#Hajjstampede - Saudi hypocrisy

A stunning report about the actual number of deaths during the stampede in Mina in September has raised concerns about the capability of the Saudi government to ensure the safety of Hajj pilgrims. The stampede occurred when two waves of pilgrims converged on a narrow road, suffocating or trampling to death those caught in the melee. The number of victims in the horrific stampede was at least 2,411 pilgrims, which is more than three times the number that Saudi Arabia has acknowledged. The data is based on state media reports and officials’ comments from 36 countries out of 180 whose citizens went to Mecca to perform Hajj. On the other hand, the Saudi official toll stands at 769 while no revision has been announced so far. The issuance of the report has raised certain questions. Why did the Saudi government not make public the actual number of deaths? Does it have no concern for the suffering of those who lost their loved ones in the stampede? Is it not the responsibility of the Saudi government to ensure the safety of pilgrims? The incident should have been thoroughly probed and those responsible punished for dereliction of duty in controlling the crowd.

It is not the first time that a stampede has taken place during Hajj. There are numerous instances over the years when pilgrims were trampled to death due to the mismanagement of the crowd or other reasons. In this particular incident, the principles of justice and accountability have been compromised as the Saudi rulers seem reluctant to fix responsibility for this tragedy. The repetition of incidents of stampede gives an insight into the non-serious and irresponsible attitude of the Saudi rulers. If the Saudi government does not change its attitude, such tragedies will be repeated again and again. If the Saudi government is sincere, first it has to accept its responsibility. The rest of the Islamic world needs to take a joint stance against the irresponsible attitude of the Saudi government that has no regard for human life. Something must be done to avert such disasters that can be avoided by taking better safety measures and applying modern crowd management techniques. In this regard, we can take the example of Iraq that has handled the world’s largest gathering of more than 28 million without any major mishap. Hajj management should be organised by a group of ‘capable’ Muslim countries as the Saudis have clearly failed to manage the pilgrimage. Last but not least, Saudi Arabia should at least acknowledge the correct number of fatalities and make public the truth so that corrective measures could be taken to avoid future disasters.