SAUDI ARABIA-ISLAM-HAJ/BARBERS Pilgrims opt for safety observing head shave, last step in annual haj

Record ID: 189542

  • Title: SAUDI ARABIA-ISLAM-HAJ/BARBERS Pilgrims opt for safety observing head shave, last step in annual haj
  • Date: 6th October 2014
  • Summary: MENA, MECCA, SAUDI ARABIA (OCTOBER 5, 2014) (REUTERS) EXTERIOR OF LEGAL BARBER SHOP IN MINA VARIOUS OF BANNER WITH DIFFERENT LANGUAGES READING: "Barber" VARIOUS OF BARBER SHAVING PILGRIM PILGRIMS IN BARBERSHOP (SOUNDBITE) (English) INDONESIAN PILGRIM, ALI NOFAL, SAYING: "I'm just looking for a safe place to have my hair cut because I can get from the street, but I'm not sure about the safety." BARBER PUTTING PLASTIC COVER AROUND PILGRIM TO PREVENT SHAVED HAIR FROM GETTING ON HIS CLOTHES BARBER SPRAYING WATER ON PILGRIM'S HAIR BEFORE SHAVING IT OFF VARIOUS OF BARBER USING RAZOR TO SHAVE OFF PILGRIM'S HAIR BARBER'S FACE MORE OF BARBER SHAVING OFF PILGRIM'S HAIR (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) BARBER SHOP SUPERVISOR SAYING: "The importance of cleanness, first of all, is to maintain a clean facility to receive pilgrims and secondly, because it's a moral and religious responsibility. Lastly, it is one of the requirements of the municipality." VARIOUS OF BARBER SHAVING PILGRIM'S HAIR WITH RAZOR VARIOUS OF PILGRIM CLEANING-OFF SHAVED HAIR REMAINS FROM HIS HEAD (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) BARBER SHOP SUPERVISOR SAYING: "We use the razors only once. We have a number of razors, shampoos and general hair products, which we only use once." PEOPLE SITTING IN BARBER SHOP TO GET THEIR HAIR SHAVED MORE OF PEOPLE SEATED IN SHOP VARIOUS OF BARBER SHAVING MAN'S HAIR PILGRIMS ON STREET IN MENA, NEIGHBOURHOOD IN MECCA PILGRIMS ON MOUNTAIN TOP, SIGN WRITTEN IN ARABIC AND ENGLISH, READING: "Mina Ends Here"
  • Embargoed: 21st October 2014 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Saudi Arabia
  • Country: Saudi Arabia
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVAAZ4EC80I99L4WJKBFPP1Q47QH
  • Story Text: Pilgrims in Saudi Arabia opted for safety this year as they completed the last step of the haj as desired by the Prophet Mohammad where men shave part of or their full head of hair.
    Every year hundreds of part-time, unlicensed barbers flock to the holy city of Mena to shave the heads of pilgrims, but this year many pilgrims chose to perform the ritual under the hand of licensed barbers rather than street set-up ones to avoid the spread of disease.
    "I'm just looking for a safe place to have my hair cut because I can get from the street, but I'm not sure about the safety," Indonesian pilgrim Ali Nofal told Reuters.
    Street barbers wield the same razor on dozens of men, exponentially increasing the chances of spreading sickness and disease among this year's estimated three million pilgrims on haj, which started on October 2.
    It's a practice the Saudi health ministry has been trying to stamp out for years. The barbers avoid arrest by maintaining they are relatives of their clients, and claiming not to receive compensation for their service.
    But this year, anxious to safeguard Islam's haj pilgrimage from the threat of Ebola, Saudi authorities screened pilgrims as they arrived from West Africa and deployed mobile laboratories to test any suspected cases quickly.
    In addition to bringing in licensed barbers from around the country and putting up posters as usual, the authorities have flooded television and radio with warnings of the potential health hazards.
    Saudi health ministry officials had said it is difficult to know how many pilgrims contract diseases because of razor-sharing because they return to their home countries after their visits, complicating data collection and coordination. But the concerns are very real.
    "The importance of cleanness, first of all, is to maintain a clean facility to receive pilgrims and secondly, because it's a moral and religious responsibility. Lastly, it is one of the requirements of the municipality," the supervisor of one licensed barbershop said.
    "We use the razors only once. We have a number of razors, shampoos and general hair products, which we only use once," he added.
    The kingdom expected nearly three million pilgrims in Mecca this year, including 1.4 million from abroad. The health ministry said last week it had been working with the World Health Organization (WHO) and US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to contain the threat of Ebola, which has killed 3,300 people in West Africa this year.
    Few of the pilgrims, who dress in simple white towelling robes, were wearing face masks or surgical gloves to protect them against the transmission of Ebola or other diseases such as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS).
    Those who have taken such precautions are following the advice of the Saudi Health Ministry, which initially struggled to prevent an outbreak of MERS in April and May that infected hundreds due to poor hygiene procedures in some hospitals.
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