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Millions stone the devil

MINA, Saudi Arabia (AP) — The 60-year-old Egyptian farmer spent years scraping together $11,000 to bring his wife and son here to perform Islam’s hajj pilgrimage.

They have slept for days in tiny one-person tents near the Hajj’s sacred sites and walked for miles from ritual to ritual — despite his wife’s bad knees.

But Mohammed Abdel-Salam Ali said they were not going to let the hardship ruin their journey to answer God’s calling.

It’s hard, but it’s also beautiful, Ali said Thursday, sitting in his small plastic tent on the roadside at Mina, the ancient spot in the desert outside Mecca where for the second day more than 3 million pilgrims stoned symbols of the devil.

For many Muslims, performing the Hajj is a lifelong dream, a chance to fulfill a requirement of their faith and win forgiveness for their sins.

The rituals at Mina commemorate Abraham’s stoning of Satan, who is said to have appeared three times to the prophet to tempt him. It is symbolized by three pillars — long stone walls called the Jamarat — which pilgrims pelt with pebbles.

On Wednesday, the ritual’s first day, pilgrims threw seven stones at the largest one. On Thursday and again on Friday, they pelt all three with seven stones each.

Millions filed past the walls Thursday along a huge platform built so that pilgrims on the ground floor and above can perform the ritual at once. They vigorously hurled pebbles at the pillars, chanting God is Great with each throw — and sometimes hitting the pilgrims in front of them.

Afterward, most walked away quietly — a far cry from their aggressive approach to the pillars. They had the look of conquest, having crushed the devil and his temptations with pebbles the size of chickpeas.

Nizar Mohammed, an Afghan bent with age and wearing a turban and shelwar kamiz — loose pants and a tunic — rested on the side of the ramp after hurling his stones.

I feel very good. I am in good hands, he said.

Over the years, the stoning ritual has been one of the most dangerous of the Hajj, with stampedes that have killed scores. A crush of pilgrims in 2004 killed 244 people, and the following year more than 360 were killed when several pilgrims tripped over baggage while others behind them kept pushing ahead.

After that accident, Saudi authorities tore down the platform around the Jamarat and built a new one with more entrances and exits, and they plan to expand it to a total of five levels in coming years.

Saudi King Abdullah held his traditional banquet reception Thursday for Muslim leaders performing the Hajj, including Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki.

If we strive in this direction, our differences will diminish, the distances between us will shrink and together we will make a world full of understanding and peace, where progress will be a fruit for all of us to enjoy, he said.

The majority of pilgrims come to the Hajj on organized tours, staying in large, relatively well-kept tent compounds organized by the Saudi government.

But hundreds of thousands of poorer pilgrims, like Ali, come on their own, sleeping in the open or in makeshift tents.

Having saved every penny to make the journey, they are intent to fight all odds to complete the rituals. Ali, a farmer from Egypt’s impoverished Fayoum province, said he saved for four years to make the trip.

His wife, Nada, 50, has bad knees, so she gave her son, 30-year-old Ashraf, her pebbles to throw at the Jamarat in her place.

But despite her knees, she didn’t want to pass up the seven-time circling of the Kaaba and running to and from Safa and Marwa. She also walked the three miles between Mina and Mecca.

Look how we are sitting here in the heat of the sun. But we are happy, she said, rubbing her knees.

The hardship is worth it because we are carrying out a duty toward God, Ashraf said.

His father said that, once back in Egypt, he will have to start from scratch because he has no money left. But it’s worth it, he said.

Hajj’s reward is heaven, he said. God is generous.

Then he added with a smile: God gave us kids to take care of us.
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Travel Troubleshooter: Help! I’m stuck with a ticket I didn’t buy

(Tribune Media Services) — Denise Reed calls Delta Airlines to get a price quote on a flight between Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and Memphis, Tennessee. Or so she thinks. A few days later, she gets a bill. Now Delta won’t return her money, saying its tickets are nonrefundable. Is Reed out of luck?

Q: I need your help. I seem to have bought an airline ticket that I didn’t mean to, and now I don’t know what to do.

