Spade a Spade

Hajj deaths dismay Arab press The Arab press in the Middle East has reacted with horror to the deaths of hundreds of pilgrims, crushed during the stone-throwing ritual at the Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia. "The terrible truth, which we should face, is that the pilgrims came from cultures which - with great regret - cannot organise themselves. They have come from cultures which do not recognise queues, therefore we shall remain mere human waves, the last of which kills the first in a stampede... If the bridge is going to become a nightmare every year, then demolish it and leave in its place virgin land as it used to be... With every large or small gathering we prove to the world that we have a culture of chaos and impetuosity". COMMENTARY IN SAUDI'S AL-WATAN "I believe that the issue is multifaceted. Expanding the stone-throwing area and building new bridges will not radically solve the problem. A comprehensive study, in which there is no objection to the participation of some foreign expertise, is needed so that every year we are not surprised by the unexpected and continue to move inside the same vicious circle". COMMENTARY IN EGYPT'S AL-JUMHURIYAH