By Buba Gagigo
Haddy Touray, one of the stranded pilgrims who booked with HULOOL UMRAH & HAJJ, has confirmed to Kerr Fatou that she has received her money from the travel agency. She also confirmed that some of her colleagues have received their money as well.
“We were promised that our visas would be issued by Tuesday or Wednesday. On Monday, I went to the office to check on the status of my visa. The staff told me that they had not been able to secure visas for everyone, but that they had been able to secure visas for about 50 people. They asked me to wait until 5 pm, and I did. However, at 5 pm, my visa had not been processed. I returned to the office on Tuesday morning, and the staff told me that they were still experiencing printing problems.
“I told them I can’t wait anymore and I needed my money back. They wrote me a cheque for the total refund of my money. My brother met me there, but they convinced him to wait until Wednesday. On Wednesday, I asked my brother if he had gotten his money, and he said yes. I left the group, but later I learned from another victim that they had sent a message to the group informing people to come and get their money.” she said.
Last week we reported the plight of a large number of Gambian pilgrims who were stranded in the country as the Hajj rituals approached. The intending pilgrims, who bought their travel packages from Huloolumrah and Hajj, Gambia, have not been able to travel to Mecca despite paying their full four hundred and fifty thousand dalasis to the travel agency.