The Medical Clinic has now closed. Over the 18 days that the clinic operated it saw a staggering 5967 patients! That is an average of over 330 patients per day!!! It is sad to be saying goodbye to the Dr’s as I have become good friends with some of them and this is the only time I get to spend some time with them in the year.
The number of Consular cases is also declining and I have not been woken up after midnight for the last few days at least. Lets hope it stays that way.
I have also managed to go and see the shop I mentioned in one of my earlier blog which I was hoping would be a fish and chip shop, however unfortunately it turns out to be a “kebab/burger” joint. Oh well not long to go before I return back to the UK for a few days and can try some proper fish and chips with mushy peas. I am sure if someone was business inclined they would do a roaring trade selling fish and chips to the approximately 25,000 Brits who come here for the Hajj.
I have also attended a call with Lord Patel of Blackburn on the Saudi Minister of Hajj, Dr. Fouad Al Farsi in Jeddah. It was an interesting meeting with Lord Patel and I making some suggestions for improvements for next years Hajj. The Minister informs us that he will consider these and that the preparations for next years Hajj are already underway!
I am also keen to promote the work the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, or FCO in its abbreviated form, does to various young people who have attended the medical clinic or we have come into contact with are not quite sure what we as the FCO do. I was also able to bring out with me some recruitment publicity material and handed this out. You can also find out about what the FCO does by accessing our website on www.fco.gov.uk or if you are interested in a career with the FCO by logging onto http://www.fco.gov.uk/servlet/Front?pagename=OpenMarket/Xcelerate/ShowPage&c=Page&cid=1177505121521
Anyway time to catch up on some much needed sleep.
posted
by
Ahmed Patel
on 03 Jan 08
with
| Permalink
Sunday 16th December
Woken by the call for prayer at around 4am. Today we pack and leave for 'Mina' the tent city. The 'Hajj' occurs over a five day period with the day of 'Arafat' being the actual the day of the Hajj.
Early start today as we have to pack all the medical supplies and our living essentials for the next five days, this means alot of packing and lifting. I'm all for equal rights but I was happy on this occasion to take a back seat whilst the men did the heavy lifting.
Left for Mina around 11pm. We now had two more join us on our travels as Asad Ahmad from the BBC had arrived with Sharif the BBC camera man to do a clip of the BHD at work for the news bulletin. The normally short drive to Mina took hours as we waited in many traffic jams. Arrived in the early hours of Monday morning along with many, many others and found our tents. We had been allocated three tents. One that would act as living quarters for the women, one for the men and the third a make shift clinic.
Once settled I ventured out only to very quickly remember how easy it is to get totally lost here as every area looks practically identical with the same white tents everywhere which can only be identified by colour coded alphabets and numbers.
Woke in the early hours of Monday morning as we hoped to have our services up and running by 12pm. However, before this could even happen people started arriving for assistance either medical or consular. The dedicated doctors and consular officials got to work straight away. Whilst helping out in the clinic I had a visit from my brother who told me that the tents there tour operator had been allocated had been taken by a group of Hajjis from Nigeria, this meant around 20 pilgrims were now left stranded in Mina with nowhere to stay. I went to visit the group to find the men sleeping on the floor of a kitchen (used to provide food for the Pilgrims) for the first night of thier stay in Mina. Many of these pilgrims were elderly folk including my dad.
After spending the night in Mina we proceeded to the plains of Arafat another place not far from Mina. Arafat is just lots of bare land where tents are pitched and is the place stated in the Quran as where we will be raised after death. It is not logistically possible to run clinics from here but the BHD is on hand if required.
After sunset we all travel to Muzdalifah which is lots of more open land, we will spend the night out here in the open sky returning to Mina just before sunrise.
We get up early in the morning I've had barely four hours sleep. All pilgrims will now visit Jammarat and carry out another religious ritual. After this pilgrims proceed to Makkah and perform Tawaf (circumambulation of the Ka'aba, direction to which all Muslims Pray towards). The BHD return to Mina and carry on with their consular and medical services from the tents.
The tents seem like home now after being here for a few days, saying that I was relieved to be back in the hotel where I didnt have to queue for hours to use the washing facilities. Two more nights in Mina and then it will be back to the comfort of out hotel in Makkah. Some of us decide to walk back as the short drive back will no doubt take many hours. Hajji is now completed.
posted
by
Siddiqa Hassan
on 31 Dec 07
with
| Permalink
Well the last few days have been incredibly busy performing the Hajj rituals. Also during this time we have been on the move outside of Makkah so unable to access the internet.
