Tunisian consulate in Jeddah intensifies its efforts for Tunisian pilgrims in Mecca

The Consulate General of Tunisia in Jeddah, in coordination with the Tunisian Embassy in Riyadh and the Tunisian health mission, continues to closely monitor the situation of Tunisian pilgrims, especially those missing, deceased or hospitalized.

Among the measures taken:

• Direct coordination with the central administration of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Migration and Tunisians Abroad to handle the cases of missing, deceased and hospitalized Tunisian pilgrims, and process complaints obtained in real-time.
• Receiving telephone calls through consulate landline and mobile numbers, as well as electronic messages, to respond questions and gather information.
• Field visits with the Tunisian health mission and the National Society of Services and Residences in the holy places – Arafat, Mina and Muzdalifah – after traffic opening to private and diplomatic cars, to search for lost pilgrims and visit hospitalized patients.
• Visits to most hospitals in Mecca, permit the identification of about 24 hospitalized pilgrims.
• Visit the central morgue of Muaysim in Mecca to receive the list of deceased Tunisian pilgrims.
• New inspections in hospitals in Mecca, with a visit from the consulate general, today Saturday, June 22, 2024, accompanied by the head of the health mission, to the city of Taif to visit two Tunisian pilgrims transferred from Mecca.
• Coordination with the Tunisian health mission and the Société Nationale de Services et Résidences to adjust and provide the required care to certain Tunisian pilgrims in a mission hotel in Mecca.
• Immediate issuance of burial permits for the deceased, in coordination with their families, except for those who died at the Muaysim morgue, where the Saudi authorities decided to bury them without burial permits and without notifying the missions consular offices accredited in Mecca.
• Reception of pilgrims who have lost their passports at the headquarters of the consulate general in Jeddah 24 hours a day and facilitation of obtaining passes for their return to Tunisia. To date, 21 passes have been issued.
• Follow-up of the return of pilgrims to Tunisia with visits to Jeddah airports – North Hall and South Hall and Pilgrims Airport – to help Tunisian pilgrims, particularly those arriving with tourist visas.
• Field visit programs, upon the resumption of government work in Saudi Arabia on June 23, 2024, to the main Muaysim mortuary in Mecca, hospitals in Jeddah and the main detention center in Shumaisi region.
• Coordination with the social media pages of Tunisians abroad to issue wanted notices and receive information on missing persons, noting that these pages play an important role in the search for missing persons and the collection of transmitted information to the mission.

Until today, June 22, 2024, 53 pilgrim deaths have been confirmed, with the mission taking a precise approach and depending on official documents from the relevant Saudi authorities.
The Tunisian mission continues to work to guarantee the safety and well-being of Tunisian pilgrims, demonstrating unwavering commitment despite the challenges.