Scandale au hadj  – Le Jeune Indépendant

The controversy is only growing with the end of the hajj season. The recent videos and the numerous testimonies on the deplorable experience of Algerian pilgrims during the various rituals quickly provoked the anger of several deputies of the National People’s Assembly.

The latter, who did not fail to question the reasons for this scandal, questioned the Minister of Religious Affairs and Wakfs. While pilgrims from Algeria and their families have continued to openly criticize the supervision of the operation by the Pilgrimage and Umrah Office – a public body supposed to offer honest services to its haji clients with dignity –, a dispatch informs that Algeria won the “Labeitom” prize in Mecca for the excellence of the services rendered to pilgrims in terms of supervision of the hajj operation.

The prize was awarded during the closing ceremony of the hajj season, held in the presence of the Minister of Religious Affairs and Wakfs, Youcef Belmehdi, and the Director General of the National Office of Pilgrimage and Umrah (ONPO) , Salah Bouterfa. “Algeria’s efforts in supervising the hajj operation were crowned by the “Labeitom” grand prize, which constitutes a new achievement for our country,” said Mr. Belmehdi in a statement to the press. “We are, thank God, among the best delegations, especially in the category for which we won this prize. Congratulations to our brothers who contributed to this feat and for these blessed efforts, as well as to all sectors who participated in the preparation of the hajj operation and to all members of the mission of the Pilgrims Affairs Office Algerians. », added the minister.

However, complaints are pouring in regarding the poor organization and negligence observed throughout the ritual process. This is how MP Ezzedine Zahouf denounced the authorities’ negligence towards pilgrims, particularly during their stay in Arafat and Mina. On his Facebook page, this MP above all summarized the tragedies of the Algerian pilgrims in seven points, the most important of which is the total absence of the members of the mission, with the exception of certain Civil Protection agents and a few imams. This explains, according to him, the recording of numerous cases of disappearance among the ranks of pilgrims and abandonment of bus drivers halfway from Mount Arafat to Muzdalifah then Mina. According to Mr. Zahouf, “many pilgrims slept on the floor and in the corridors, in blatant violation of the pride and dignity of Algerians, not to mention the lack of cleanliness in the toilets, which can cause the spread of infectious diseases , as well as the absence of drinking water at the height of the heat and thirst.

The pilgrims left to their own devices

This neglect also affected Algerian women, with the stampedes at the entrance to the center to collect food rations. They also reported the violation of their privacy by foreign workers entering their tents without asking permission. For their accommodation, many pilgrims, particularly among the old men and women, did not find their places in Mina and Arafat despite reservations because there were many intruders. The drivers who had to transport them between Mina and Arafat did not even know the route for the most part. That’s not to mention the luggage that was lost at the airport…

For the MP, the scenes he witnessed gave him the impression that Algeria was organizing the hajj season for the first time, revealing that some mission agents shied away from their responsibilities and that supervisors did not did not inspect pilgrims, except in rare cases, such as to take photos and post them on social media. For its part, the Algerian Pilgrims and Umrah page published on Facebook a video clip which shows the total abandonment of our pilgrims on Mount Arafat, revealing that they had not yet moved to Muzdalifah, even if it was midnight , which is contrary to the principles of the rite and its obligations.

Finally, it should be noted that a group of parliamentarians present at the Holy Places made remarks regarding the 1445 hajj season. These remarks are recorded in a text which reproduces 17 negative points. It would be tedious to list them all, but it is worth highlighting the most important ones. First, there is no list of names of supervisors, including administrators, guides, Civil Protection, doctors and nurses, nor the telephone numbers that pilgrims can contact, either in form written guide given to pilgrims, or in centers or hotels. Then there is massive chaos in the transportation of pilgrims, whether from airports, hotels or various holy sites, causing various incidents, including pilgrims being abandoned in hotels, dozens in Arafat and dozens in Muzdalifah.

Some were even exposed to blackmail by bus drivers, while others lost their luggage and belongings. Finally, even private agencies are not excluded from this negligence, including the public agency Touring. According to the document, the latter did not respect the feeding program in the centers and did not deliver all of the meals to the pilgrims, due to the absence of agency supervisors in the centers. This new controversy risks taking a new turn during the expected debates within the APN. The deputies who wrote the damning findings believe that it is above all “the total absence of those responsible for the mission and their inability to inspect the pilgrims and know their conditions” which is the source of all the tragedies suffered by the hajis of ‘Algeria.