A Day out at the Hajji Camp

Alhamdulillah, next month along with my family I intend to travel to Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to perform the fifth pillar of Islam Hajj Inshallah. In lieu to it we all have been busy preparing for the grand journey and one of the steps to be taken before getting on this journey is to visit the Hajji Camp and get vaccinated for meningitis, flu, H1 N1, and Polio. In addition to it, Anti Narcotics department situated at the Camp assist the travelers to pack and seal their medicines if prescribed by the Doctor.

On October 10th 2010 while relaxing after the daily chores I hit the sofa and switched on the television with CNBC Pakistan broadcasting a special program on Hajji Camp. The program relayed that the staff is uncooperative there, Doctors and paramedics are unavailable and personnel of PIA (Pakistan International Airlines) was not present at their counters. Even the anti narcotics team was deliberately avoiding the big lines waiting for their prescribed medicines to be packed. A man supposed to be a Hajji gave an interview telling the channel reporter that he has been standing in the line since 9 AM and has achieved nothing as for the workforce is more focused on having their food, gossips or sipping tea, furthermore he even said that his flight is the next day but he has yet not received his passport or the travel details, it was indeed terrifying for me and once the program was over I surfed into another news channel SAMAA TV and Oh My God another horrifying program on the ordeal of people suffering from the mismanagement and misbehavior of the staff at the Hajji Camp. Another man was telling the same suffering he was experiencing. He further more went on to say that the Rangers and National Scouts are creating nuisance in the name of security then providing any ease to the Hajjis.

Hearing all these stories I was kind of scared stiff and spoke with my father and sister that no matter what we are embarking on to visit the Hajji Camp without any further delays. To execute this grand plan (please read war strategy) we rushed to my Dad’s cardiologist, eye specialist and the physician to get all the medicines prescribed and stamped as per the prerequisite. Once the prescriptions were acquired Yasmina and myself hit the medicine shop in Bhadarabad to get all the necessary medicines and shoot, just twelve days of Hajj and my anxiety was as if I am about to take on a never ending journey, probably the program did wonders on my psyche… The thought that had provoked me all day after watching the two programs had such an effect on me that I had totally forgotten that a vain has overlapped another vain on my left leg and tissues near of my knee have been ruptured and just a few hours back I was suffering from sensitive pain has vanished and an energy flowed in me and did the running around.

I had another striking day waiting for me the next day therefore after coming home; I immediately retired to bed just to see in my dreams long queues of people and delinquency of the official team to give mental torture to the poor hajjis.

The sun of the next morning was shinning with full glory, my fear has somewhat subsided and had thought over the fact that whatever the outcome maybe I have no choice out and if I have to go to perform Hajj then there was no escape from a visit to Hajji Camp. With this brain wave I got ready and walked (read linger due to the knee injury) down floors where Papa and Yasmina were already ready and waiting for me so that we may leave for an adventure of a life time. The Hajji Camp is located in Sultanabad, an area adjacent to Queens Road. Though the building of Hajji Camp now seems to be in ruins but once upon a time it sure would have been majestic. As soon as the regal Queens’s road finished and Sultanabad started I saw a sign painted in fluorescent colors for even a blind man to spot it saying HAJJI CAMP AHEAD and for sure the sign was sponsored by Qarshi Industries, following the sign our car moved ahead to be greeted with another sign painted on a banner this time once again mentioning the same.

Lo and behold just a thrust and we were in a long queue of cars waiting for security clearance to enter building of Hajji Camp. While waiting for the security clearance I was wondering why they call it Hajji Camp when it is a concrete building. While I was still in my thoughts, the car reached had undergone the security check, and I found the Rangers deployed for the task very polite and respectful. Keeping in consideration since my knee was injured I wasn’t driving and instead the task was being carried out by Yasmina, one of the Rangers asked her to drop us at the entrance and take the car into the rear end parking area as it would be hectic for my Dad to walk that much.

Once inside the Hajji Camp I found out it was many blocks of buildings spread over a huge area. The camp consisted of Hajj Ministry, Anti Narcotics Department, a Hospital, PIA office, class rooms, cafeteria, a mosque, banks, hostels, Rangers Office and hostel, Scouts office and Hostel, and a market. It housed many lush green and very well maintained gardens as well despite the fact the buildings were quite shabby in appearance and external vicinity very similar to a slum area. Well once at the reception we were greeted by a very courteous scout. He guided us the whole procedure in a very humble manner, “Dear Hajjis, please do photocopy all your prescriptions in three sets, then please check in with Building A, there you have to obtain your vaccine cards, the rest of the procedure would be guided to you from them, can I be of any further assistance to you people?” So far everyone was very cooperative and not at all like what has been described by people interviewed by news channels the previous day.

