By Abubakarr Bah and Sheku Putka Kamara
Six hundred and nine (609) Sierra Leoneans have been announced to make the final list of this year’s Hajj in the Holy land of Mecca. On Friday, May 31st 2024, Abubakarr S. Bah, Sierra Leone’s Information Attache in Saudi reported that first batch of two hundred and sixty-seven (267) Hajj pilgrims from Sierra Leone safely arrived at the Prince Mohammed bin Abdulaziz International Airport in Madina at 16:00 hrs. KSA time.
According to the Saudi Gazette, pilgrims started streaming into the Kingdom from all parts of the world since May 9 (Dhul Qada 1), when the annual pilgrimage season commenced.
Tens of thousands of pilgrims are arriving in Makkah and Madinah on a daily basis, with the help of an integrated and accessible system dedicated to serve the pilgrims to perform their rituals in ease and comfort.
On Saturday June 1st 2024, Bah informed that the second and final batch of three hundred and forty-two (342) Hajj pilgrims from Sierra Leonesafely landed at the Prince Mohammed bin Abdulaziz International Airport in Madina at 17:00 hrs. KSA time.
It is reported that some pilgrims who spoke to Bah said that they were very pleased with the Presidential Taskforce on Hajj of Sierra Leone for the swift arrangements it made with Ethiopian Airlines to ensure that they were flown to Saudi Arabia way in advance of the start of the Hajj rituals.
Members of the Presidential Task Force on Hajj in Sierra Leone, together with the staff of the Sierra Leone Embassy in Saudi Arabia, a cross section of Sierra Leonean Students and the nationals’ union in the Kingdom, are presently in Madina to support the pilgrims in the areas of hospitality, accessing accommodation and Ziyara, among others.
Copyright –Published in print in Expo Times Newspaper on Friday, June 3rd, 2024 (ExpoTimes News – Expo Media Group (expomediasl.com)
