RIYADH: About 255 volunteers left Riyadh, Monday for Mina to serve pilgrims during the next thee days of Haj. After Standing at Arafat, more than two million pilgrims spend their time in the Tent City of Mina to complete the remaining Haj rituals such as sacrificing animals and stoning of Jamarat during three days before leaving for Makkah. Indian Friendship Forum, a Riyadh-based social organization, has arranged the departure of volunteers to Mina. The common problems that the pilgrims face include loss of way from their tents, health issues such as heat exhaustion or problems due to old age. The volunteers have undergone training on how to serve the pilgrims in need such as guiding them to find their tents and help those having health problems, said Ashraf Mellatur, IFF coordinator. During Haj, he said, Mina is transformed into a big city and in such a manner that all directions look exactly similar to one another. Majority of pilgrims have to walk long ways before reaching Jamarat for stoning. It is this time that the pilgrims are most likely to lose their direction and become stranded, he said. The volunteers that received training from leading charity organizations would be fully prepared to help the pilgrims find their way to tents. “An Australian pilgrim had lost his mother during stoning at Jamarat and was deeply disturbed by the incident. We helped the pilgrim to find his mother in coordination with the Saudi authorities,” Ashraf said citing previous Haj experience. He said in another incident an Iranian pilgrim suffered from some serious health problem and the volunteers immediately took him to the emergency section of the primary health center located in Mina. The pilgrims might also need support to understand the use of Mashair Train, he said. The volunteers have also learnt to help the pilgrims on how to board the train and return back exactly at the same location after stoning, he said. He said over 1,000 volunteers that received ID certificates to serve the pilgrims from a Saudi charity organization and concerned foreign mission would be deployed this Haj. “The Jeddah chapter of IFF is sending about 800 volunteers. Since we have broader understanding of different locations in Mina and know Arabic fairly good besides various other foreign languages. The basic purpose of these expatriate volunteers is to serve the guests of Allah purely on humanitarian ground,” he said. He said the volunteers are bearing their own cost of transport from Riyadh and food that comes to around SR250 per person. However, the stay in Mina will be provided by the charity organization that trained them, he said. “The volunteers from Riyadh have left in four buses, while some arranged their own private transport,” he said.
