While some leave with the knowledge of their sponsors, others leave without their permission, as Haj is a time to make up to 10 times more than what they would earn from their normal jobs.
Nezam Ibrahim, a Burmese man who works for a furniture company in Jeddah, has taken time off from his job to go to Makkah to work. Nezam earns SR1,500 a month in Jeddah. “I’ll be working on the Makkah Metro project. At the end of the month, I will have earned 10 times as much as I earn working in Jeddah,” he said.
Lyly Pramana, an Indonesian runaway maid, said working in Makkah during Haj is a golden opportunity to earn lots of money. “We enter Makkah through dirt roads which are not properly monitored by the police,” said Pramana.
“My friends advised me to quit my old job and go to work in Makkah. I asked my sponsor’s wife for leave for a month but she refused. She also refused to increase my salary, which is only SR800. I then decided to run away and go to Makkah to work as a cook,” she said.
Pramana and a group of her friends have rented a small room in Makkah for SR400 a month and are planning to cook food for pilgrims. “Last year, five of my friends gathered at an apartment in Makkah’s Aziziya district. They cooked Indonesian and Saudi food, catering mainly to southeast Asian pilgrims. They earned SR15,000 within a month, which is very good. Each had a net profit of SR3,000. They continued working after Haj until all pilgrims had left Makkah,” she said.
Some workers in Jeddah take leave from their sponsors to go and work in Makkah on the understanding they will share some of what they earn with their sponsors. Ardal Zakarya, a Turkish chef at a restaurant in Jeddah, goes to Makkah every Haj to cook for pilgrims.
“My sponsor takes 25 percent of what I earn,” he said. “My work here in Jeddah is safe and comfortable but the salary is very low. Last year, I went to Makkah to look for a job. I was afraid of getting infected with swine flu, but I ignored the threat … In Jeddah I earn around SR3,000 a month, but in Makkah, especially during the Haj season, I earn around SR10,000 a month,” he added.
Sujatmi Ramelan, an Indonesian maid who works for a Saudi family, said she has left her job and is heading for Makkah. “I do in Makkah the same work that I do in Jeddah, but the money I earn is higher. Many Saudi women look for maids during Haj. My duties include washing clothes, cooking and taking care of children. I earn around SR4,000 in Makkah during Haj. It would take me three months to earn that much in Jeddah,” she said.
Mohammed Ali, a Pakistani barber in Jeddah, has taken permission from his employer to cut hair during Haj. “Working as a barber in Makkah is easy. You don’t need to rent space to work. You can cut hair anywhere. I can shave pilgrims’ hair at any location that I choose. It’s very cheap to cut hair, but you can make loads of money if you work quickly. I earn SR5,000 a day during Haj and sometimes even more,” he said.
Makkah police said that they are cooperating with Passport Department to arrest illegal workers, but find many obstacles.
“It is too difficult to check the holy sites as they are too crowded. It is also difficult to distinguish between pilgrims and workers unless the pilgrim is in ihram. Some workers choose to work in crowded areas while others prefer to work from homes. In such cases we can’t distinguish between them. Street hawkers can easily be identified,” said Maj. Abdul Mohsen Al-Maiman, spokesman for Makkah police.
