HEADLINE:   pilgrim problems

 PUBLICATION: Daily News

PAGE NUMBER: 15

AUTHOR:     Zubeida Jaffer

DATE:       2001-01-24 06:33:13

Pilgrim problems

The problems facing Muslim pilgrims who go to Saudi Arabia on Haj vary from year to year, reports Special Writer Zubeida Jaffer. 

TRAVEL agents and airlines could face tough action to bring to an end irregular arrangements which have left some Muslim pilgrims stranded and seriously inconvenienced.

The president of the South African Haj and Umra Council (Sahuc), Mr Salie Manie, said this week that his organisation would deregister defaulting travel agents, would blacklist airlines and would help pilgrims prosecute those who ripped them off.

"We are going to use our 

relationship with the Saudi Minister of Haj to disallow agents from operating if they do not follow our code of conduct," he said.

While Sahuc is a voluntary organisation started through the Department of Foreign Affairs and has no statutory weight, it has this year conclu-ded an agreement with the Saudi Minister of Haj to deal only with Haj agents which are registered with it.

"We have initially registered everybody who came forward and agreed to abide by our code of conduct," said Manie.

"But if agents service pilgrims badly, we will have to deregister them," he said.

The council was also investigating recent incidents which resulted in pilgrims having to travel by bus from Cape Town 

to Johannesburg because of a decision of a foreign airline to 

withdraw its earlier commitment to complete that part of the journey.

"It is too early for us to say who is at fault, but we will approach Transport Minister Dullah Omar so he can help 

us with discussions with these 

airlines.

If necessary, we would like to see him withdrew landing rights of an airline which mistreats our pilgrims," he said.

Manie, who is also an ANC MP, took over the helm of the council six months ago, when 

its founding president, Gora Ebrahim, then PAC MP, died.

"As an MP, I will intervene to stop the unacceptable behaviour which is inconveniencing our pilgrims," he said.

Close to 8 000 South Africans will perform the obligatory re-ligious pilgrimage to Mecca this year, and each year an additional 12 000 perform the Umra - a visit which takes place at times other than the Haj.

The problems which plague pilgrims every year vary from year to year.

Last year, the biggest problem was the accommodation at Mina, one of the crucial re-ligious sites of the Haj.

At least 2 000 South Africans were left without accommodation, and had to be shifted on to the outlying mountains where conditions were unbearably hot.

Besides this year's busing of a group of pilgrims, at least 65 pilgrims were last week left to wait for their tickets just hours before they were due to depart.

Ebrahim Fisher, a relative of one of the pilgrims, said Pilgrims International in Athlone had asked the family 

to collect tickets on Thursday night. They were due to leave 

on Saturday.

"On Thursday we were told to come on Friday morning, then Friday afternoon, then Friday evening," said Fisher.

The tickets eventually arrived at 10.30pm on Friday night.

"And then we had to spend the next few hours helping them write names on to the tickets, sorting out passports and 

tickets so that everybody could have the right ticket," he said.

Fisher eventually left the agency at 2.15am, just hours before his relatives were due to depart. 

"We were in such a state and were given no explanations," 

he said.

In response, Mansoor Mollagee, of Pilgrims Inter-national, said they were let down at the last minute by one of the airlines and had to run around to find alternative seats.

"We did our best, and in the end, we got everybody away," said Mollagee.

He said he was also expected to pay money up front for accommodation without guarantees and the airlines were overbooking.

"The problem is that Haj is a money-making operation for everybody involved," he said.

Flywell Travel's managing director, Usman Ahmed, attributes the constant difficulties to unprofessionalism in the industry and ignorance on the part of the traveller.

"Most pilgrims have never travelled before," he said.

They need to make their arrangements directly and not through intermediaries.

Manie accepts that there 

are no quick-fix solutions since close to three million people were involved internationally and they all had to be accommodated so they could perform the important religious rituals.

His organisation is in close discussions with the Malay-sians, who have developed an arrangement which has eased the lives of their pilgrims.

The Malaysian operation, Tabung Haji, was a successful saving and investment initiative which helped ordinary Malay-sians to prepare for Haj, but at the same time developed the resources to send teams of 

people with the pilgrims to be 

of service to them and to sort out their every need.

"We are about to enter into a formal co-operation agreement with the Malaysians to be 

spelt out later this year," said Manie.

He also wants to encourage people to come forward with ideas to improve the situation.