"We are here together, we can learn from each other and help each other"
How do you usually travel?
I work full time but every time I have days off, I travel. If I see it’s not busy at work, I ask if it’s possible to get three weeks off. In a year I get more or less 10 weeks off in total. When I travel, I organize everything. In fact, I planned my last trip to Jordan three months in advance. Everything was booked. I’m scared to not find a place for the night, so for me it works to plan everything. It’s more safe and you have a lot of options. Also, by booking in advance, you have more opportunities to find nice hotels. When you organize everything, you have to do research before. You don’t get “shocked” when you get to a place because you know everything. I know about where I’m going to go but I don’t read a lot about people. When I go to a country, I just go with a blank mind. I don’t like to think in boxes, to think people are a certain way because they come from a certain place. I only know all the good places and I read all the reviews. I wouldn’t change anything because for me this way of travelling works. The only thing is that, if I really like a place and I want to stay longer, that’s not possible, because the next hotel is already booked. I have never changed my plans so far and I don’t know how I would react to that. Maybe I should try to not plan anything once, but that would be really uncomfortable for me.
Do you usually travel by yourself?
Most of the time I travel with my friends. Sometimes I take my mom with me. I took her with me to Zanzibar. It was very difficult to convince her. As a Muslim girl, there are people that say you can’t travel without mahram because it’s not safe. In fact, a Muslim girl is supposed to travel with her husband, father or brother. I don’t have a mahram so I try to travel with my female friends. When I travel people are always positively surprised to see a Muslim woman travelling, especially in Muslim countries. They always want to know about where I come from.
Does your family support your choice of travelling?
Yes, it does. My family is from Morocco. My mom came to Holland when she was four. In Holland people are very open. My mom had friends who travelled the world. She couldn’t do it because her parents didn’t let her. When she had her own children, she told us to see the world and do everything we could because she didn’t have the opportunity to do so.
Do you have any project in mind related to travelling?
I’m a lawyer as a first job but I’m starting a small business in which I organize group trips, taking girls with me, since I get a lot of DMs from girls saying “I want to travel with you, can you give me tips?”. I want to share the experience with other girls who don’t want to travel by themselves. Our first trip will be to Cappadocia, Turkey. I’m also involved in volunteer projects. My first project was in Tanzania. We opened a orphanage for 64 girls, giving them the opportunity to go to school so they will have a better future. Seeing the project that was in my mind in real life, it was mind blowing. For me it was a really special moment.
What motivated you to start projects to help people?
In Holland we focus on school and work. Career is very important here. I was feeling empty inside. I was thinking “What is the meaning of life?”. I went to Palestine and I had an idea. I saw a lot of poor people there and I wanted to help them. I opened a link on Instagram and I asked my followers to donate something so we can help them. It was just a small act. In three days we collected a lot of money, like 7000€. I thought I would have gotten 100€ or so. I was shocked. I was like: That’s a lot of money, what should I do with it? I went to an orphanage, I gave them some money, then I went to another one doing the same. At the end we still had some money left, so we went to a mosque on Jummah prayer, the Friday prayer, where everybody comes. I had a lot of money in my bag. We gave everybody money and everybody was so shocked. We gave a man in the street something like 20€, not a lot. He told us to stop. We thought that maybe he needed some more or he wanted something else. Instead, he told us that was too much. We told him that it was a gift from God and not from us. He started crying and in that moment I knew my purpose in life is to help people because that really gives me happiness in my heart. At that point I knew I wanted to do something to help people all over the world. When I came back I contacted some foundations, among which the foundation Hiba & Habib that helps children. That’s how I got to my first project in Tanzania. Also for the project in Tanzania I raised money through Instagram. I basically asked my followers to help me build the orphanage. The second project with the foundation was building a school, an orphanage and a mosque in Afghanistan. In November I’m going to Afghanistan to open it. This year I have another project, which is planting fruit trees in Uganda with small children. I’m really thankful to have these opportunities.
Have you ever pushed yourself to go into an uncomfortable situation while travelling?
Yes, I have. I don’t like to be alone. I need to have somebody at my side. When I went to Tanzania with my mom, I spent 14 days with her and 14 days by myself because she went back to Holland. I told her that I wanted to stay there and travel alone because I had never done it before. That’s something I was really scared of. My mom wanted me to come back with her but I said: No, I want to experience how to travel alone. I also wanted to stay at the orphanage we built in Tanzania. I wanted to see how children were living, what a normal day looks like in their lives. So, I stayed there. I put myself in that situation, even though it was really awkward for me.
Is there any “memorable" person you met while travelling?
I met a lot of people that are like my family. I learned a lot from them. They don’t have a lot but they never complain and they believe in the good in people. In Palestine I met a man that looked like a good man. I talked to him and asked him about his story. He told me that he was taking orphan children to Mecca. I’ve been there three times and every time I visit him and his family. What I value the most is people. We are here together, we can learn from each other and help each other. One day I can help them, and another day they can help me. I think that’s the most beautiful thing in the world.
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