Last of stranded Thai Muslims leave Bangkok airport

By Darren Schuettler

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thai Muslims on a once-in-a-lifetime haj pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia prepared to leave Bangkok's besieged international airport on Sunday, six days after they were stranded by anti-government protests.

The final group of 460 pilgrims, who had slept on straw floor mats and luggage conveyor belts in a corner of Suvarnabhumi airport's massive departure hall, were relieved that their ordeal was nearly over.

"We are leaving today, finally, inshallah (God willing)," said Yusuf Waedaramae, 33, a Thai living in Australia, who was escorting his 57-year-old mother to complete one of Islam's most important pillars of faith.

Members of the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) stormed the new $4 billion state-of-the-art airport on Tuesday, stepping up their fight to unseat the government.

Suvarnabhumi and another older airport, Don Muang, have been shut, leaving thousands of tourists stranded and threatening further pain for an economy already hit by a global slump.

The group, many of its members elderly and frail, were from Thailand's deep south, home to most of the Buddhist country's six million Muslims. The region has endured a five-year separatist insurgency that has also hurt tourism and the economy.

On Sunday the pilgrims received word they would be driven by bus to the naval air base at U-Tapao, 150 kms (90 miles) east of Bangkok, where airlines are picking up stranded travelers.

Their IranAir charter flight was due to leave after 3 a.m. on Monday, bound for Tehran and then Saudi Arabia, an airline representative said.

"God willing, they will not have any problems," S.M. Ghaffar, IranAir's general manager in Thailand, told reporters.

Islam requires all able-bodied Muslims to undertake a pilgrimage to Mecca at least once if they can afford it. The cut-off date this year is Tuesday, December 2.

The pilgrimage is one of the five so-called pillars of Islam, which include the declaration of faith, praying five times a day, giving alms and fasting during Ramadam.

Most of the Thai pilgrims stranded at the airport were the beneficiaries of Muslim charity lotteries or savings clubs, which raise funds to send a fortunate few to Saudi Arabia every year.

On Sunday, a call to prayers echoed through the departure hall, temporarily drowning out the din of PAD speakers outside the terminal. The Muslim men then gathered at check-in row "T" for prayers as PAD members looked on.

Yusuf said they had been treated well by the mostly Buddhist PAD, who gave them meals, water and blankets.

"It touched my heart and the hearts of my people," Yusuf said as his fellow Muslims rolled up mats or packed their belongings.