Fired on duty

 By Cassim Peer, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
Meintjeskop Ditaba No III/1999
             

The Hadj

I have decided to put pen to paper at the urging of my friend and colleague His Excellency Richard Baltimore III, the Consul General of the United States of America in Jeddah Saudi Arabia. His Excellency, who heard of my experience during one-of our discussions at the many functions we attend together as representatives of our respective countries in Jeddah, insisted that it was necessary to record this incident for historical reasons and as "an inspiration to others". 

Richard Baltimore III who served at the Embassy of the United States in Pretoria for two years during the apartheid era, had during his time there been a great help and support to members of the liberation movement and the oppressed people in South Africa.

The Hajj

The pilgrimage or the Hajj, as the Muslims know it, is a five day ritual which involves the movement of pilgrims from Makkah to a valley called Mina about 7 kilometres away. From there, the entire mass of people move to a place called Arafat, and thereafter to Muzdalifa and back to Mina where they stay for a further three days and then return to Makkah. At each of these sites, they have to conduct certain rituals, which constitute the Hajj process. In the valley of Mina, which has to accommodate 3 million people, on an area of 2 square kilometres, the Government of Saudi Arabia has divided the space into approximately 150 camps made up of almost 70000 tents to ccommodate all the pilgrims.

South African Camp

The temperature on this fateful 15th day of April 1997, at about 11 O'clock in the morning was 45 degrees Celsius. The South African camp was designed to accommodate 9000 people but due to some miscalculations, the camp was overcrowded and approximately 200 pilgrims could not find accommodation in the tents. Many of these pilgrims sheltered from the burning sun by sitting under some huge refrigerated trucks that were parked on the road in front of the camp.

Fire!

While waiting for the arrival of the official in charge of providing accommodation outside the camp, I took shelter under a refrigerated truck. I was chatting with some pilgrims when we saw people running past the camp. At first we did not take notice until we realised that the number of people running past the camp was increasing at a very rapid rate. Suddenly we saw vehicles loaded with people also rushing past the camp and the crowd of people increased to a stampede within a few minutes. We immediately moved further to ascertain the reason for this and were informed that a fire had broken out in one of the camps, which was approximately a kilometre from the South African camp. We heard sounds of explosions and saw large clouds of smoke arising in the distance.

People were screaming and shouting and generally in a state of panic.

Crowds

Immediately I entered the South African camp and noticed that great anxiety and fear had gripped the people. The road in front of the camp was completely choked with the people desperate to get away from the fire and it was impossible to move. A decision was taken to close the gate of the South African camp to prevent other people from entering and causing a stampede.

Having done that we positioned ourselves over the corrugated iron fence and sprayed the crowd outside with water to cool them off as they rushed past. From this position, we initially felt that the fire was at a distance and did not pose any danger to the South Africans. However, we also took notice that the fire was spreading onto the hillside in the background about a kilometre away and people were scattering in all directions.

Risk

As the only person in authority in that camp, in my capacity as Consul General, I asked some community leaders to make a decision on behalf of the South African pilgrims. Climbing onto a mobile refrigeration unit, I saw that the fire was burning furiously. 

Helicopters were pouring huge buckets of water onto the fire and fire engines were desperately trying to get the fire under control.

By this time, the crowd of people walking past the South African camp became extremely dense and it was impossible to open the gate. I therefore advised the people to break down the fence at the rear of the South African camp in order to open a way to evacuate the people should the need arise.

Danger

Other South African pilgrims joined me at the place where I stood and we monitored the movement of the fire. Suddenly there was a change in the direction of the wind and now clearly the fire was heading towards the South African camp. A decision was then made that the South African pilgrims needed to evacuate the camp. As it was impossible to open the gate, the people were asked to move out of the camp from the rear where the fence had been broken down. I urged the people to leave all their belongings and to move out of the camp as fast as they could.

People had begun to panic and I appealed to them to calm down. It was also impossible for me to guide them as to the direction they should take, as it seemed that most of the roads leading away were congested. They were advised to take any road or highway that led them away from the approaching fire.