While walking towards Building A I noticed the vehicles of DAWN TV, WAQT TV and DUNYA TV and their anchors trying to get hold of the scattered Hajjis to express their views. Once in building A we were queued I tried to count the number of people in the line and found 20 women and 52 men in their respective queues and it took 10 minutes in all for Yasmina and more or less approximately the same time for Papa and myself to get our vaccine cards. We were further guided to go to the hospital and get vaccinated. The hospital was just adjacent to building A so it was not that much of the walk, but in the vaccination hall of the hospital again we were all queued. However the Doctors available for vaccinations were quite pleasant, and were following the procedure, in fact when Yasmina asked the lady doctor whether the same syringes are being used or are they new so she replied that the syringes are all new and has an airlock system that discards the syringes after the first use. Though not very convincing because the airlock syringes are quite expensive whereas the services rendered at Hajji Camp is totally free and all the fixed cost are borne by the government, and the fear was that whether the new syringes are actually that new or are the ones collected by sweeper from the dustbin and repacked as for I have grown up visiting private hospitals where the syringes once used are always discarded and then thrown. However as soon as we were vaccinated our vaccine cards were signed and attested by the Attending Medical Officer and we were further guided to the upper floor where a doctor was arranged to check the prescriptions and attest them. He went thoroughly without any complaints through the prescriptions and just made a minor change of one medicine as it was capsules and capsules are not allowed to be carried in Saudi Arabia. The eye specialist has prescribed some medicines for my dad, though he did not allowed us to get those packed as for liquids and gels are once again not allowed he wrote a note requesting to allow these medicines in a hand carry. Once done he guided us to pack the medicines and take them to the anti narcotics department.

Now after a five minute walk we were in the anti narcotics building. But before entering the building I sneaked peaked into PIA office and I saw three women and one man extremely busy trying their hardest best to facilitate their customers but in any case my destination was not PIA and was Anti Narcotics, I entered into the building with a thumping heart but again, the officers here were quite respectful and helpful. One officer checked all the medicines with the prescriptions and attested the prescriptions, then asked us to buy some plastic bags available at the next table and pack the medicines and insert the prescriptions according the medicines packed so that they can easily be identified. Once this task accomplished we were suppose to get the bags sealed, the officer with a polite smile took the bags from us, checked them thoroughly and sealed them advising us to break the seal only when we have cleared the immigration at the Saudi Airport. Then he handed us a bundle of literature on what to do and what not, and what to carry and what not to carry in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It was just forty five minutes exact when we were all done and free to come home, but before we left we decided to stroll the market situated within the camp.

Once in the market I saw a gentleman who I recognized as one of the Hajjis in queues with me giving an interview to the anchor of Dunya News on the similar lines his contemporaries did yesterday and the Miss Anchor asked him to add these lines which in my opinion were extremely pathetic “Nobody here has been cooperative, I am here since 9 AM and it is 2 PM and I have yet not been vaccinated yet, the government is lousy” hearing his answer I looked into my wristwatch which was showing the time as 10:45 AM in fact. This gentleman before lying and accusing the Hajji Camp staff on request of this news anchor didn’t even realized that he would shortly be leaving for Hajj, a spiritual journey where we are supposed to meet the Almighty God in a meeting that would be one on one…

The objective of today’s propaganda against Pakistan is to create doubts, cognitive dissonance and ultimately, divide the opinions of the influential group as well as general audience.

This is what is happening with us as a nation with the international and national media presenting concocted stories. The solution to our problems is not removal of the government but the transformation of the system. Democratic institutions are not established in a short time. Pointing the finger at existing weaknesses is part of healthy criticism, but practical solutions are necessary too. Building pressure to make leadership realize its strengths and weaknesses and finding out options to overcome the problems is a sign of growing maturity. Mistrust, confusion, doubt and allegation are like termites that from inside, leading to a collective collapse. Propagandists focus on the sensitivities of the people. They choose to speak on institutions that are respected and have the capacity to deliver their best. Creating doubts about them is to shatter confidence and lower morale. Today our best defense is for all of us to shield our minds from the negative influences of propaganda.