MINA: A small tent city of its own has mushroomed in the foothills of the mountains of Mina. The irony is that it is the illegal overstayers who are using this illegal structure in a bid to perform Haj. Some others use these portable tents due to financial constraints or to avoid living in a crowd.
With strict measures in place against squatting in Mina, some pilgrims have no choice but to move away from the main areas, which they had made their temporary shelter while performing one of the five pillars of Islam, to a place that attracts less attention.
The numbers of such people are huge, and the practice has opened up a lucrative market for some illegal overstayers to rent tents on these mountains tops and cash in. Some of these pilgrims, who have their own tents, join in and create their own tent site.
Why choosing the mountains in Mina as a place to stay is a question Arab News asked people camped out in these sites. Most agreed that the place is away from the eyes of the security forces, very close to the Jamrat Bridge and the Grand Mosque in Makkah. Above all, considering what many see as the steep prices charged by Haj tour operators, camping there is affordable.
Gayied Ali, a Yemeni and an illegal overstayer, said that he remained in the Kingdom after Ramadan to perform Haj because he could not bear the expenses of the return flights to Yemen twice in such a short period of time. It is quite common to find people like Ali, who have chosen to remain past their scheduled visa exit date after Ramadan in order to perform both Umrah and Haj during the same trip.
“I bought a plastic tent and came on the mountain after I heard that the police are strictly applying security measures around the Jamrat complex and are preventing people from squatting there. At least here I am safe. I am not new to living in the mountains because in Yemen I live on a mountain. The rough roads and hard conditions here is easy for me to cope with.”
Abu Yasser, another Yemeni national, also an overstayer, saw his trip as a business opportunity. He and his friends bought a number of tents and placed them on top of these mountains and started to rent them to those who do not have their own tents or places to stay. He said that they waited until right before the Haj period started in order to dodge police scrutiny.
“We charge SR100 per day per pilgrim,” said Yasser. “I am providing a service to those who want to perform Haj with permits.”
Another expatriate, who is working as a laborer on the massive multi-billion-riyal Jamrat renovation, said that choosing the mountains was a strategic decision because it is close to work.
In another location on top of the Mina mountains, we noticed a man negotiating with pilgrims. We approached the man as a customer and he asked us whether we wanted to rent a tent in a good location. When Arab News wanted to see the location he said that the only condition was that we have to climb. The man, who did not want his name identified, is an Egyptian overstayer. He performed Haj four times and this is his fifth pilgrimage. He said that he takes advantage of Haj to make money.
He pointed out to a number of tents and said that he rents them out for SR300 per pilgrim for three days. He has been using his tents for the past five years for Haj and he only uses them during Haj and that is why they are in a good condition. “If you want to use the tent the full payment will be in advance.”
