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âTragedy at Jamrat Was Avoidableâ
Interior Minister Prince Naif yesterday emphasized Saudi Arabiaâs efforts to ensure the security of pilgrims and said Sundayâs Jamrat stampede could have been avoided if pilgrims had behaved calmly.
| "It wudn't us. It was them. Wotta buncha dumbasses..." |
âI saw people jump over those who fell while others stood on top of them to throw stones. We had hoped that our pilgrims would behave calmly and respect those who fell down or fainted, rather than step on them,â he said.
| "I mean, mobs usually behave calmly, don't they?" |
Prince Naif, who is chairman of the Supreme Haj Committee, called upon Haj officials in Islamic countries to instruct their pilgrims in what is necessary in order to prevent harm to themselves and others.
| "Yeah! We're tired of cleaning up your corpses!" |
âWhat happened was the will of God and we do not want to blame pilgrims,â he said referring to Sundayâs stampede in which 251 pilgrims were crushed to death and nearly 240 injured.
| "So, y'see, if it wudn't their own fault then there was nothin' to be done! God dunnit!" |
Authorities had tried to prevent tragedy by urging the pilgrims to stone the devil in Mina at different times.
| "Okay. Youse guys over here, you're gonna riot at 10 o'clock, and youse guys, you're gonna riot at 11 o'clock..." |
Addressing top officers at the end of the Haj on Tuesday, Prince Naif commended their attempts to prevent moves to undermine the security of the Kingdom and pilgrims. âThere were no security breaches or sabotage operations,â he pointed out.
| "Didn't need any. We still managed to have more people killed than they had in Bali. Beat 'em by about a third, in fact!" |
The minister said the security, safety and traffic plans were carried out according to the highest standards and âthose who say otherwise are ungrateful or hate this country.â
| "I mean, nobody coulda done it better'n us..." |
Prince Naif said he believed that the pilgrims who died in the stampede would enter Paradise. âWe hope that their place in paradise with the faithful is assured because they have fulfilled their pilgrimage duties.â
| "So, really it was a good thing that they died, right?" |
He said the stampede, while lamentable, was not any different from what might occur in a crowded place elsewhere in the world and should be kept in perspective.
| "I mean, look at Disneyland..." |
Posted by: Fred Pruitt 2004-02-05 |