Just before we left Makkah we were informed that a BBC TV journalist and reporter would join us for the duration of the Hajj and stay with us filming mainly the work of the Medical Clinic. You can watch their broadcast on the following weblink:http://www.bbc.co.uk/london/content/articles/2007/12/20/doctors_hajj_video_feature.shtml
So what did we do? On the evening of 16 December (7th Zulhajj in the Islamic calendar) we got ready for the Hajj by wearing the two white sheets and entering into the state of Ehram. We then loaded our minibus up with the medical supplies and equipment that we needed to operate in Mina and set off. Mina is only occupied for three days of the year and has been dubbed by some people as “Tent City”. Thankfully due to the vast improvements in the traffic flow we get to Mina in an hour although it is only around 7 Kilometres away. We had heard of cases where it has taken over 6 hours for people to do the same journey. When we got to Mina we unloaded the minibus into our pre-designated tents and went straight to sleep due to the long day ahead the next day. The next day we start the day off getting the medical clinic going and soon people start arriving who have become lost from their groups. Sadly the numbering system of the tents is very bad and we try our best to guide people to their correct tents. On this day the Medical Clinic sees 681 patients.
The next day after the early morning prayers we set off for a place called Arafat. This is the place where Muslims believe you will be raised from the grave on the Day of Judgement. The day is spent praying and dealing with some Consular cases including one of a British national who had gone missing and the family’s MP had become involved in the UK. Luckily the lady was found a few days later. At sunset we moved to a place called Muzdalifah and spend a night under the stars! It is here that we collect the stones that we will use to pelt the structures representing the Shaytaan (devil). Again in amongst this I end up dealing with a number of consular cases, mainly missing people. The next morning we return back to our pre-assigned tents in Mina only to find an Indonesian group had occupied them. We politely ask them to vacate and they oblige.
On this day we go to a place called Jamraat and pelt one of three structures representing the Shaytaan. This place is notorious for the stampedes and crushing that has taken place in previous years. Three UK national died in this ritual 2 years ago along with 300 plus of other nationalities. Thankfully the Saudi Authorities have invested Millions in improving it and now there is a good wide system in place which can accommodate 250,000 people per hour! There are plans to improve the Jamraat even further. There are no reports of any crushing or other major problems this year. After the stoning we sacrifice an animal and then the males shorn their heads. The last act involves going around the Kaabaa seven times (called a Tawaaf) and then doing Sa’ee, which involves walking seven times between two hillocks called Safa and Marwa. After this everyone is completely exhausted but the consular cases keep coming in and the Doctors have seen in the region of 2000 patients over the last three or four days!
posted
by
Ahmed Patel
on 31 Dec 07
with
| Permalink
Finally arrived in Jeddah, a week later than originally planned. This was due to the fact that my husband, who was my 'Mehram' i.e. male guradian (if not your husband it must be someone you cannot marry), which is required by Islamic law to enter Makkah, was on call at his hospital and was therefore unable to accompany me. However, I travelled a week later with my brother who along with other members of my family had planned their Hajj trip for this December, taking along my elderly father.
Arrived in Jeddah at 5.15am and waited patiently at the Hajj terminal for all the fomalities to be completed but I was pleasantly surprised at how quickly i got through as I had been warned to expect long delays. However, the luggage took a lot longer to arrive, probably due to the fact that my over-cautious brother had had us all check in around five hours before the flight left London and so our luggage was one of the first to board the plane. Well at least we had good seats!
On arrival in Jeddah I was met by officials from the British Consul-General in Jeddah. I now left my family and got into the diplomatic car to be driven to Makkah. I had not anticipated that the normal 1-hour drive would take 5 hours, as the various checks were done en route to holy-city of Makkah where only Muslims are allowed to enter. I should have been grateful as the diplomatic car was let through most check points relatively easily.
I arrived at the hotel exhausted after travelling for nearly 24hours. Finally got to bed at around 4am only to be woken up by a call from my distraught sister to say that she had been stranded at the airport by her tour operator and had been told there was no bus to take her to her hotel till the morning. Back in London I am always getting letters from members of public about this very issue. Now I saw it happen to somebody I knew. I tried to make a few calls from my hotel to help her but got nowhere. By now I was tired and had a severe migraine.
