4th February, 2011
Large number of the fifth batch of over one thousand Kaduna Pilgrims performing the 2011 pilgrimage in Israel have lamented lack of Nigerian food in the hotel they lodge.
Most of them, who told P.M.NEWS that the visit to the Holy Land was their first, complained bitterly about the native Israeli delicacies they have been consuming since they arrived Israel on Saturday 29 January 2011.
Emmanuel Okoro Chibueze was one of those that had running stomach after eating his first meal at the Golden Crown Hotel in Nazareth where they were lodged before moving to Bethlehem.
“ After eating the first meal and I vomited seriously, I resolved to only eat rice which is the only familiar food here,†Chibueze stated.
Others who shared the same experience with Chibueze said they have enjoyed the pilgrimage except the food they eat initially created discomfort for them. However, they said they have learnt their lesson and next time when they visit they will only eat rice and Irish potato and nothing else.
In Israel the natives basically consume vegetables and and all kinds of bread most which often are serve as meals. But Kaduna pilgrims have expressed displeasure over this and want the pilgrims board to liaise with the appropriate agencies to incorporate Afrcan dishes in the food they serve in the hotels and resturants where lunch were eaten.
The team leader of batch five of Kaduna pilgrims, Esther John, said it is not unusual for people to undergo such discomfort when they eat strange food . However, she
expressed joy that all those that had problem with the food initially have realised that they need to consume only the food they are familiar with.
Meanwhile , she said all the 1,000 pilgrims from Kaduna that have performed this year’s pilgrimage in the Holy Land have behaved well and presented themselves as good ambassadors of Nigeria.
—Femi Adi/Israel