MINA, 9 January 2006 — “I’m living in a camp of my own,” said a young Pakistani, Mohammed Azhar. He was standing beside his modern plastic portable tent next to the Jamrat area in the tent city of Mina.
Azhar is just one example of thousands who are performing Haj illegally and who are not part of an authorized camp.
“We are facing a serious problem because of the portable tents,” said Saad Ahmad, a volunteer ambulance driver in Mina. “Previously when squatters slept on the streets without tents, it was easier to move them around in case of emergencies,” he said.
Over the last few years, it has become common for many squatters to use lightweight easy-to-erect tents instead of spending thousands of riyals and living in an authorized camp. This causes a problem every year, not only to the authorities but also to pedestrians. The squatters occupy a large area in Mina and prevent ambulances as well as civil defense vehicles from moving freely within the holy sites.
Azhar, who has been working in Makkah for three years, carefully chose the spot where he pitched his tent — in the shade and near public facilities. “I spent only SR70 for the tent and it provides me with shelter and privacy,” he said.
Unlike Azhar’s two-person tent, some illegal pilgrims who come with their families pitch large tents that can accommodate up to six persons. There are pilgrims who decorate their tents while others use their tents as small shops and sell various items to other pilgrims. Some pilgrims take advantage of areas which are crowded with tents by stretching blankets from the top of one tent to the top of another and creating shade. This in turn causes movement problems for those walking from one place to another.