Got up a couple of hours later and called my sister to see where she had got to. Fortunately, a bus had come along which they managed to board and were on their way to Makkah eight hours after arriving at Jeddah. I was just glad my father had managed to get onto the coach and to Makkah.
posted
by
Siddiqa Hassan
on 16 Dec 07
with
| Permalink
Throughout this week the BHD has been busy with providing medical services and various types of Consular Assistance.
Alongside these duties I have called on a number of officials within the local authorities to raise awareness of the BHD's work. This includes the emergency medical clinics based inside the Grand Mosque, several hospitals in Makkah, as well as the Red Crescent Society (Islamic equivalent of Red Cross). I also called on officials from the local Police and Fire Fighting Services.
This has proved very productive as the local authorities have been very helpful when we have needed their help in several of our Consular Assistance cases.
The final batch of pilgrims from across the Globe will arrive by the end of this week. Thereafter restrictions will be in place for people entering Makkah. All the pilgrims will require to move from Makkah to areas called Mina, Mudzalifah and Arafat to perform the Hajj rituals.
The authorities have put in place a number of measures for crowd management. For example, the roads leading to the Grand Mosque are barricaded an hour before and after each prayer in order to prevent vehicles coming near the Grand Mosque.
The weekly Friday prayer (Jummah in Arabic) is the busiest event for Mosques across the Globe. The many entrances to the Grand Mosque are closed 3 hours before the prayer is due, which is at noon. It seems impossible to estimate the number of worshippers here for the Friday prayer.Friday is a virtuous day for Muslims. Worship on Friday carries more merit than other days. Muslims must listen to a sermon and offer a special prayer in congregation on Friday. In Islam, it is believed that the Prophet Adam (peace be upon him) was created on Friday. It is also believed that the day of resurrection will take place on a Friday and should a Muslim die on Friday, God will save him/her from the punishment of the grave.
Makkah is bursting with activity 24 hours a day. The crowds heading to and from the Mosque for prayers are an amazing sight. The crowds go on for as far as I can see. As I walk through the crowds it feels as if I am moving wave after wave in an ocean of people. The rows of worshippers extend way out of the grounds of the Mosque. Worshippers are forced to offer prayer in the surrounding streets tailing back for several Kilometers at least. (See photos) The Hajj is indeed very physically demanding and a great deal of patience is required.
The circulation of the holy Kaabah (black cube in the centre of the mosque) by worshippers never stops. (See pics on Kaabah). The hustle and bustle does not stop there! The souks (markets) and modern shopping malls are open throughout the night. Many staff working in shops speak several languages in order to serve the Pilgrims.
We are now preparing to move our clinic and equipment to Mina, this is where the first Hajj ritual will take place. In the past there have been several disasters in Mina such as fires, and stampedes. This year authorities have made extensive preparations to help avoid disasters that have occurred in the past.
posted
by
Majid Ahmed
on 16 Dec 07
with
| Permalink
I always take a moment to tell them if I stop to chat to them in the waiting room that we are the only non-Muslim European country to provide this service. However the French and German governments are now looking into a similar service for its Citizens. Both myself and my colleague, Majid, have been busy dealing with a number of Consular cases including the death of a UK national and then a few hospitalizations, missing people and the detention of an individual. This is all aside from the complaints that are brought to us by pilgrims, of tour operators who have not delivered on their promises. Sadly there is nothing we can do here but offer a sympathetic ear and advise them to take up the issue with Trading Standards officials when they get back to the UK and keep a record and photos as evidence.
We are also doing a lot of the Delegation management until we have our third colleague, Siddiqa Hassan, join us this evening. However, in amongst a telephone conversation to Nick at our Consulate in Jeddah I learn that Siddiqa will be arriving a little later than expected as her flight is running behind schedule.
