No permit and fingerprinted? Security awaits you after Haj
Dangerous risk: Undocumented pilgrims pitch their “Made in China” plastic tents at any open space in Mina on Sunday. (AN photo by Abdullah Mohsen)
MINA: SIRAJ WAHAB
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The campaign against undocumented pilgrims entered its second phase on Sunday with the authorities placing high-tech fingerprinting machines inside white-colored vans.
The clearly-marked vehicles, widely referred to as mobile fingerprinting units, have been parked at strategic locations inside the tent city.
“We will conduct random checks on pilgrims without permits,” said an official manning one of the units. “Now that they are here, we will not stop them from continuing the rituals.”
Officials will only require undocumented pilgrims to register their fingerprints. “We have been told to be nice to them and to respect their feelings,” he said. “However, since the law has to take its course, action will be taken against them once the pilgrimage is over.”
The government, through a Cabinet decision, has announced that it will deport those who are found at the holy sites without legal permits. Expatriates found guilty of violating the rules will not be allowed to re-enter the Kingdom for 10 years after deportation. Saudis violating the pilgrimage rules are to be fined heavily and jailed.
Despite the strict measures, many pilgrims without permits made their way into Mina on Sunday. Each one had a different story as to how they entered the tent city.
“I paid SR600 to a private Saudi limousine driver near the SAPTCO bus stop in Jeddah to bring me into Mina,” said Ashraf, an Indian expatriate. “He asked me if I had the permit, and I said no. He said he would charge me SR700. I negotiated with him and brought it down to SR600. When I got into his car, there were already four pilgrims inside, two Pakistanis, one Bangladeshi and a Yemeni. Like me, they did not have permits and all of them agreed to pay the driver SR600 each.”
The regular share-a-cab fare from Jeddah to Makkah is SR10 or SR20 maximum.
Half way through the 85-km journey, Ashraf said the driver advised them to get off before the main Shumaisi checkpoint on the Jeddah-Makkah Expressway. “This is the only way to avoid being arrested,” he said. “We got off and started walking with our belongings until we reached a certain distance beyond the checkpoint. There, the driver was waiting for us.”
When told about the harsh punishment that awaits him if he were to be caught, Ashraf, who refused to give his second name, said: “I had taken a vow to come here for Haj this year. I spent all my money getting my iqama (work permit) transferred two months ago. There was no way I could have afforded the high amount to procure a legal Haj permit. It is exorbitant.”
Ashraf said he would go nowhere near the mobile fingerprinting units. “I will try my best to keep away from those vehicles,” he said.
Ashraf was not alone. There are hundreds like him who made it into the tent city. If he were to be caught by one of those security officials manning the mobile fingerprinting units, then it will be a different story.
Meanwhile, he busied himself in reciting verses from the Holy Qur’an. “We are now in the protection of Allah,” he said, with a smile.
http://MuslimWindow.blogspot.com/
Dangerous risk: Undocumented pilgrims pitch their “Made in China” plastic tents at any open space in Mina on Sunday. (AN photo by Abdullah Mohsen)
MINA: SIRAJ WAHAB
LATEST STORIES IN FEATURED
Malaysia court rules non-Muslims can’t use ‘Allah’
O God, here I come answering your call
Haj Ministry sets compensation for victims of fake campaigns
115 crushed to death in India stampede
Attacks across Iraq kill at least 42
More
The campaign against undocumented pilgrims entered its second phase on Sunday with the authorities placing high-tech fingerprinting machines inside white-colored vans.
The clearly-marked vehicles, widely referred to as mobile fingerprinting units, have been parked at strategic locations inside the tent city.
“We will conduct random checks on pilgrims without permits,” said an official manning one of the units. “Now that they are here, we will not stop them from continuing the rituals.”
Officials will only require undocumented pilgrims to register their fingerprints. “We have been told to be nice to them and to respect their feelings,” he said. “However, since the law has to take its course, action will be taken against them once the pilgrimage is over.”
The government, through a Cabinet decision, has announced that it will deport those who are found at the holy sites without legal permits. Expatriates found guilty of violating the rules will not be allowed to re-enter the Kingdom for 10 years after deportation. Saudis violating the pilgrimage rules are to be fined heavily and jailed.
Despite the strict measures, many pilgrims without permits made their way into Mina on Sunday. Each one had a different story as to how they entered the tent city.
“I paid SR600 to a private Saudi limousine driver near the SAPTCO bus stop in Jeddah to bring me into Mina,” said Ashraf, an Indian expatriate. “He asked me if I had the permit, and I said no. He said he would charge me SR700. I negotiated with him and brought it down to SR600. When I got into his car, there were already four pilgrims inside, two Pakistanis, one Bangladeshi and a Yemeni. Like me, they did not have permits and all of them agreed to pay the driver SR600 each.”
The regular share-a-cab fare from Jeddah to Makkah is SR10 or SR20 maximum.
Half way through the 85-km journey, Ashraf said the driver advised them to get off before the main Shumaisi checkpoint on the Jeddah-Makkah Expressway. “This is the only way to avoid being arrested,” he said. “We got off and started walking with our belongings until we reached a certain distance beyond the checkpoint. There, the driver was waiting for us.”
When told about the harsh punishment that awaits him if he were to be caught, Ashraf, who refused to give his second name, said: “I had taken a vow to come here for Haj this year. I spent all my money getting my iqama (work permit) transferred two months ago. There was no way I could have afforded the high amount to procure a legal Haj permit. It is exorbitant.”
Ashraf said he would go nowhere near the mobile fingerprinting units. “I will try my best to keep away from those vehicles,” he said.
Ashraf was not alone. There are hundreds like him who made it into the tent city. If he were to be caught by one of those security officials manning the mobile fingerprinting units, then it will be a different story.
Meanwhile, he busied himself in reciting verses from the Holy Qur’an. “We are now in the protection of Allah,” he said, with a smile.
http://MuslimWindow.blogspot.com/
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