Original report from Phnom Penh
08 December 2008
The closure of Bangkok’s international airport earlier this month cost Cambodia millions of dollars and crippled Thailand’s tourism sector. It also thwarted the pilgrimage to Mecca of nearly 200 Cambodian Muslims.
The pilgrimage, or hajj, is an annual rite for many Muslims, a tenet that the faithful should make the trip to Mecca, a holy city in Saudi Arabia, at least once in a lifetime. It can cost thousands of dollars for travel and accommodation.
“I have never been there before, and now it was canceled,” said Mary Ya, a Cham who missed her chance this year due to delays in Thailand. “Now I have to wait for the next opportunity.”
At least one travel guide said the failure of some Chams to reach Mecca this year was due to the high number of people wanting to go.
“This year I felt a lot of regret,” said Halgi Sakariya Suleu Mana, who has been a travel guide for many years and never seen this kind of problem. “I was not successful with this, not because the Thai airport was closed, but this year there were too many people who wanted to travel.”
The pilgrimage, or hajj, is an annual rite for many Muslims, a tenet that the faithful should make the trip to Mecca, a holy city in Saudi Arabia, at least once in a lifetime. It can cost thousands of dollars for travel and accommodation.
“I have never been there before, and now it was canceled,” said Mary Ya, a Cham who missed her chance this year due to delays in Thailand. “Now I have to wait for the next opportunity.”
At least one travel guide said the failure of some Chams to reach Mecca this year was due to the high number of people wanting to go.
“This year I felt a lot of regret,” said Halgi Sakariya Suleu Mana, who has been a travel guide for many years and never seen this kind of problem. “I was not successful with this, not because the Thai airport was closed, but this year there were too many people who wanted to travel.”
4 comments:
Cham at Cambodia has a peaceful mind.
And in the world, most of the muslims have
killer mentality...
So who care ??? they go or not..
Maybe it's better for Cham not associated with
muslims in the world !
It seems like Khmer Islam (Cham) have had too much connection with the Muslim in the Middle East. Since then their ways of thinking and acting are also changed.
However,it is remarkable that the more they are associated with other Muslims outside of Cambodia, the more they have lost their own values and ways of life from the Champa Kingdom. It would be also a tragedy for them and the future of Cambodia because of the fundamental Islamic ideology. Therefore, the government must pay attention to this social phenomena.
I agree wth 7.13 am.
Dear 5:52 AM:
Have you forgotten that most of the Cham were massacred by Khmers during the Pol Pot time?
For these victims it was the Khmers and not the Muslims who had the killer mentality.
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