Cairo: A veteran physician has been joined by his daughter, a dentist, in taking care of pilgrims congregating in Saudi Arabia for the annual Islamic Hajj pilgrimage.
Dr Hashem Nayaz, an internal medicine consultant, and his daughter Afnan, are working at a Defence Ministry hospital in Mina, a valley about 8 kilometres east of the Saudi holy city of Mecca.
As part of the Hajj rituals, pilgrims perform the symbolic rite of devil stoning in a multi-storey structure in Mina known as Jamarat Bridge in Mina.
Dr Hashem said he has been working at the Hajj hospital in Mina for more than 15 seasons.
“Two years ago, my daughter applied to join the hospital, but her bid was not accepted,” he recalled. Later, her application was approved.
“When accepted at the hospital, she was excited and happy. There were also feelings of pride and success,” he told Al Arabiya TV.
“See dad, where we have come and how we can offer a lot of things (to pilgrims),” Dr Hashem quoted his daughter as saying.
Working side by side with her father does make a difference for the young health professional.
“Working with my dad at the same place makes me feel comfortable and has made things easier for me. It helped me overcome feelings of fear that I had in the beginning,” Dr Afnan said.
Aware of the nature of working in the service of pilgrims, she added; “Here one has to be ready to work under some pressure. Dealing with pilgrims is not like dealing with patients at the clinic. At least in terms of the language. One has to be patient.”
“But we have to serve them as much as we can,” she said.
Around 1.8 million Muslims are performing Hajj this year, according to official Saudi figures.
Saudi Arabia has lifted limits on the numbers and ages of pilgrims from across the globe for this year’s Hajj season, reversing earlier restrictions prompted by the global pandemic.
