Cheating Haj and Umrah pilgrims is not only a despicable crime but it betrays the principle of trust. It ought to be an honor to be part of the complex process that brings huge numbers of pilgrims to Saudi Arabia every year, takes care of them and then returns them safely to their home countries. Too often, however, we hear of unscrupulous agents who have fleeced pilgrims who trusted them and paid them large sums of money, funds which may have taken them years to save, for this once-in-a lifetime experience. That is why it is so gratifying to hear that a court in Jeddah has convicted the head of a travel agency for defrauding 4,650 Umrah pilgrims. It is considering a six-month jail sentence and has ordered him to repay his victims SR6 million. The court found that the individual took the money to fly the pilgrims to the Kingdom and accommodate them but then failed to provide the flights, let alone any other services. The court was told that the businessman had pulled a similar confidence trick two years ago, when he charged a thousand African pilgrims to airfreight their luggage, when he in fact had it shipped by sea. Unfortunately, this is by no means an isolated case. Every year there are heart-rending stories of stranded pilgrims. What started off as the highpoint of their life ended up becoming a nightmare experience. They are not always victims of outright fraud. Sometimes it is simply a case of incompetence by the agencies that are supposed to be looking after them, or otherwise plain indifference. Why for instance are so many pilgrims not picked up at the airport by their Haj operators ? There needs to be more action, not just against the fraudsters like the man convicted this week in Jeddah, but against Haj operators who fail to deliver acceptable levels of service to their clients and therefore betray the trust that has been placed in them. Fines and compensation for poor performance would make underachieving agencies review and improve their operations or quit the business. Fraudsters and serially incompetent agencies should be named and shamed. By the same token, those agencies that go out of their way to welcome, guide and support their clients from around the world, should be recognized. Maybe some sort of league table would be useful, so that people planning their pilgrimage could see who are the best-performing agencies. This will reward the better operators and hopefully encourage the rest to try harder. Meanwhile those who cheat and defraud pilgrims, deserve to be punished severely as a reflection of the way they allowed their greed and selfishness to overcome their duty. __
