Living to Fly to the Holy Land, This Hajj Pilgrim Keeps Whining to Go Home because His Child Died

Dream – Salami, a hajj pilgrim from Kediri, East Java, kept whining to go back home after arriving at the Surabaya Hajj Dormitory. However, she was very enthusiastic when she left the city of Kediri.

It is understandable that Salami's desire to return and cancel the departure to the Holy Land surprises officials and family members. Moreover, the hajj group must be immediately flown to the Holy Land.

Khoirul Anam, Salami's son, said that his mother suddenly requested to go home because one of her 37-year-old daughters died while accompanying her students in a sports event.

When Salami arrived at the Surabaya Hajj Dormitory on Monday, it was the seventh day after the death of her daughter. So when Salami arrived at the Surabaya Hajj Dormitory, her house was still holding a Tahlil ceremony to pray for the deceased daughter.

“My mother is still at the Sukolilo Hajj Dormitory, before going to the airport. At that time, exactly on the seventh day after the death of my sister, she met with officials and pleaded to go home,” said Khoirul, as quoted from merdeka.com.

Khoirul has also explained his mother's condition, who has been suffering from senile dementia for the past two years, to the officials at the Surabaya Hajj Dormitory. Salami often requests to go home when she is at her own house.

Although the family accompanying her in Surabaya keeps reassuring Salami to feel calm, her desire to return to Kediri remains unstoppable. Khoirul's family and the officials agreed to postpone Salami's departure this year.

“I think the right decision is to postpone my mother's departure. Considering her condition that is not feasible to go. My mother suffers from senile dementia and feels uncomfortable there, so the decision to postpone is the best,” said Khoirul.

Salami has been registered for Hajj since 2011 with her husband. This year, she planned to go alone because her child, who replaced her husband, did not pass the selection as a prospective hajj pilgrim.

Khoirul Anam hopes that his sister will pass the selection next year so that she can accompany their mother in performing the hajj pilgrimage.

The Head of the Kediri Ministry of Religious Affairs Office, Moh Qayyim, said that they have received a recommendation from a doctor who examined Salami's health condition.

If the condition of Indonesian prospective hajj pilgrims has not improved until the last departure, it is certain that Salami cannot depart this year.

Qayyim added that prospective hajj pilgrims are given the possibility to postpone their departure until the following year if it is not possible to depart in that year.

“If it is not possible this year, then they will be automatically called back next year,” said Qayyim.