Pilgrims unaware of devil-pelting schedule<\/p>\n
Fabiola Desy Unidjaja and Slamet Susanto,
\nThe Jakarta Post, Jakarta\/Yogyakarta<\/p>\n
The deaths of 54 Indonesian pilgrims in Sunday's stampede in Mina
\nnear Mecca, Saudi Arabia, have been blamed in part on the poor
\nmanagement of the schedule for the country's pilgrims to perform
\na devil-stoning ritual there.<\/p>\n
Some Indonesian pilgrims claimed on Wednesday they were not
\nnotified about the day or the time allocated for them to conduct
\nthe stoning ritual in Mina.<\/p>\n
"No one told us about a schedule. We just arranged with our
\ngroup to perform the stoning ritual," an Indonesian pilgrim,
\nArman Syam, told The Jakarta Post by phone from Mecca.<\/p>\n
He said his group missed the stampede because it had decided
\nto wait for a time when not so many people crammed the stoning
\nsite in Mina.<\/p>\n
Learning from past tragedies, the Saudi government had
\nallocated different days and times for pilgrims from countries
\nacross the globe to carry out the stoning ritual.<\/p>\n
Indonesian pilgrims and those from other Southeast Asian
\ncountries were given between 4 p.m. and 10 p.m local time on
\nSunday to throw stones at three pillars at the site.<\/p>\n
The Mina tragedy, which killed at least 244 pilgrims including
\n54 Indonesians, took place at around 11 a.m. or 3 p.m. Western
\nIndonesian time, when about two million Muslims crammed into the
\nritual site.<\/p>\n
The Indonesian casualties could have been avoided if the
\nvictims abided by the schedules set for their rituals.<\/p>\n
Such arrangements were set in order for Asian pilgrims to
\navoid the heavy rush with those from other continents, who have
\nbigger builds, officials said.<\/p>\n
Dani, an Indonesian haj group leader in Mecca, confirmed
\nArman's statement, saying that she did not receive information
\nabout the schedule for the stoning ritual.<\/p>\n
"Nor had other group leaders been notified of it. We usually
\njust arrange it with our own group," she said.<\/p>\n
A similar assertion was made by Edi K.R., who said he and his
\nIndonesians colleagues were only informed of three good times to
\ncarrying out the stoning ritual.<\/p>\n
The better (afdhol) time is in the morning until around noon,
\nhe added.<\/p>\n
Indonesian survivor Tinggih, 54, from South Sulawesi recalled
\nthat the fatal accident started when Turkish pilgrims forced
\ntheir way into the stoning site, while at the same time an
\nAfrican group was getting out of the huge crowd after carrying
\nout the ritual.<\/p>\n
But an African woman lost her grip on her husband and was
\nswept away by the flow of Turkish pilgrims, Tinggih was quoted by
\nAntara as saying in Mecca.<\/p>\n
As the woman was directly trampled there, her husband who had
\nmanaged to get out of the frenzied crowd became hysterical and
\nentered the crowd again and started beating Turkish nationals.<\/p>\n
A clash then broke out at the scene with hundreds of pilgrims
\nstampeding and many of them collapsing.<\/p>\n
Tinggih said he saw dozens of Indonesian pilgrims trampled at
\nthe ritual site.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, chairman of the country's second largest Muslim
\norganization Muhammadiyah Syafii Maarif urged the Indonesian
\ngovernment on Wednesday to lodge a protest with the Saudi Arabian
\ngovernment for its poor management that has been blamed for
\nrepeated stampedes during pilgrimage rituals.<\/p>\n
"It's ridiculous that the tragedy is often considered God's
\nwill. It happens because of the poor haj management," he said in
\nYogyakarta.<\/p>\n
Syafii said the government should first use diplomatic
\nchannels to demand an improvement in the haj management before
\nlodging a formal protest.<\/p>\n
He also said the commercialization of the haj as seen by the
\nhigh cost of the pilgrimage should be stopped.<\/p>",
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