JEDDAH, 23 December — Deputy Minister of Haj Hatim Qadi received the first group of Haj pilgrims at the Saudia Terminal last evening. The group included six South Africans who arrived by a Saudi Arabian Airlines regular flight from Johannesburg.
Fadit Samaeei and Nafiba, hailing from Cape Town, were the first pilgrims to emerge from the plane. They headed straight for Makkah. As well as a dozen Haj Ministry officials, Abdulwahid B. Saifuddin, chairman of the National Establishment for Pilgrims of Non-Arab Countries, was present at the airport.
Qadi, who presented a map of Mina, Arafat and Musdalifah and Haj-related books to the incoming pilgrims, told Arab News: "Today marks the arrival of the first official group of pilgrims for the upcoming Haj, and the Haj Ministry has made elaborate arrangements for receiving them."
Mahdi Basadien, Haj consul at the South African Consulate General, said only six of 45 South Africans who arrived by the flight were Haj pilgrims while the rest had come for Umrah. More South African pilgrims were expected to arrive on other flights operated by Turkish and Ethiopian airlines and EgyptAir.
"These airlines will continue to transport South African pilgrims in their regular flights in the coming weeks," he said. Saudia operates weekly two flights to Jeddah from Johannesburg.
Both Basadien and Consul-in-Charge Marco Combrinck, who were accompanied by other consulate officials, said about 6,500 pilgrims from their country would perform Haj this year against 7,500 last year. They attributed the drop in the number to the devaluation in currency. Asked whether it was also due to the post-Sept. 11 situation, Basadien said: "The event might have had an indirect impact, but it had not directly affected the plans of prospective pilgrims."
Combrinck added: "The South African rand went down from 11 to 13 to a dollar in the past two weeks alone."
According to Basadien, a delegation of 14 South African Haj and Umrah Council representatives was here in October to sign protocols with the Haj Ministry. A similar team is scheduled to arrive on Tuesday to oversee and coordinate pilgrimage arrangements for their countrymen.
Asked whether the pilgrimage was subsidized by the South African government, he answered in the negative. "It costs as much as SR10,000 per pilgrim. This includes air passage, housing and food. Pilgrims save money over a period of time to undertake the pilgrimage, at least once in a lifetime."
He added that accommodation was not the prime responsibility of the consulate as each agent who brought in pilgrims took care of their stay. They stayed mostly in rented buildings or hotels.
