~50°C heat fails to halt Karbala’s free Arbaeen services
Shafaq News- Karbala
Arbaeen* mawkibs across Iraq’s Karbala are providing pilgrims with free services ranging from food and medical care to vehicle, phone, clothing, and camera repairs, despite temperatures reaching 47°C.
The volunteer-run stations line roads used by pilgrims traveling to commemorate Arbaeen. Those serving at them are known as khuddam (Arabic for servants), and include Iraqis and foreigners from different social and economic backgrounds who regard helping pilgrims as an act of devotion and humility.
Food remains the largest undertaking, with volunteers preparing Iraqi dishes alongside pizza, hamburgers, fruit, sweets, tea, juices, soft drinks, and chilled water.
Other mawkibs operate as repair centers, where mechanics and electricians service vehicles, technicians charge and repair smartphones, and tailors and cobblers mend clothing, backpacks, and shoes damaged during long-distance walks.
Pilgrims can also have their clothes washed, dried, and ironed, while medical and personal-care stations treat blisters and foot injuries and offer manual massages and electronic massage chairs to ease muscle pain.
Some stations provide eyesight examinations and prescription glasses, haircuts, and beard trimming, while family-focused mawkibs distribute baby formula, strollers, toys, and access to small play areas.
Specialized teams also clean and repair cameras, lenses, and other photographic equipment used by journalists and photographers covering the pilgrimage.
More than 4 million foreign pilgrims entered Iraq from the beginning of the Islamic month of Muharram through July 31, according to the command overseeing Arbaeen operations, joining millions of Iraqis traveling toward Karbala.
* Arbaeen, observed 40 days after Ashura, commemorates Imam Hussein bin Ali, the Islamic Prophet Muhammad’s grandson and third Shia Imam, who was killed alongside relatives and companions in the Battle of Karbala in 680 CE.
Read more: Discover Iraq: Karbala, where memory breathes and future beckons