I recently called Delta Air Lines to get a quote on tickets from Fort Lauderdale to Memphis. A reservations agent asked me for a credit card number in order to get a price. I gave him the information. A few days later, I was surprised to receive an itinerary that showed my card had been charged for the tickets.

I immediately phoned Delta back and explained that I had not authorized the transaction. The agent contacted the first agent I had spoken with, who admitted that he might have misunderstood me.

I was referred to Delta’s Web site for a refund. I sent an e-mail and received a form letter saying that all the terms and conditions of the ticket could be found on its site. Then I received another e-mail saying that the airline would not refund my money under any circumstance.

I plan to dispute this charge on my credit card. Can you think of anything else?

— Denise Reed, Boca Raton, Florida

A: Delta shouldn’t have charged your credit card for the ticket, and when you brought the mistake to the carrier’s attention, it should have reversed the charges right away. Not force you to contact the refunds department, not send you a form letter, and certainly not insist that it had the right to bill you for something that one of its agents admits was a mistake.

But before I get too far into this, I have a question for you: Why on earth are you buying an airline ticket by phone?

Most airlines tack a $15 fee on tickets booked by telephone, and they don’t always make the cheapest fares available to the agents who take your call. It’s hardly a deal.

Another drawback of dealing with an airline by phone is that you sometimes have to talk with an agent in an offshore call center. English is a second language to most of the workers in those centers, which leads to all kinds of potential miscommunications, including maybe yours.

Delta, like many other airlines, has created an intricate Web of policies and practices that make it easy for the money to flow in its direction and difficult for the money to flow back in yours. You hit at least two barriers when you were trying to secure a refund: the form letter and the intransigent agent who finally sent your rejection letter.

Other than buying your airline tickets online, never offer a credit card number to anyone — and that’s not just true for an airline, but any travel transaction — unless you plan to make a purchase. That way, it’s impossible for you to be charged.

I contacted Delta on your behalf, and it refunded the ticket you never meant to buy. E-mail to a friend

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Opponent of illegal immigation dropping White House bid

WASHINGTON (CNN) — Rep. Tom Tancredo is set to abandon his long-shot bid for the presidential nomination Thursday afternoon, a source close to the Colorado Republican told CNN.

The announcement is expected to come at a 3 p.m. ET news conference in Iowa.

Tancredo is a fierce proponent of stricter illegal immigration laws, but his campaign struggled to gain traction with the Republican primary voters, despite many naming illegal immigration as a top concern.

An NBC/Wall Street Journal poll released Wednesday night showed the congressman registered less than 1 percent support nationally, and a CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll of likely Iowa caucus-goers released on Thursday put Tancredo at only 3 percent.

Of the likely Republican Iowa caucus-goers interviewed for the poll, 20 percent said immigration was the most important issue in deciding who they will support. Only caucus-goers who cited economic issues as their biggest concern was a larger group at 25 percent.

Earlier this week, Rep. Steve King of Iowa, a friend of Tancredo’s who shares his tough approach on immigration, announced he was backing former Sen. Fred Thompson of Tennessee instead.

While he has not risen in the polls, Tancredo did affect the GOP by keeping the immigration issue front and center in the GOP debates he participated in.

During the CNN/YouTube debate in November, Tancredo said the candidates were trying to out-Tancredo Tancredo by arguing for strengthened border security, stepped up enforcement on immigration laws and punishment of employers who hire illegal immigrants.

That is exactly right: the other Republican candidates adopted Tancredo’s tough line on illegal immigration, CNN Senior Political Analyst Bill Schneider said. What happens when you out-Tancredo Tancredo? You don’t need Tancredo any more.
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Florida chemical plant explosion ‘literally shook our house’

VIDEO PHOTOS
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Youssif smiles again

LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) — Youssif squats at the edge of the lake at Balboa Park near Los Angeles, tentatively holding out bread for the ducks, his large dark eyes widening in delight and fear as it’s snatched from his hands.

Oooo! Look, there’s a white one, the 5-year-old burned Iraqi boy shouts in Arabic, seemingly unaware that the front of his oversized Spider-Man sweatshirt is soaked in drool.

Youssif’s latest surgery — one that removed thick, hard scar tissue that stretched half a foot across his face — has dramatically improved his appearance, allowing him to open his mouth to take large bites of food and helping him to finally be able to smile again.

