Re: Stoning the pillars/walls at Hajj.
I think a lot of you are twisting what PCG is saying, but that's not really surprising.
Mr. Fraudia, what you touched on is what I was saying in my earlier post. Whoever applies for a Hajj visa needs to be thoroughly educated and trained on behaviour before they get to Saudi Arabia. Pushing and shoving is so unnecessary, but it happens regardless. I was pushed and shoved on a packed bus travelling from Muzdalifah back to Mina by a Sudanese/Nigerian man behind me. Despite me showing him that there was no where for me to move, he continued to push me until I moved his hand off of me.
Last year, both my father and brother were nearly trampled on during the flooding on the last day of stoning. A lot of people who perform Hajj simply do not listen and think that pushing and shoving will get them to where they want to go, when in reality, it only causes more problems. Basic things like respecting others while they are praying and NOT jumping over them as if you are playing leap frog is not adhered to or respected, so the whole drama that goes on during the stoning is not surprising.
Yesterday's tragedy was due to a bus and luggage falling from the top of the bus, people tripping over the luggage, followed by a huge stampede. What the bus was doing there and how did it even get there? I have no clue, especially since everybody WALKS from Mina to the stoning area. Even on the last day of stoning, most people walk from Mecca to the stoning area. How did the bus get that close??????
I can honestly tell you that when we went for the stoning, there was so much screaming going on, families were seperated, women were balling their eyes out cause they had gotten seperated from their loved ones, and people were just standing around. There was no smooth flow of people and the police and ambulance just stood there. What the police could have done is make sure there was a steady flow of people, but they just stood there smoking.
I know the Saudi government does a lot, but there is still a lot of room for improvements.
I honestly wouldn't mind if they completely forbade women from taking part in the stoning, cause it's those petite Indonesian women who tend to get trampled on or are screaming for help. Until they fix things, they should either extend the time frames for the stoning or control the number of people they allow in at a time.