The number of people is ever increasing here in Mak’kah. It is estimated that 100,000 people are arriving every day now. A short walk of say 500 metres will take a good few minutes as a large number of people are also all going in every direction. I have worked on international issues in The Hague and attended various international meetings representing the UK, however here you also see and meet people from all over the World. There are people of all races and colours coming together to perform prayers side by side and it reminded me of a passage from the biography by Alex Hayley of ‘Malcolm X’ who later became a Muslim and took the name Malik El Shabazz. Before his departure on his first Hajj to Saudi Arabia he had been involved in a lot of racial politics/campaigning that was taking place in the United States. However, when in Makk'kah in April 1964 he wrote a letter to his assistants in the US saying amongst other things the following:
“Never have I witnessed such sincere hospitality and overwhelming spirit of true brotherhood as is practiced by people of all colors and races here in this ancient Holy Land, the home of Abraham, Muhammad and all the other Prophets of the Holy Scriptures. For the past week, I have been utterly speechless and spellbound by the graciousness I see displayed all around me by people of all colors. I have been blessed to visit the Holy City of Mecca…….”
posted
by
Ahmed Patel
on 14 Dec 07
with
| Permalink
I also spoke on the phone to Lord Adam Patel of Blackburn who will be heading this year's British Hajj Delegation again. This will be the eighth time he has headed the BHD out of the nine years it has operated. I am looking forward to seeing him again. He is a remarkable man, full of humour and wisdom.
It is now Thursday and the team of doctors arrived early afternoon. It is really good to see some familiar faces and to meet new ones. They are settling in and will do their Umrah first and then get to work starting tomorrow morning. So far we have been lucky that there have been no consular cases and only enquiries about when the doctors would be arriving.
As for the people going into the Grand Mosque or Haram Sharif as people locally call it, I am just taking a wild guess but I estimate it holds in the region of half a million people. Inside the Grand Mosque is the Holy Kaabah, the cube shaped structure to which Muslims around the World face when they say their five daily prayers. This is also referred to as Baytul Allah or House of God. Inside the Grand Mosque you see so many people from across the entire Globe. For many the Hajj is the culmination of a lifetime dream, the fulfillment of their religious obligation which they have saved for, for many years or in some cases a lifetime!
posted
by
Ahmed Patel
on 06 Dec 07
with
| Permalink
On Monday morning we received a call from Kate Rudd, the British Consul General in Jeddah inviting us to a press gathering at her Residence. We duly accepted the invitation and travelled to Jeddah that evening. There were more than a dozen journalists and press people including a few women and a couple of very keen photographers! It was good to see Kate as I know her from the time when she used to travel through Kuwait.
I was asked to speak about the work of the Hajj Delegation and provide examples of our work. My colleague Majid spoke about this weblog we are keeping. We also handed out the British Hajj Delegation leaflets to the press. You can access an electronic copy of it through http://www.fco.gov.uk/servlet/Front?pagename=OpenMarket/Xcelerate/ShowPage&c=Page&cid=1101396253177 . The Hajj is a regular event for the Saudis and only generated one question from the media. They were more interested in the recent “Teddy Bear” story! Which, with some other topics of the day, kept the discussion going a little longer than anticipated.
We are also experiencing difficulties with the internet connection at our hotel so we are going to try and see if it works better from another nearby hotel. However we intend to keep bloging.
posted
by
Ahmed Patel
on 05 Dec 07
with
| Permalink
On Saturday I flew out to Saudi Arabia meeting up with my colleague Majid en route. We arrived into King Abdul Aziz International Airport in Jeddah two hours late. We were also wearing “Ehram”. Ehram is two plain white sheets, one of which is wrapped around the waist and the other around the torso. Females do not have to wear the Ehram.
All the passengers on the flight were separated with non-Hajj passengers allowed off first to go to the regular airport terminal. Those of us coming out to do the Hajj were then disembarked and bussed to the Hajj terminal. The Hajj Terminal at Jeddah Airport is only open for the duration of the Hajj to cater for the estimated 2.5 million people who will arrive here. The average time to clear immigration and customs is 3 hours! Just remember that when you next go through an Airport! Anyhow we were met by Her Majesty's Consul, Nick Robbins, and the Pro-Consul, Farhat Ullah, who work in the British Consulate General in Jeddah, both of whom I know well from their hard work and support to us during the Hajj last year. With their assistance we were whisked through a separate room where we waited for our luggage. It turned up and had to be put through a scanning machine. All bags are scanned on arrival for illicit items including alcohol and pork products along with the usual illegal items such as drugs, firearms etc.
There were people arriving from Islamic countries such as Nigeria, Algeria and Malaysia, but also from other countries which one may not evidently associate with Islam, such as Croatia and Uruguay. At this moment I saw a small commotion taking place. It seemed that an elderly lady from Nigeria had put her bag through the scanning machine but was claiming that it did not come out. To reassure her that it would not be stuck in the machine the Official allowed her to climb into it to check for herself! Anyhow a few minutes later she was reunited with what she was looking for and walked away with a beaming smile.
