Hajj flight

The 10.30 Emirates flight from Dhaka to Dubai is mainly full of Bangladeshis making their Hajj. My heart fell as we arrived at the airport seeing the general disorder of the city had found its way into the airport which is normally the start of a return to international standard along with coolant levels, brake fluids and port and starboard emergency exits. There are no queues just a throng of White robed men and women milling and waiting to be directed to where they need to be. Most have clearly not been this far from their village and this air conditioned departures hall is the largest and coolest room they have ever been in. They are confused and totally out of their element which in itself is a new thing. These people inhabit a lifestyle that doesn't include fast change they are poor folk from all over the country that have saved a lifetime to make this journey as according to the five pillars of Islam. The hajj or a pilgrimage is a great thing especially in a historical context when it forced people to broaden their horizons and go beyond where they knew. An education in itself and it is plain to see why it would be included in holy writings. Nowadays it is quite different though it’s all tour buses and large groups not so much the personal journey. It is quite sweet however seeing all of these mainly elderly people wandering round hand in hand with their wives or friends with travel document packs supplied by the tour organisers hanging around their necks like students on a school trip somewhere. Most have new footwear on, flip flops and sandals and some most bizarrely with basketball trainers. So incongruous on a thin and wrinkly frail ankle that sticks out from the bottom of a white haji robe, they are led like pensioners and slowly make their way from check in to immigration to the gate and at each station there is mass confusion and human blockage. It is a bit like the rest of the country but here they don't know what they are doing. Another group out their element are young and middle aged men that are flying to the Middle East. They move around in new western style clothing preparing for a new future It is scandalous they sign up for $2000 to an agency to go and work for $1500 a year as cleaners, servants and labourers 6 days a week. So after two years away they may pay back their debt and save a$1000 if they work 6 days a week and don't spend too much. I cut my way through the mayhem and madness and after far too long a time board the flight. Thoughtfully Emirates put non haji travellers together to try and offer some separation from imminent chaos of boarding. I can only liken the experience of some of these people as being similar to being abducted by aliens and being left to find their way around their craft. It is wrong and they should be told what to expect because what ensues is undignified slow, frustrating but hilarious. Most of them understood idea of a fixed seat but had no idea where it was. Bus mentality rules, the first class and business class seating is the most fiercely contested whilst the cabin crew try to keep them moving through trying to communicate that they can't sit there. Back in economy one Bengali business man makes the fatal mistake of going to the loo and returns to find a full burkha wearing woman in his seat who refuses to move or be moved. He eventually sits somewhere else until after take-off. The idea of sitting down is a hard concept to handle and another woman decided to get some water from the overhead locker mid take off amid screams and shouts from the crew. To people that don't deal with locking sealable doors the toilet doors causes many problems, throughout the flight there was a performance going on involving a thousand ways not to get into a toilet on a plane. I had never thought it would be a problem. First thing I noticed was a guy pressing some lights and engaged signs around the door; he tried sliding it and pushing it. I mime a handle action and pointed to the handle he pulls that, lifts it then pushes down and enters. Of course he doesn't lock it and of course somebody else walks in on him it just went on and on the door isn't shut and sings open to reveal a guy squatting inside. At one point a handle comes flying off and rolls down the aisle. Somebody for quite a while gets inside a loo with a concertina door a completely new concept and four people are trying to work it out there are muffled calls for help from within , a steward shows them how it works and the victim emerges happy and laughing. The whole mood of these people is happy and positive and there is no sense of embarrassment of loss of cool. It’s all a big adventure – the biggest one of their lives, That’s Hajj for you. But this is different, this is big business and a lot of money is made by tour organisers and hotel owners out of these poorest of poor people who are only doing what their holy book dictates. They could improve their family’s lives if they spent this money on something else other than a return trip to Mecca. They will come back and be as poor as they were 40 Years ago. If it's about the journey they would get more from a ten day hike round the country and still come back richer in mind and pocket. Sent on the move Sent on the move