First pilgrims return to Indonesia safely

JAKARTA (JP): The fatigue of a 10-hour flight from Jeddah was soon forgotten as Indonesian pilgrims stepped off the Garuda airplane at Halim Perdanakusuma airport yesterday morning.

Many broke into tears, happy to be home safe and sound, as they boarded a bus bound for the Pondok Gede haj dormitory, where well-wishers had waited for hours.

There were more tears as the pilgrims were reunited with their families outside the dormitory.

The reunion moved police officers deployed to keep well- wishers outside the dormitory's gate. "I'm so touched," said an officer as he held back tears.

Seven widebodied jets arrived at Halim airport yesterday, marking the start of a massive operation to bring home nearly 200,000 Indonesian pilgrims from Saudi Arabia.

Thirteen other planes carrying Indonesian pilgrims flew into airports in Medan, Surabaya, Surakarta, Balikpapan and Ujungpandang. In all, about 9,000 people returned yesterday, the Ministry of Religious Affairs said.

For one returning pilgrim, the celebration had to wait.

Aminah, a 67-year old resident of Kebon Jeruk, West Jakarta, had to be admitted to the Haj Hospital in Pondok Gede because of respiratory problems and diabetes.

Her daughter-in-law Rushdi said Aminah had been ill in Mecca and had undergone treatment there. "She was fine before she left," Rushdi said.

Breaking with tradition, the government did not organize lengthy welcoming ceremonies for the first flight, a practice which Minister of Religious Affairs Tarmizi Taher has described as a waste of time and money.

Minister of Transportation Haryanto Dhanutirto was on hand to greet pilgrims arriving on the first flight at Halim, and to ensure that officials speeded up procedures so that pilgrims could return to their homes quickly.

The Indonesian Consulate General in Jeddah said yesterday that 23 more Indonesian pilgrims have died, bringing the death toll to 365. Most of them died of old age and respiratory problems.

Last year, 570 out of nearly 200,000 Indonesians died during the pilgrimage. (11)