Management of Arbaeen 2022 in a traditional manner
The disorderly management of Arbaeen 2022 once again became troublesome in a traditional manner. The camera shows images of exhausted and desperate pilgrims lying on carpets in the heat, with their families and even young children, surrounded by disposable containers and trash. Another image shows a traffic jam of cars heading towards the border in Ilam, with people getting out of their vehicles and asking for water by the roadside. The chaos, the disaster, the death of at least 9 Iranian pilgrims, are the terms used by domestic and foreign media to describe what is happening these days at the Iran-Iraq borders.
Two days ago, officials stated that due to concerning incidents at the Shalamcheh and Mehran borders and serious risks to the safety and health of the pilgrims, all Iranian borders towards Iraq have been closed, and land travel for Arbaeen has been canceled. No passports are being issued, and people are advised not to head towards the border. Now, the important question is what will happen to the millions of people currently gathered in the extreme heat behind the borders without access to basic sanitary services like clean drinking water, food, and shelter.
The crowd, hoping for a change in the situation, seemingly has no intention of returning. On the other hand, due to the lack of facilities on the other side of the border, they cannot move forward either. One of the pilgrims returning from the Iraqi border said in a video interview published by the media, ‘Where are the advertisements that Iranian television makes? Where are the promises they made? On the other side of the border, there is nothing. No water, no food, no transportation. They say pay 750,000 or a million tomans to get to Karbala. Where are people supposed to get this money?’
Management by issuing statements
In these two days, the Arbaeen headquarters has issued nearly 10 statements. The question is, couldn’t they have prevented this situation by taking precautions before trying to manage it by issuing statements? In one of the statements, it was announced that due to weak infrastructure, lack of transportation for moving pilgrims at the border, and the wandering of Iranian pilgrims, the Arbaeen headquarters decided to close the six borders to protect the health of the pilgrims until the situation in Iraq improves and the border situation returns to normal.
It is said that the main concern of the officials was the massive crowd at the border and the slow movement on the other side of the border because Iraq did not have the capacity to accommodate all these pilgrims. Some Iranian pilgrims were stranded at the border for more than 6 to 7 hours waiting for transportation. It is said that the Iranian Arbaeen headquarters had extensive negotiations with the Iraqi side, but despite all this, the officials of this country have not practically fulfilled their commitments so far. The Arbaeen headquarters has also asked pilgrims residing in Iraq to expedite their return and shorten their stay in Karbala to no more than one day.
Whose fault is it?
Some say it’s the fault of the 5 million toman loan promised by the government to the Karbala pilgrims, which suddenly increased the number of people attending the Karbala march several times. Others blame the excessive advertising that encouraged more people to go this year than in previous years. Some say the reason is the end of the COVID-19 pandemic and the eager crowd that couldn’t go to Karbala for two years.
Others blame the Iraqi government for not providing the necessary arrangements for services and facilities for the pilgrims. Some say Iranian officials were negligent and did not coordinate with Iraqi officials regarding the large number of pilgrims expected to travel to Karbala this year. The Arbaeen headquarters claims that coordination was made with Iraqi officials for the entry of this large number of pilgrims, but they have not fulfilled their commitments.
Hossein Maznabi, Director General of Performance Inspection and Citizens’ Rights of Iran’s Ministry of Roads and Urban Development, said regarding the cancellation of Arbaeen trips that this decision was made at the request of Iraq because they do not have the capacity and facilities to accommodate this volume of pilgrims.
The question is whether the Iranian side had informed Iraqi officials beforehand that this year they would face a multiple-fold increase in pilgrims at the Iranian borders, or perhaps even Iranian officials had no accurate information or predictions in this regard. Interestingly, there has been no adequate response or reaction from Iraqi officials regarding the situation so far.
Intercity travel halted
The traditional management was most evident in the last two weeks when all intercity passenger services were disrupted due to the coincidence with Arbaeen. Passengers who intended to travel intercity under normal circumstances faced the problem of no buses being available.
Because all passenger buses from across the country were carrying passengers to Karbala. For example, if you needed to travel to Tehran, Tabriz, Shiraz, Isfahan, etc., for an urgent matter, you faced the issue of no tickets or buses being available, not just for one or two days but for the past two weeks. Ticket sales portals for intercity travel have been almost closed, and passengers are forced to either rent a car at a high cost or use social media to call for someone with a personal car traveling to their desired or common destination.
If willing or having space, they could take that person along as a travel companion. The government is responsible for providing fair and equal services to all citizens and cannot overlook the needs of others for the convenience of some. However, its traditional management of this year’s Arbaeen ceremony resulted in both Karbala pilgrims being stranded and travelers to other cities not reaching their destinations.
