Source: Xinhua News Agency / Getty
A Maryland couple is among the hundreds that died during Hajj and their daughter is speaking out to ensure her parents did not die in vain.
Saida Wurie said it was her parents’ lifelong dream to participate in the religious pilgrimage that brings millions Muslims around the world to Saudi Arabia each year. In the Islamic faith, Muslims must make the pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca at least once in their life.
“They saved their whole lives for this,” she told CNN, detailing the $23,000 spent on the trip.
The money was supposed to go toward an all-inclusive travel package through a tour company registered with the state of Maryland. But, once Isatu Wurie, 65, and Alieu Wurie, 71, arrived in Saudi Arabia, the trip turned tragic. No adequate transportation, accommodations or credentials were provided. The couple died on June 15 during the extreme temperatures that gripped the Persian Gulf country.
In an interview with ABC’s Linsey Davis on Monday (June 24), Saida said a family friend reached out to her grandmother 48 hours before she discovered her parents had died to say they were missing.
Saida tried searching for them and did speak to her parents hours before they died on June 15. Her mother messaged her saying they were waiting for transportation to take them to Mount Arafat. The couple opted to walk instead. The family friend later confirmed her parents’ death, followed by the U.S. Consulate in Jeddah.
The Saudi Interior Ministry told the Consulate Saida’s parents died from natural causes. She was later told by someone at the U.S. Embassy heat stroke is considered a natural cause.
“We did ask the Saudi government to hold the bodies in order for us to travel to Saudi Arabia to at least give them the proper burial with [their] children being present and to be able to identify the bodies,” she told CNN. “Unfortunately, they have already been buried.”
More than 1,300 pilgrims have died during this year’s Hajj. Temperatures in Saudi Arabia surged to 120 degrees during the annual event. A Sadui health minister told the Associated Press that about 80 percent of the deaths during this year’s Hajj involved travelers without proper permits. Saida said her parents were left to fend for themselves. CNN tried reaching out to the tour operator used by the Wuries, but have not gotten any comment yet.
Despite their age, Saida said her parents were in great health ahead of the trip. She told ABC they prepared by taking 2-3 mile walks everyday. Her mom, Isatu, had also recently retired as a head nurse at Kaiser Permanente in Prince George’s County, Maryland.
Saida wants her parents to be remembered as the nice, kind and generous people they were. She’s said she’s staying strong and getting through her grief by harnessing her mother’s strength and composure that she maintained during tough times.
“I am literally just literally embodying her [Isatu] and how I can imagine how she would be in a tough situation like this,” she said to ABC.
Saida’s calm disposition is something we can all glean from. When difficulties arise, it’s our faith that gets us through.
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