A community builds a place of refuge for pilgrims
Ali Abdul Ali Nasser doesn’t have a lot in terms of material possessions. The head of a large family, he relies mostly on agriculture to meet his modest needs.
Ali, his wife and eleven children live in a clay house in a village in Thi Qar Governorate on the banks of the Euphrates River, near the ancient Iraqi city of Ur.
Despite his humble circumstances, he is renowned throughout the province for his hospitality and generosity.
In 1999 he began giving food and a place to sleep to those making the Arba’een pilgrimage to Karbala.
Millions of pilgrims walk to Karbala - one of Shia Muslim’s most sacred cities - every year from either Basrah or Najaf. During this journey it’s traditional to rely on the hospitality of mawakebs along the routes.
Visit Ali’s mawakeb on any day during the pilgrimage and you will see hundreds of people eating and socializing together.
“I’m very proud that thousands of visitors come to my mawkeb every year,” he says.
Ali’s mawakeb has been constantly expanding. In 2003 he put up a tent. Then his neighbours decided to help Ali to build a bigger tent — one that sleeps 50 people. The word spread. Ali became famous, so when he decided to upgrade to a more permanent structure, once again his neighbours came to his aid.
“I found construction materials had been delivered to the mawakeb without my knowing,” he said. “I’m very thankful that so many people have given gifts and donations to enable me to continue my work.”
In recent years Ali built two large halls, one for women and one for men, each equipped with bathrooms and kitchens, air conditioners and washing machines. He started to provide three meals a day. Local municipal authorities have helped with water distribution and garbage collection, but much of what Ali has achieved has been made possible by volunteer work and unexpected contributions.
“Many of the grants and gifts come to this mawakeb from people that I don’t even know,” he says.
In 2015 the mawakeb is flourishing. This year, because Iraq is facing a cholera outbreak, it features banners from UNICEF explaining how to recognize, prevent and treat cholera. Thanks to a generous contribution from ECHO, UNICEF’s Communication for Development (C4D) programme focused on ensuring that the pilgrimage - one of the largest peaceful gatherings of people on earth - is safe and healthy.
Meanwhile, Ali continues to look to the future. He’s located a piece of land to expand his mawakeb and wants to purchase new equipment to outfit it. “I’m grateful for the gifts and donations from wealthy people who can afford to help me,” he says. “And I’m especially thankful for the young people from my family and village who volunteer to work in the mawakeb every year.”
Ryad Maktoof is a UNICEF C4D Facilitator. Chris Niles is a UNICEF communications consultant.
Direct donations to UNICEF Iraq: http://support.unicef.org/campaign/donate-children-iraq
