[LINK] Michael Petrou on the stampede in Mecca

[rfmcdonald]

In MacLean's, Michael Petrou explains the import of the recent disaster in Saudi Arabia.

The scale of the disaster, shocking as it is, is not unprecedented. More than 1,400 pilgrims were killed during a Hajj stampede in 1990. In fact, multiple-fatality incidents were a semi-regular occurrence until 2006, when more than 350 people died.

Since then, Saudi Arabia has spent billions of dollars in safety measures and upgrading infrastructure around pilgrimage sites. The measures seemed to have worked for a time, restoring some prestige that Saudi Arabia had lost by presiding over an almost predictable annual tragedy.

That’s all shattered now. The exact reasons for the deaths today are unknown. A Saudi minister reportedly blamed pilgrims he said did not “respect timetables.” Saudi Arabia has promised an investigation. Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, blamed Saudi “mismanagement,” adding a potential layer of sectarian and geopolitical belligerency to the deaths. Iran considers itself the champion of Shia Muslims, while Saudi Arabia sees itself as the world’s leading Sunni power.

Undoubtedly, the enormous crowds and heat played a role. Survivors of past stampedes speak of individuals collapsing and fainting, and then panic gripping a crowd as people scramble for air and space.