The Customs officials on the other hand were confiscating some sort of fruit from some of the passengers from Nigeria which seemed to be well concealed in bags of what looked like flour. I was quite curious as to what they were so I asked one of the passengers who managed to explain that they were for eating.
After this we met the Consulate driver who took us onwards to Mak’kah.
On Sunday morning we arrived after a two hour journey into the Holy city of Mak’kah. En route from Jeddah we passed the junction which separates non-Muslims from entering Mak’kah and diverts them around the holy city. Just before I left Kuwait I had a very interesting conversation with the Defence Attache in the Embassy who previously worked in Saudi Arabia and remembered taking the same road but then having to go around the Holy city of Mak’kah to get to wherever he was heading to. Also, strangely, as we approach the Holy city we passed what looked like a fish and chips shop!! I most definitely will need to investigate that later!
posted
by
Ahmed Patel
on 04 Dec 07
with
| Permalink
(Clark) Good morning. My name's Clark, I work in the Consular Middle East desk. I'm just here this morning to wish Majid good luck. He's off tomorrow with the consular officers to the Hajj. This is the eighth year we're providing consular and medical support to the British pilgrims at the Hajj. We expect about 25,000 British pilgrims to attend this year. I'm sure Majid and the rest of the team will do a fantastic job. So over to you Majid.
(Majid) Thank you Clark. Well, I'm very excited. I'm actually travelling out tomorrow to join my team, Ahmed Patel, who's in Kuwait, so we will be together in Jeddah tomorrow and we will actually be taking part in the lesser pilgrimage so I hope that you can share this journey with me right through the Hajj and we will keep you up to date on what type of work we will be doing with distressed British nationals who are forming the pilgrimage.
posted
by
Majid Ahmed
on 03 Dec 07
with
| Permalink
Hello and welcome to the British Hajj Delegation's blog.
At the weekend I arrived in Jeddah with my colleague Ahmed Patel. From there we will travel to Makkah where we will set up the British Hajj Delegation operation in a hotel close to the grand Mosque compound. We will provide a front line Consular service to distressed British Nationals during the course of the Hajj pilgrimage.
Some of the issues we could deal with are hospitalisation and, unfortunately, deaths of British Nationals, as well as loss of passports and money. However, with more than 25000 Brits performing the Hajj amongst 3 million people from around the world - anything could go wrong.
Next week we will be joined by a team of seven Doctors, who will run a free medical clinic for British pilgrims.
I will try my best to highlight the work of the British Hajj Delegation over the next six weeks.
I'm very excited and looking forward to helping British pilgrims in Makkah along the course of the Hajj pilgrimage. We are expecting a huge response, I’m certain this experience will be hugely challenging and rewarding.
posted
by
Majid Ahmed
on 03 Dec 07
with
| Permalink
I am extremely fortunate in that this will be my third Hajj (the second as part of the British Hajj Delegation). It is obligatory only once for every sane, mature person who has the financial means to complete it. It is one of the five "pillars" or articles of Faith of the religion of Islam. The others being: the firm affirmation in the Shahahda - the belief in the oneness of Allah and that the Prophet Mohammed (may peace be upon him) was the true messenger of Allah; the 5 daily prayers facing the city of Makk'kaah, or Mecca as it is sometimes written; fasting during the daylight hours during Ramadhan which is the name of the ninth month in the Islamic calendar; and the giving of a percentage of your wealth to the poor and less fortunate.
I have been informing colleagues of my imminent departure for the Hajj. All of them have heard of the Hajj and know that it involves travelling to Saudi Arabia, but only a few know any of the specifics of the Hajj and what it entails and why. I will enlighten you a little later through my blogs.
Just before leaving Kuwait I was fortunate to meet with Baroness Scotland, the Attorney General, who came to Kuwait in an official capacity. She was an FCO Minister at the time the FCO Hajj Delegation was set up about 8 years ago. She was aware of the long hours and physical challenges that the Hajj involve and was sympathetic to those who go there. She was kind enough to wish me "good luck" for this years Hajj!
posted
by
Ahmed Patel
on 03 Dec 07
with
| Permalink
