Many pilgrims were observed asking guards for directions to their designated tents in the vast holy city. However, as they could not make themselves understood because they spoke little or no Arabic, they were often turned away with a shrug, leading to a lot of frustration.
Arab News reporters in their florescent jackets were often mistaken for official staff and found themselves surrounded by desperate Hajis trying to get out of the sweltering heat and into the shelter of their tents.
Pilgrims say Haj officials need to ensure their staff have at least a basic understanding of English. Others, however, say that Hajis should make an effort to learn some Arabic in order to make themselves understood.
Youssouf Salajee, a 44-year-old first time pilgrim from London, said so far he has found the Haj a fulfilling experience, although there were a few moments where communication was a problem. “You get told things to do which you don’t understand. When I was in the Grand Mosque, police were telling me to do things, which I never understood,” he said. “They were shouting, but I didn’t know what they wanted me to do.”
Fifty-three-year-old Mohammed Patel, another Londoner, said pilgrims could also do more to ensure their experience with official staff is a little less frustrating. “The purpose of Haj is to acquire nearness to God … this is a lesson of Haj. Allah is most merciful, I don’t think He tests one more than one can bear. He knows everyone’s limits before He created us,” he said. “It’s (the language barrier) obviously frustrating when you can’t get your message across or they can’t get their message across to you. I suppose that’s our fault as well, because we’ve not taken the trouble to learn Arabic, have we? It’s the language of the Qur’an, it’s the language of Islam and the language of jannah.” Patel, on his second Haj in six years, claimed Saudi Arabia was opening up to the world more and more, as immigration officials had greeted him in English.
Not all pilgrims experienced problems with communicating with Haj staff, thanks to established tour guides and volunteers accompanying them. “MashaAllah, we’ve come with a very, very organized group and any problems we’ve had, we’ve just gone to them. The actual leaders of the group, there are about eight organizers, they have a lot of helpers and they all speak fluent Arabic,” said 32-year-old British pilgrim Aamer Masood, who is in Mina with his parents and wife Saira.
“They were actually helping a lot of other people from other groups at Jeddah airport when we had to fly to Madinah. No one knew what was going on, so our group was actually telling people what to do and helping the Saudi authorities.”
Masood, who is performing his second Haj, added that he had noticed a huge improvement in the facilities since his first pilgrimage five years ago. “We’re just enjoying the culture, performing all the supplications we can, and getting ready for Arafat,” added Saira.
Indian pilgrim Sayed Khan said his group had major problems communicating with officials at King Abdulaziz International Airport and at the camp.
“It’s a two-way situation though,” he added. “We cannot speak Arabic and how can we expect them to speak Urdu or Hindi? I think if I ever perform Haj again, I will try to learn some basic Arabic so I’m never in this situation where I’m walking around for two hours trying to find my camp.”
