Elderly pilgrims risk life to go to Mecca

Elderly pilgrims risk life to go to Mecca

JAKARTA (JP): Seventy-year-old Salimah says she feels fine and
strong enough to go through the arduous rites of the haj
pilgrimage in Mecca.

"I have to be strong," she said resolutely.

Salimah, a resident of Tangerang in West Java, might think she
is up to the month-long ordeal, but health experts agree she is
actually one of the "high-risk" pilgrims.

Roeselar Roelan, a doctor posted at the haj dormitory in
Pondok Gede, East Jakarta, named the other high-risk people as
those with hypertension, those who are obese or have heart
problems.

Roelan said elderly people constitute the majority of the
"high-risk" group. The Ministry of Religious Affairs said more
than 60 percent of the 195,000 pilgrims this year are over 50
years old.

"They have to be observed carefully by the doctors," Roeselar
said. "They may seem to be in good health but in fact they are
often too weak to complete the long haj trip," he said.

The government assigned one physician and two nurses to every
flight group, which consists of an average of 400 pilgrims.

Prospective pilgrims have to pass a series of health
examinations at village health centers, at the health offices of
the local administration, and, finally at the haj dormitory.

The government does not prevent elderly people from going on
the haj. It does however forbid pregnant women and those with
infectious diseases from joining the pilgrimage.

Rites in the haj pilgrimage require a lot of time and energy.
It takes at least 30 days to conduct the religious service until
it peaks on the Sacrifice Day. This year's haj season, which
started on March 23, will climax on April 28.

Sometimes, however, even the most feeble pilgrims can defy
physical limitations and successfully go through the grueling
rites because they have inner depths of determination that
enables them to succeed, Roelan pointed out.

"It's their spiritual preparation that often helps them
overcome their physical capabilities," he said. "An old, weak
pilgrim could successfully complete the whole pilgrimage because
his or her motivation is very strong."

Chairman of the influential Indonesian Council of Ulemas Hasan
Basri is a case in point of a Moslem who feels that spiritual
preparation could help overcome his physical condition.

In 1992, Hasan Basri, who was then 72, felt he was actually
too weak to go on the haj. "But if you think only of Allah, you
become stronger," he told The Jakarta Post.

He then completed all the prescribed rites, including the
thawaf, or the circling of the Kaaba, the holy shrine in Mecca,
seven times, while being jostled by hundreds of thousands of
other pilgrims.

Hasan, who has been on the haj more than 10 times and several
times on the minor pilgrimage, umrah, agreed that spiritual
preparation is very important for prospective pilgrims.

"You have to be healthy spiritually, which means you do
everything only for Allah and you rid yourself of any impurity of
thoughts," he said. (01)