Hunger About to Claim The Lives Of Stranded Gambian Pilgrims!!!

….President Jammeh Duped By A Nigerian Aviation Worker

Pilgrims Running Out Of Budget

A stranded batch of Gambian pilgrims in the Islamic state of Saudi Arabia, have been hit by acute food shortages, hunger and destitution, the Freedom Newspaper has been reliably informed. The pilgrims who are running out of budget due to lack of flight, are struggling to survive in Mecca. Reports reaching this paper speak of tale of suffering, desperation and hunger among The Gambian pilgrims. The pilgrims are being fed by some benevolent Saudis,  who according to sources are running out of patience with the unattended pilgrims. The pilgrims received one meal a day, while the lucky ones relied on family remittances abroad to buy food.

A Nigerian aviation dealer, was tasked with the responsibility of facilitating the safe return of The Gambian pilgrims, but reports have it that the said Nigerian had since abandoned his customers. It has been gathered that The Nigerian was serving as an emissary for The Gambian leader Yahya Jammeh to help airlift the stranded pilgrims, but for unexplained reasons, the whereabouts of the Nigerian could not be established. No flight had been scheduled to airlift the pilgrims, said our sources.

The Gambian Government is exclusively responsible for Hajj traveling in the country. An official of the Department of State for Foreign Affairs, informed the Freedom Newspaper that the problem was partly Government’s fault. The official who begged for anonymity says the Government fails to put in place the necessary protocols to facilitate a smooth and heck free Hajj for this year. He says they were aware of the plight of the pilgrims, but there was little they could do as a Department of state to come to their aid. “ The President wants to hijack Hajj travels and this is what happened if an ignoramus leader took wrong decisions. We have lost a lot of revenue as a result of the Government’s monopoly of the Hajj travels.” said the official.

Some of the pilgrims are likely to die due to hunger and stress related problems, if the Government fails to take urgent action to airlift them from Mecca, said our source.  Our source went on to add that some of the pilgrims were too old to withstand such hunger and hopelessness.

The pilgrims are appealing to the President to use his good offices to facilitate their safe return to The Gambia. Lamin Kiti Jabang is Gambia’s Ambassador to the Saudi Arabia. Mr. Jabang has been criticized for his failure to attend to the stranded pilgrims. He could not be reached for his side of the story at press time.