Uzbek, Turkmen Governments Differ on Swine Flu Fears During Pilgrimage
Uzbek, Turkmen Governments Differ on Swine Flu Fears During Pilgrimage
Fearing that the thousands of people travelling to Saudi Arabia for the annual Haj or pilgrimage could bring back swine flu, the governments of Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan have found very different solutions for reducing the risk.
While Tashkent has embarked on a mass vaccination campaign, the Turkmen leadership has slapped a blanket ban on pilgrims leaving the country.
Uzbek Muslims are leaving from November 10, to perform the Hajj and then celebrate the Eid al-Adha at the end of the month. Around 5,000 will take part in the pilgrimage, for many a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Mecca, site of Islam’s holiest places.
Fears of the H1N1 swine flu epidemic have led the Saudi authorities to cut the quotas which are apportioned by country, and are requiring pilgrims to produce a medical certificate on arrival.
Although Uzbekistan does not have H1N1 vaccines, pilgrims are required to be vaccinated against common seasonal flu, and are being issued with leaflets on symptoms and sensible precautions. A team of doctors will accompany them with any medicines that might be needed.
Those taking part in the trip appeared unconcerned.
“I place my hope in God and I am going on the Haj with tranquil heart,” said Khadija, a 63-year-old woman from Tashkent. “If we fall ill, that is Allah’s will.”
Munavvar, 55, from the eastern town of Fergana, expressed doubt that there was any real danger of catching swine flu.
“The pilgrims aren’t worrying,” she said.
According to the World Health Organisation, the only Central Asian state to record swine flu to date is Kazakstan, where 17 cases have been discovered. Other countries in the region are still testing possible cases.
In Turkmenistan, the government’s Council for Religious Affairs did not wait for data on H1N1 cases to become available.
Instead, it banned Turkmen nationals from going on the Hajj.
A source in the Muftiate, the officially-sanctioned body in charge of Muslim affairs, said people were being offered an alternative – a pilgrimage to sacred sites in Turkmenistan.
“On the first day of Kurban Bayram [Eid al-Adha], a sacrificial offering will be made on behalf of president Gurbanguly Berdymuhammedov near the Ak Ishan shrine, the most sacred place,” says the source.
Turkmenistan is not the only country to have imposed such a ban; Tunisia has done the same thing.
(NBCentralAsia is an IWPR-funded project to create a multilingual news analysis and comment service for Central Asia, drawing on the expertise of a broad range of political observers across the region. The project ran from August 2006 to September 2007, covering all five regional states. With new funding, the service has resumed, covering Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan.)
While Tashkent has embarked on a mass vaccination campaign, the Turkmen leadership has slapped a blanket ban on pilgrims leaving the country.
Uzbek Muslims are leaving from November 10, to perform the Hajj and then celebrate the Eid al-Adha at the end of the month. Around 5,000 will take part in the pilgrimage, for many a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Mecca, site of Islam’s holiest places.
Fears of the H1N1 swine flu epidemic have led the Saudi authorities to cut the quotas which are apportioned by country, and are requiring pilgrims to produce a medical certificate on arrival.
Although Uzbekistan does not have H1N1 vaccines, pilgrims are required to be vaccinated against common seasonal flu, and are being issued with leaflets on symptoms and sensible precautions. A team of doctors will accompany them with any medicines that might be needed.
Those taking part in the trip appeared unconcerned.
“I place my hope in God and I am going on the Haj with tranquil heart,” said Khadija, a 63-year-old woman from Tashkent. “If we fall ill, that is Allah’s will.”
Munavvar, 55, from the eastern town of Fergana, expressed doubt that there was any real danger of catching swine flu.
“The pilgrims aren’t worrying,” she said.
According to the World Health Organisation, the only Central Asian state to record swine flu to date is Kazakstan, where 17 cases have been discovered. Other countries in the region are still testing possible cases.
In Turkmenistan, the government’s Council for Religious Affairs did not wait for data on H1N1 cases to become available.
Instead, it banned Turkmen nationals from going on the Hajj.
A source in the Muftiate, the officially-sanctioned body in charge of Muslim affairs, said people were being offered an alternative – a pilgrimage to sacred sites in Turkmenistan.
“On the first day of Kurban Bayram [Eid al-Adha], a sacrificial offering will be made on behalf of president Gurbanguly Berdymuhammedov near the Ak Ishan shrine, the most sacred place,” says the source.
Turkmenistan is not the only country to have imposed such a ban; Tunisia has done the same thing.
(NBCentralAsia is an IWPR-funded project to create a multilingual news analysis and comment service for Central Asia, drawing on the expertise of a broad range of political observers across the region. The project ran from August 2006 to September 2007, covering all five regional states. With new funding, the service has resumed, covering Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan.)
