Mecca, December 5, 2009: The India Fraternity Forum has about 1000 volunteers in both Harams , Mina and Arafath in order to provide assistance during the pilgrimage. The volunteers are Indian expatriates working in Saudi Arabia and they speak a variety of languages. Volunteers of India Fraternity Forum embarked on the service of the Haj pilgrims ever since they started arriving in Jeddah airport on 20th October 2009 until leaving after performance of Hajj i.e. end of this month by helping them to collect their baggage, especially the weak and the disabled, by directly leading and guiding them to their places and tents, especially in Mina.
In Makkah, Indian Hajis were given a warm welcome by the Fraternity Forum and distributed prayer mats (Musalla) and dates to them and helped them to get their baggage to their accommodation after unloading. Later, in Indian Haj Mission in Makkah, the leaders of the forum met the Consul General Saeed Ahmed Baba and Haj Consul B.S. Mubarak and discussed the ways to effectively organize the volunteer service in Makkah and Madeena.
Based on this meeting the volunteers helped the Haj pilgrims to reach both Harams (Makkah and Madeena) and back to their accommodation and guide them to the branch offices of Indian Haj Mission or dispensaries upon their requests. Since language was a main obstacle between the pilgrims and the Mutawwif officials, the Volunteers were helping the pilgrims to effectively communicate with the officials to solve their problems in the accommodation buildings / apartments.
Volunteers of the Forum have been serving the pilgrims in the holy sites for the last six years and many enthusiasts from Dammam, Abha, Riyadh, Jeddah, Al-Hasa, Jubail, Tabooq, Taif Madina and active members among the expatriates have joined them this year for the Haj service in Mina which has been under way since the first Haj flight from India landed at the Haj terminal of KAIA Jeddah until December 15, 2009.
Since three years large number of members have been serving as Haj Volunteers. In their saffron-colored vests and red caps, they stand out in the crowd, so that people from the subcontinent can easily recognize them and can turn to them if assistance is needed. Each India Fraternity Forum volunteer can be reached through his mobile telephone so it is easy to direct them to go where required. Fraternity Forum has engaged a helpline group focusing on the missing pilgrims based on that help desk team coordinate with Hajj Mission as well as some other source and they confirm when the pilgrim is reported found or reached their respective tents. The Fraternity volunteers are paying their own expenses to perform this valuable service and they must be commended for their initiative.
Help and guiding the pilgrims to their tents in Mina after spending the day in Arafat and overnight stay in Muzdalifa, is a great effort where Fraternity Forum deployed their maximum volunteers. Forum posted their volunteers at many important locations which include the beginning of Mina, King Faisal Bridge, King Abdullah Bridge and King Khalid bridge and near Jamarat.
On the way of Jamrat stoning rituals, the pilgrims were really thankful to the India Fraternity Forum Haj Volunteers for their elaborate plan to help them. They were guiding missing pilgrims to exact location through their route maps. Fraternity team was ready to face any issues on way to the King Abdullah Bridge to witness the proceedings. The pilgrims were marching with purpose to the Jamrat complex under the direction of Fraternity cadets.
The two Fraternity Forum volunteers are part of the Medical Service team of the Forum which is taking care of the pilgrims in the tents particularly those who are very exhausted or sick and who needs medical attention. They are taken to the nearest clinics or hospitals depending on the situation. Pilgrims appreciate the efforts of the forum volunteers as some of them are too weak even to go to the clinics.
Eye witnesses speak
One of the pilgrims Mr. Ifthikar from Goa, who came to perform Haj said “I have never seen these kind of volunteers who were fully equipped to meet the needs of pilgrims. They have been very helpful to us.” He added that, “At King Abdullah Bridge, I was accosted by an elderly Pakistani pilgrim who was lost. Zulfathunnisa from Faisalabad lost her husband in the crowd at Arafat and she hadn't been able to find him. “I lost my husband on Arafat in the crowd,” the elderly pilgrim cried. “I have been looking for him since last night,” she said and asked for help her to reach Camp 85 where she hoped she could find her husband. Taking the woman to Camp 85 was out of the question as it is close to slotted area , far from where I was. Ifthikar tried to point her in the right direction but she refused to go without him and she said “You are the first person who knows my language and my problem. If I lose you, I might never find my way!” she pleaded. “You must carry my bag. It is so heavy. You must help me just as if I were your mother. If you don't help me, I will curse you.” The situation was getting serious. Not because she was threatening to curse me, but because she was so distressed, Ifthikar said, “I had an idea. I called on the number of a volunteer of India Fraternity Forum and explained the situation to him. He promised to send someone to help and within minutes Zulfathunnisa was being escorted back to her camp.
In another case, an Indian pilgrim from Surat, Gujarat was found after two days in Mina under the King Khalid Bridge. Ahmed Yusuf was in an exhausted and unstable condition and Fraternity Forum volunteers took him first to the bath room and after giving him bath, the volunteers took him to the Indian Mission clinic. Since he was violent and trying to strip off his dress and the drips given to him the doctors at the Indian mission advised his transfer to another hospital in Makkah.
Many pilgrims who received the help from IFF volunteers profusely thanked them.
India Fraternity Forum has taken the spirit of service to the pilgrims emphasizing the importance and relevance of guiding the stranded pilgrims during Hajj to the best and this year they engaged more than a thousand volunteers to serve the pilgrims in Mina and Arafat, which has been very efficient and useful for the pilgrims. Part and parcel of the volunteer service Fraternity Forum has been helping the Hajis with necessary guidance regarding the time schedule of stoning at Jamaraat thanks to the multilingual announcement of the volunteers.
source: http://www.mangalorean.com
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