Egyptians in trouble .. They tried to travel for Hajj on the Saudi entertainment visa

Abdel Rahman Mohamed - Cairo

"I have no other than God to make me good." In the tone of helpless helplessness, Haj Samir expresses his shock after being confirmed that he will not be Hajj this year, since he was the one who issued a visa for "Dilaya", which both the Egyptian and Saudi authorities have stopped traveling recently.

Hajer Samir repeats the oath from time to time that he did not know that his visa was not earmarked for Hajj. Mr. Saber (a visa broker) is responsible for "exploiting" him and five other members of his village, exploiting his simplicity and illiteracy to convince them that he has the ability to offer them a reasonable pilgrimage.

The Saudi authorities recently issued special visas to attend the art events organized by the Saudi Arabian Recreation Authority, which are widely criticized for violating the conservative nature of Saudi society and some of them close to the Holy Land, some of which were used by some to perform Umrah. Pilgrimage.

"We paid a lot, but less than others, and the procedures were quick," he said. "This quickly led them to meet Mr. Saber's request for papers and material costs before finally finding out. Will not achieve their dream pilgrimage.

"The law does not protect the fools," said Haj Samir, who was accused of being a "salt and dab" in a local expression that indicates his disappearance.

Visa effectiveness

Al-Haj Samir was not the only one who was subjected to this "shock." He was preceded by hundreds of Saudi authorities who had returned to Saudi Arabia after entering the country because of their entry on a "da'ala" visa. Work for this visa during the Hajj season.

In March, Saudi Arabia introduced a visa to enable visitors to attend recreational events that were launched recently. The visa was issued within 24 hours of receipt of the student's passport, and many resorted to perform Umrah and Hajj to escape the visa that requires Extracting them for about two weeks, as well as their tougher conditions and greater costs.

As the crisis escalated, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry issued a statement demanding citizens not to respond to the travel agents who were soliciting them to obtain electronic visas for the visit, thus exposing them to mass arrests.

In a press statement, a member of the Higher Committee for Hajj and Umrah in the Ministry of Tourism Ashraf Shiha said that the crisis of Egyptian pilgrims who were subjected to operations because of the visa activity came through fake offices are not licensed. He called on the responsible authorities to carry out inspections on these entities, which operate the work of tourism companies and focus on ordinary citizens.

corporate responsibility

Mustapha Hassan, a tourism company employee, points out that the increase in the number of people affected by the ban on traveling to the Holy Land to perform Hajj is due to the success of others who previously obtained the visa to travel and perform Umrah.

Hassan pointed out in his speech to Al Jazeera Net that the main motivation for those who seek Umrah with this visa is easy to extract, as well as the abolition of restrictions on non-performance of Umrah previously, as well as non-requirement to adhere to travel through tourism companies.

The decrease in fees compared to the cost of Hajj visas (about five of them) enticed travel companies and pilgrims to replace Hajj visas, which cost about 75,000 pounds (less than 17 Egyptian pounds), according to Mustapha.

And through his proximity to a number of affected cases, Mustafa believes that the responsibility is sometimes borne by tourism companies and a number of workers in the tourism sector individually, as they resort to ordinary pilgrims, while the victims bear responsibility for their previous knowledge of the matter, and their belief in the possibility of pilgrimage through these visa.

The employee of the tourism company excludes the possibility of resolving the crisis by giving the Saudi authorities flexibility and allowing the holders of this visa to perform the rituals, as this contravenes the arrangements for the Hajj season. The Egyptian authorities are not expected to play a role even with those affected by the issuance of these visas.

The paradox between Hajj and effectiveness

The director of the International Organization for the Protection of Human Rights, Alaa Abdel Monsef, does not believe that the Egyptian state has a responsibility in this crisis because it is not a party to it. In his opinion, the issue is confined to the tourism companies who have taken care of some simple people who want to make Hajj.

He stressed that the right of simple people affected by the fraud and greed of some travel companies and travel agents to obtain financial and moral rights, if they can prove their lack of knowledge of the nature of this visa, pointing out the possibility of it.

In his speech to Al-Jazeera Net, Abdel-Monsef said that despite the juridical legitimacy of the right to perform rituals, the parties who followed this path bear the responsibility of not complying with the legal procedures necessary to guarantee access to the Holy Land and perform Hajj.

But he pointed to the paradox between the ease of visa activities and the difficulty of Hajj visa, pointing out that the methodology of the Saudi regime, which has recently facilitated the issuance of visas to attend activities and recreational activities, in exchange for the difficulty of those procedures in front of those wishing to perform rituals;