Hajj lottery for western pilgrims descends into farce

“Labaik Allahuma Labaik” is the prayer that Muslims repeatedly recite through the Hajj pilgrimage, declaring “I reply to Your name O God! I reply to Your name.”

Potential pilgrims from western nations have heard that on repeat over the previous few days, however not in Mecca as they wished; reasonably, it was on the telephone whereas they desperately waited for hours to talk to a workers member at Motawif.

The Saudi Arabia-backed web site has organised the random draw that Muslims from Europe, Australia and the Americas should undergo to attend Hajj this 12 months, set to start out on 7 July.

Since early June, when the Saudi authorities made the shock announcement to sideline conventional journey businesses and as a substitute use the platform – which is linked to India’s Modi as revealed by Center East Eye – candidates have complained in regards to the difficulties they’ve confronted at each flip within the course of.

The issues, as informed by plenty of folks to MEE, embody: not being informed the standing of their software days after the deadline, funds failing, bookings being cancelled after funds had already been made, tour packages and costs being completely different to what was marketed and a whole lack of complaints system or accountability. 

Reserving failures 

In the beginning of the draw course of 10 days in the past, Motawif introduced three packages: silver (ranging from $5,986), gold (from $6,296) and platinum ($9,768). 

All packages had been to incorporate flights, lodging, home transportation and catering – with various lengths of keep and ranges of service. 

A Birmingham-based Hajj applicant informed MEE that he had initially utilized for a gold bundle. However as soon as the applying was accepted, he was as a substitute supplied a costlier platinum bundle with no flight, and a lodge that was a 49-minute stroll from the Grand Mosque in Mecca. 

“I proceeded to pay, fearing I might lose my place for Hajj. In any case, I believed I used to be fortunate to be chosen,” he mentioned, requesting anonymity like all candidates interviewed by MEE. 

The fee went by, however when he checked on Motawif’s web site it mentioned that the reserving had failed. 

A North Carolina-based techniques engineer informed MEE he confronted the identical concern: he had paid $16,447 for a platinum bundle however the reserving mentioned “failed” after the transaction had already been processed. 

Hajj lottery: How a shock Saudi resolution ‘devastated’ UK Muslims

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He has since been informed that various packages would change into accessible for him to ebook, however it might be completely different to the one he paid for – or he may get a refund.

The engineer added that the Motawif-organised flights within the US had been both from New York, Washington DC or Los Angeles, which might imply organising prolonged transportation from different areas of the nation. 

“If we don’t know forward of time as to what bundle they ‘choose’ for us, we’re screwed,” he mentioned. 

A New York-based scholar who was serving to her dad and mom ebook had confronted the identical concern with the reserving failing after fee. 

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“Motawif has actually been a catastrophe. Sure, it simply launched and technical points can occur, however there is no such thing as a excuse for his or her lack of transparency and communication,” she informed MEE. 

A number of others who confronted the identical concern took to Twitter utilizing the hashtag “paid however failed”. 

MEE has reached out to Motawif and the Saudi Hajj ministry for remark, however has but to obtain a response on the time of publication. 

Late on Monday, Motawif tweeted that it was working by fee and reserving inquiries, and would contact candidates inside 72 hours. 

Uncertainty over refunds

Some who spoke to MEE mentioned they had been anxious about whether or not they can be refunded the whole quantity that they had paid.

The phrases and situations on Motawif’s web site record a number of companies that are non-refundable based mostly on whether or not or not the applicant has entered the dominion, together with visa charges, intercity transportation, insurance coverage and on-line companies.

It’s not clear how a lot of a refund folks would obtain, and the way a lot would fall beneath the non-refundable classes. 

The funds included a 1.95 p.c card transaction cost, and had been billed in Saudi riyals, that means many confronted alternate fee costs. Once more, it’s unclear whether or not these can be refunded. 

A number of pilgrims didn’t handle to make funds within the first place. 

One applicant informed MEE that the portal requires card funds, however his financial institution rejected making such a big transaction in a single go. He mentioned he tried to talk to Motawif about doing a financial institution switch – however nobody answered the telephone

When others contacted their banks, they had been informed that the issue was at Motawif’s finish. 

The platform replied to some customers whose playing cards had been rejected saying that they’d put their electronic mail addresses on a “safe list”. However some reported that even after being added to the record, their funds nonetheless didn’t undergo. 

One social media consumer showed how that they had made 96 failed makes an attempt to pay for his or her Hajj bundle. 

Damaged guarantees 

A number of candidates informed MEE that the costs had been considerably costlier than what had been marketed at the beginning of the draw course of. 

“The packages they confirmed earlier than had been mainly pretend,” one UK-based pilgrim mentioned.

One other mentioned that after they bought to the reserving stage, they discovered silver packages at round $11,000, gold at $12,000 and platinum in extra of $16,000 – way over what was anticipated based mostly on the pattern packages proven within the software course of. 

For anybody elevating queries in regards to the value, Motawif has repeated the same line on social media: “Kindly notice that our bundle charges are on common 35 p.c decrease than the market charges.”

Pilgrims from a number of nations, together with Eire, Australia and Canada, weren’t supplied flights in any of their packages. After they raised the difficulty with Motawif on social media, they had been told they must organise their very own. 

‘Is that this non secular obligation alleged to solely be for the tech savvy?’

– Applicant

However when making an attempt to organise their very own flights by Saudi airways – they had been told they had been additionally not allowed to do that by the official provider’s web site.

One other concern confronted by many was the timeframe. At first the draw was alleged to happen between 13 and 14 June. It was then pushed again to 15-18 June, with all candidates informed they’d be notified by then. 

However till now, scores of candidates nonetheless have no idea the standing of their software, which nonetheless says “pending”. 

“Ultimately, my one didn’t even get put within the draw,” a 26-year-old British applicant informed MEE. “It’s utterly unfair.”

A London-based trainer, who makes use of a wheelchair, mentioned that she had deliberate to go to Hajj this 12 months due to the very fact it was to be a scaled-down pilgrimage (1 million world pilgrims as a substitute of two.5m). 

She didn’t hear again about whether or not her software was profitable, and ultimately withdrew from the method. 

“My husband and I made the selection of not going as a result of we couldn’t be certain of the help we might get there if we had been already dealing with issues right here,” she informed MEE. 

It’s unclear how the draw was carried out, and why some folks had been informed they had been profitable whereas others had been nonetheless ready to listen to again. 

Some have speculated that Motawif could also be holding out in case it does not obtain sufficient profitable funds from chosen pilgrims – after which it would hand out extra presents to these nonetheless “pending”. However that’s not historically how a “lottery” or random draw is carried out.

No accountability 

Each applicant who spoke to MEE mentioned essentially the most troublesome a part of the method was making an attempt to contact Motawif to debate the difficulties being confronted. 

“I’ve referred to as them, the traces are atrocious,” one applicant mentioned. “There’s no dial tone. You assume it is lifeless, however in case you grasp on, you would possibly get by to somebody”. 

He mentioned that when he did ultimately get by to a customer support agent, they suggested that extra data can be accessible “quickly” and that candidates ought to “regulate social media”.

“What about those that aren’t always checking social media. Is that this non secular obligation alleged to solely be for the tech savvy?” he mentioned. 

The customer support workers had been based mostly within the Indian subcontinent and in Egypt, based on a number of candidates. 

The Birmingham-based applicant ready on a refund mentioned that he lastly bought by to Motawif after re-dialling for six hours, solely to be informed that it was a message-taking service, and couldn’t entry any bookings or profiles.