts today, to Saudi residents and citizens.
“I would so much like to make the Haj before I die. I don’t know if I’ll be alive next year,” she sobbed, clutching blue prayer beads. “My chances are now slim, because they will choose younger and healthier pilgrims in the future,” said the grandmother, who suffers from diabetes and high blood pressure.
Saving for 30 years
Amina Gaafar, a 58-yearold retired Egyptian social worker, has been saving for 30 years to “go to meet God”, but with knee replacement surgery looming, her travellling days may be over.
“I’m finally ready financially, and now it’s the coronavirus that’s stopping me,” she said. “I’m afraid that one day I won’t be able to perform the Haj at all, because of my poor health.”
Pilgrims from populous
Asian countries like Indonesia, Malaysia and Pakistan make up a large portion of Haj participants, and many wait for years to get a chance.
Desperate to travel to Makkah, Mohammad Saleem Butt from the Pakistani city of Rawalpindi postponed treatment for a liver ailment, only for the pandemic to upend his plans. “Earlier in my life, I didn’t have the money,” the 73-year-old shopkeeper said. “Now, my health is deteriorating.”
Jumina, a 65-year-old Indonesian woman, has been saving for the Haj for a decade by running a small shop out of her home. “I am very disappointed because I had prepared everything for the trip,” she said, including taking two doses of vaccine.
“If I am still healthy enough to go next time, I will go. We are relying on God.”