MINA, 4 February 2004 — The fact that another stampede occurred this year claiming the lives of 251 pilgrims must be addressed in the most urgent manner by every organization directly or indirectly involved in Haj operations. The waves of pilgrims who walk on the bridge approaching the Jamrat area are numbered in the hundreds of thousands. Despite explicit instructions given by the authorities to the mutawwif organizations not to send their pilgrims to the Jamrat simultaneously, the tragedy still happened.

What happens every year is that the throngs of pilgrims come to the Jamrat. They circle around it, remain there for a few minutes and throw their pebbles. And while thousands are doing that, additional thousands behind them are pushing and shoving in order to get close and throw their pebbles. The first group usually finds itself going against the flow in order to leave the area, pushing through the crowds of people coming forward with their pebbles. Any weak or elderly pilgrim who slips, falls, or suddenly faints will cause panic or be trampled as thousands keep moving forward.

The stampede in Mina on the Jamrat Bridge has almost become a regular phenomenon. A couple of years ago a stampede on the bridge occurred and two years before that, some pilgrims died when they fell from the bridge. The tragedies continue to happen and the bridge stays there in spite of all changes of time, place, and capacity as if it were forbidden to alter it in any way. Like many others of our buildings, the bridge was built decades ago according to the knowledge and standards of that time. Many writers in the local press have suggested that something must be done to prevent such tragedies from happening. Some said that it would be better to have a moving electronic belt which pilgrims stand on. The belt would move around the pillars, enabling pilgrims to throw their stones and pebbles. If that were done, there would not be pushing, shoving, or panic. Others suggest that another floor be added to the bridge to lessen congestion — currently there is only one floor. Despite differences in opinion, all have agreed that the current method of stoning the Jamrat is out-dated.

However, the Jamrat Bridge in Mina is not the only thing authorities need to have in mind when it comes to improving Haj facilities. Transportation between Makkah and Arafat and Arafat and Mina should be evaluated. At present, we do not have a railway to take pilgrims from Makkah to Arafat or from Arafat to Muzdalifa and from there to Mina. All pilgrims travel to the holy sites in buses, SUVs, or other vehicles capable of carrying more than seven passengers. Some 8,000 buses fill the streets of Makkah, Arafat, and Mina every year. When a bus breaks down in the middle of the road, not only does it cause traffic congestion but it also delays thousands of other buses, cars and vehicles from reaching their destinations on time. And because a bus is so big, it cannot be towed by a normal tow truck and often has to wait for hours until a special tow truck arrives. Narrow roads, already filled with people walking back and forth mixed with cars honking impatiently do not need broken-down buses in their middle to make everything come to a standstill. For years, we have been pleading in local newspapers that we need a railway in Makkah. Not only would it solve many transportation problems for pilgrims and locals but it would also be much kinder to the environment.

The other annual problem facing the city of Makkah and the holy sites is the large numbers of people who spread their mats and sleep under the Jamrat Bridge. They constrict the areas for pedestrians walking to the bridge and cause great inconvenience. This year, however, for the first time, I saw pilgrims spreading their mats and occupying up to two-thirds of the street space on King Abdul Aziz Bridge leading to Mina. So what was built originally as a ten-meter road for vehicles ended up as only a two-meter road, barely wide enough for one car at a time to use. As one journalist said, the entire Haj from beginning to end should be filmed on video. Everything should be captured on film, looked at and analyzed — the crowded Makkah streets where cars mix with people walking; the Jamrat Bridge; broken-down buses that obstruct the flow of traffic; and pilgrims spreading mats on streets and narrowing them. If everything were on film, a thorough scientific study could be made on how to improve Haj. Without that, specialists will continue presuming and planning without any real impact on the overall situation, mainly because they did so during ordinary times when Makkah’s roads and streets were comparatively empty.