By RIA Novosti,
Bishkek: A pensioner in Kyrgyzstan spent all the money he had saved for Haj pilgrimage to rebuild a dilapidated monument in memory of the victims of World War II, a media report said.
Suleiman Turdubayev has been saving money to go for Haj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia for a long time, Kyrgyz news website, called 24.kg, posted the report on its website last week.
He will spend 100,000 Kyrgyz som (about $2,500) to rebuild a dilapidated monument at his home village of Alga in the Kadamzhaisky district of Kyrgyzstan’s Batken region.
“The names of all the villagers who died in the war are inscribed on the monument in the centre of Alga. There are 260 of them,” 24.kg reported.
Official figures show around 353,000 Kyrgyz fought in the war, with 150,000 receiving medals or decorations. Only 4,412 are still alive.
The Haj is the largest annual pilgrimage in the world that must be performed at least once by every able-bodied Muslim. It is a demonstration of the submission to Allah.
To make the pilgrimage to Mecca and Medina from Kyrgyzstan costs about $3,000. The average monthly pension in the Central Asian country is $30.