Pilgrims going to Mecca will wear identification bracelets

Saudi Arabia has begun to equip with electronic identification bracelets pilgrims going to Mecca, one year after the stampede that killed nearly 2,300 people. Riyadh claims that one can see an improved organization and reinforced security during the annual Muslim pilgrimage, which begins on Saturday and where two million Islamic faithful are expected to attend. This measurement that Saudi press has been evoking for a few months has been released: the use of electronic bracelets, AFP writes.

These bracelets made of laminated paper with a barcode that can be read by a smartphone provides the identity, nationality, place of accommodation in Mecca, and contact information about the group every person belong to. More, the bracelets can offer all information recorded during the visa application, told for AFP Issa Rawasse, deputy secretary for the Saudi Ministry of Hajj.

In the crowd passing day and night by the Grand Mosque and its surroundings, AFP journalists saw many pilgrims wearing bracelets. But some are actually provided by travel agents and contain no information registered by the ministry.

The authorities may also learn about the pilgrim’s delegation and his visa details, the official added. "The aim is to equip all pilgrims" from abroad, he said, however, without specifying the exact number of bracelets which have been issued. According to Nabil Melhem, 61, a Palestinian bricklayer from the Israeli-occupied West Bank, the bracelet costs some two riyals (53 cents). It is "like a passport," Melhem said. "If we get lost, if we die, if we are sick or unable to talk, they can contact our delegation, thanks to the bracelet.”

On 24th of September 2015 during the previous pilgrimage to Mecca, a giant stampede made 2297 victims, according to data compiled from the balance provided by foreign governments. Some had difficulty identifying the victims. Saudi authorities have reported a balance of 769 dead in this tragedy, with most victims in the history of Hajj.