It’s also left him with a drooping lower lip, causing him to drool without knowing it. However, over time, his lip should be fine.

Dr. Peter Grossman, Youssif’s lead surgeon, says his current lip problem is mainly due to two factors: tightness caused by the scar tissue across his lower chin and the new flap of skin pulling down on his face.

In general, this should subside over the next few months, he says. See Youssif smile again

However, it is still likely that in the future we may have to tighten the lower lip surgically. For now, we have to let the swelling resolve and see how much the body improves itself.

The doctor says he is pleased with Youssif’s progress so far — that burn reconstructive surgery is typically two steps forward and one step back.

I actually think with this last procedure it’s more like three steps up, he says. This is a [long] process, which is why we from the onset said that it will likely take over a year and up to a dozen procedures before we are done.

Youssif was grabbed by masked men outside his Baghdad home on January 15, doused with gasoline and set on fire. CNN.com users, the Children’s Burn Foundation and the Grossman Burn Center helped raise hundreds of thousands of dollars to get him and his family out of Iraq for the treatment he needs. Watch how you — the global Internet community — rescued Youssif

He first arrived in September with his mother, father and little sister, Ayaa. Earlier this month Youssif underwent his most extensive surgery that removed his biggest scars. See how doctor removed the scars

At Balboa Park, Youssif’s father squats next to him at the edge of the water, cracking his first tired smile of the day at Youssif’s antics and never-ending energy. When he’s not feeding ducks, Youssif runs around kicking a soccer ball.

The emotional toll that his son’s ordeal has taken on this 27-year-old Iraqi father is evident. The family has been living a nightmare ever since Youssif was attacked. His assailants have never been captured. Watch a dad’s struggle to get help for his son

And although Youssif’s parents are exceedingly grateful to be in America and receive the best medical care, one realization that doctors warned about is truly beginning to set in — Youssif’s face will never be the same as it once was.

Sometimes when he sleeps I just look at him and cry. He used to be so beautiful when he slept, his mother, Zaineb, says. Sometimes I talk to myself. I try to convince myself that this is just a bad dream and that my son was never burned.

Youssif’s parents are coping with what every parent of a child burn survivor struggles with.

They want their son to return to the way he was, and it’s hard to know and accept that he won’t, says Keely Quinn, the program director with the Children’s Burn Foundation who has been helping the family adjust.

I hope knowing that Youssif is receiving excellent care and that his parents are doing the best that they can for him is of some comfort.

Seeing little Youssif run around, acting like a happy, bubbly boy is some comfort for his parents, but they still cling to the memory of Youssif before the attack.

Just recently, Youssif’s father accidentally cut 16-month-old Ayaa’s hair too short. For Zaineb, it’s a bittersweet reminder of what her little boy used to look like at the same age.

Sometimes, when I look at her, I want to cry, she says watching her daughter unsuccessfully try to chase her big brother around the park. She reminds me so much of him. At least with this haircut, we can remember what he used to look like.

Youssif’s parents are emotionally and mentally spent. They even admit their son has shown more strength throughout this ordeal than they have. To them, it seems their son is winning the battle to overcome his mental and emotional injuries, and he astonishingly seems to take the discomfort of recovery and multiple surgeries in stride. Watch a stirring music video tribute to Youssif

Oh, that was really bothering me, it was itchy, Youssif says happily after Quinn removes flaking skin at the corner of his lip.

Youssif is an amazing survivor and tough little guy, Quinn says. Compared to his parents, at 5 years old, he doesn’t have the ability to see down the road how this will affect him. He just knows he will be ‘fixed.’ His parents have to deal with much more complex issues — watching their son suffer, their guilt over the attack, and wondering what the next day will bring.

Youssif will need to deal with a face mask and physical therapy to help with his lower lip, and he will face many more surgeries, mostly to tweak some of the remaining scars.

Although he is aware of the ordeal ahead, he deals with it in his own way.

You know, I can’t feel my lip, he says with inquisitive eyes, back at the apartment where he and his family are living.

He then turns around to take on his current priority — beating the bad guys on his PlayStation Spider-Man game.

You can read about the impact of the war on other Iraqi children by clicking here.
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