Family evacuation

Suddenly I realised that my wife and four children needed to get away. But my responsibility dictated that I stay in the camp to ensure that all South Africans were evacuated and to assist any in difficulty. I decided that I had to send away my family to safety and approached a relative and asked him to take my wife and children with him. A friend agreed to carry my 7-year-old son on his shoulders to avoid him being crushed by the crowd. 

I could see the anguish in the eyes of my wife and urged her to move quickly and to take care of the children. As they walked out of the camp, I glanced at them and wondered if that was the last time I would be seeing them. I knew that by staying at the camp, I would be placing my life in a great danger.

  

Sick

I began evacuating the people as fast as possible. Walking from tent to tent I ensured that all the people were moving out. In the far end of the camp people were sound asleep, unaware of the great drama that was playing itself out around them. I woke these people and rushed them out of the camp.

In one tent I found a man and a woman. The man was sitting next to his wife and explained that she was extremely sick and unable to walk. I told him that he had no choice but to take his wife and leave. I helped him to pick up his wife and hovinq put her arm around his shoulder, I supported them to the end of the camp and asked them to continue walking, which they did with some difficulty.

"Heart Tablets"

After about 20 minutes, I noticed that most people had managed to get onto the side of the road leading away from the fire. I stood on an elevated spot to check the camp and saw that at the end of the camp an elderly man was shuffling around in search of something.

I ran the 100 or so metres towards him and with the exploding gas cylinders, sirens, screams and other sounds in the background I almost became hysterical myself, realising that the fire was fast approaching the South African camp. I screamed at the man about his suicidal behaviour. He responded that he needed his tablets before he left. I told him to forget his tablets and get out of the camp but he insisted that it served no purpose saving himself from the fire if he would collapse and die of heart failure down the road. The man was looking for his "heart tablets"!

I realised that he needed help. He indicated that his tent was in the last row near the ablution block. I took him to each tent but he failed to recognise any as his. Eventually, I heard a helicopter overhead and realised that the fire was getting really close and in desperation asked him in which camp his tent was. He replied that his tent was in camp number 5. Sadly, 

I had to remind him that we were in fact searching camp 6 and that camp 5 was beyond reach due to the closeness of the fire. I urged him to walk away and although he was greatly distressed, he agreed. I walked with him to the rear end of the camp and recall wondering, whether, with the added stress of the fire, he would make it to safety.

Old and Infirm

I was now sure that the South African camp was empty but could not stand by and see the old and infirm pilgrims lying nearby, too exhausted to move away. I joined the effort by the Indians and Pakistanis to carry these people to safety. We all agreed that we would carry them about a 100 meters down the road and at that point ask others to take them further. I also remembered one very old man who insisted that he be left there to die as he was too old and therefore it was unnecessary to save him. However, he was also carried away.

Under Control

I eventually moved about 300 meters away from the camp and began to assist the elderly and injured and awaited developments. It seemed that the fire was being brought under control and at about 3pm that afternoon, it looked safe to go back to the camp.

I was extremely tired, thirsty and hungry by this time and was extremely pleased to see a fellow South African whom I knew quite well. He told me that his tent was still standing and that he had plenty of food. We rushed to his tent and I must say that that was the tastiest plate of biryani I had ever eaten.

Return

I began to worry about my family. It was impossible to know where they could have ended up. The sirens were still sounding everywhere. Helicopters were removing the seriously injured. Figures released later showed t~at over 500 people had died and thousands were injured. I found that the best option was to wait at the camp and hope and pray for the-safety of my family.

Exhausted, I fell asleep. When I awoke, amidst the general excitement of the returning crowds, I recognised the voice of my little son in a nearby tent. I ran out to find my family had returned safe and sound. They had been separated from the group due to the crowds and my wife and three of my children had ended up at another part of Mina where they had taken shelter. My eldest son had found himself on a freeway to Makkah but had been assisted by some unknown person and brought back to the camp.

Another day in the life of a South African diplomat!