A traveler from Morocco is here in the sultanate adding a new page in his travelling adventure. Milaud Dauiri is not a name that we all know. I was lucky enough to meet this great traveler who is related to the great Islamic scholar and traveler, Ibn Batuta.Ibn Batuta travelling period lasted for nearly thirty years and had covered most known Islamic world. He also travelled to North Africa, West Africa, Southern Europe and eastern Europe, the Middle East, Indian subcontinent, Central Asia, Southeast Asia and even China. I interviewed Mr. Milaud Dauiri the great grandson of Ibn Batuta who had been here for almost 23 days. We started our conversation in his rented room at the youth center while sitting down on the carpet. He began by travelling all parts of Europe since it was closer to his homeland and then crossed to the southern part of America by cargo ship for a month. He smiled and said that as a traveler, he traveled on any means of transportation just to get to where he wanted to, even on a cargo ship instead on a cruise ship. As traveler they need to cut down their budget and in this current situation of the world the only two things that always gave a traveler problems are passport visas and money. He first arrived in Argentina and from there he go to Chile, Bolivia, Uruguay, Brazil and basically all parts of the southern America. He mentioned that Brazil was very important to him because he stayed in Amazonas in its capital city of Manau. He described it as a place where they had many beautiful islands and whatever beauty of nature you are thinking about, you can certainly find there in the Manau.
“This is Brazil, if go there, you will not want to go back to your country.” Mr. Milaud Dauiri spoke with passion.
He said that Brazil is a big country with so many ethnics and culture. The people who are living there are very open-minded. I can see that in Mr. Milaud Dauiri’s eyes that he really like Brazil so much that he wishes to stay there. This was back then in 1982 at his age of 23. Soon after he finished exploring parts of Brazil, he continued his journey to Ecuador, Columbia, Venezuela a country with big snakes called Anaconda, Panama central America, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala and ended his journey of the southern America by crossing Mexico to the United States. He managed to learn to speak in Portuguese and Spanish, though not fluently but he still understands it very well. When I asked him about how long he stayed in certain part of southern America, he answered back with a smile and said that sometime he stayed for a month to 5 months and it all depends on how big is the place you wanted to explore. Mr. Milaud Dauiri came to the United States and lived there for two years and a half.
“Do you know how many states are there in United States? They got 53 states…”
“…Texas is like France, California is like Italy, New York is like Germany.” He said to me and trying to describe how certain states reminded him of.
People there understand that he was just a traveler minding his own business. Sometime he mix with bad people, good people and all sort of people who are living there in the United States and they all know that Mr. Milaud Dauiri was just a traveler who got nothing to do with big parts of their life. When asked about where he got his financial support, he mentioned that mostly the Moroccan ambassador help him and also any city that has a shelter. He also did part-time work as a chef in a restaurant to earn what he can and continue his travelling. Soon after, he managed to buy a caravan with small kitchen, bed and toilet for just only US$700.00 to travel from one state to the other. Sometimes there are people helping him, by sponsoring a ticket to go back to Morocco just so he may visit his family. Mr. Milaud Dauiri who is in his 50’s is married with three children Abraham 28, Mariam 20 and Yuseff 4. He stayed at Moroccan for a month and then he go back to the United States. Being a traveler does not mean that you cannot go back to your home or country and Mr.Milaud Dauiri said that, yes you can.
“If somebody helps me with a ticket, I still want to go to Morocco for 15 days or a month and then I come back, because the ticket is free.” Mr.Milaud said.
After that he mentioned one particular state (Southern part mostly) in that country where he saw things that he should not. War is being fought on the streets where ordinary people pass by and this was all about controlling territories and drugs. The black community and the white community do not get along very well. Every day, eight or more people will die on the streets. You can hear sirens every corner you go and you feel unsecure of your own safety. Being around with black community, Mr.Milaud shared that these people although are not Muslim but they still respect a Muslim brother. In fact, black community prefers to give their children’s name as a Muslim name rather than using an English name. They are very friendly and are easy to communicate. They will hear to an Islamic preach without any discrimination and even some of them embraced Islam without any problem. In other words the black community really welcomes Muslim as their part of society with open arms. It’s not just the black community but Mr.Milaud also mentioned that the white people are as friendly and welcome Islam into their society just as the black community does. So, there are no arguments between them. If you bring them to a mosque to listen about Islamic preach, they will sit down and listen to it with respect. After spending two years and half in the United States, Mr.Milaud Dauiri decided to go back to Morocco before continuing his travel. He said that he needs to be with his family and earn enough income to go back to the United States. Once he earns enough, he went back to the United States and crossed to Canada where eventually he ended up in North Pole. In 2005 he went back to Morocco and stayed for 5 years and resumed his travelling by motorcycle to Mauritania, Senegal, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt and Sudan then crossed the Red Sea to Saudi Arabia to arrive in United Arab Emirates. He did not go to whole part of Africa because he said that it will take him 2 more years and for that he did not have enough budgets to continue.
“Some part of Africa there are no borders and if you go through the jungle, some lion will come and eat you.” Mr.Milaud laughs in his conversation.
From the United Arab Emirates, he arrived here in Brunei Darussalam. He said that he had heard a lot of story about this sultanate. He heard good stories about the sultan and a very peaceful country which made him come here to see it with his own eyes. He heard about this country 25 years ago. He had experienced a lot in this country for 20 days of his stay here but mentioned that he still want to see more of Brunei. He already sees the way of how people move about everyday and basically taste some of the Bruneian food. What really fascinated him was that the people in this country really obey Islam teaching by going to the mosque, perform the prayer and read the Quran these are the purity of Islam he saw here. Mr.Milaud said that he could not compare Brunei Darussalam with any other country because every country has its own personality and that leave him speechless. He also said that he will come back to Brunei Darussalam again in the month of Syabaan just before Ramadhan and this time he will come here not as a traveler but as a tourist. After Brunei Darussalam he said that he will go to Sarawak in Malaysia, Kalimantan in Indonesia, Jakarta capital of Indonesia where they have Moroccan embassy there, Australia and ending his whole travelling adventure in New Zealand.
“You can’t travel ALL the places in the world, just the important places…”
“…and if try to travel the whole places, you will lose your life. Take China it will give you 25 years to explore it not to mention Russia and India.” He continued.
I smiled listening to his words yet they are true and this also needs a lot of money. Being a traveler I learn that you do not need to go all over the country in the world, just the important place you think you should go. I asked Mr.Milaud Dauiri about tips what to do if you are going to be a traveler just like him.
“First thing you should do is go to Masjid. That is the place where Muslims unite and from there you can find help as a traveler.” Mr.Milaud Dauiri advise.
He said that once he finish his travelling, he will go back to Morocco and publish a book title 'Uncle Ibn Batuta' telling stories of his life and his wonderful journey. He will continue doing his job as a truck driver in his country to resume his normal life. Being a traveler gave him a body of 20 years old man and still in excellent health condition. We sat for almost 2 hours talking about life and Islam and I really feel lucky to meet with Mr.Milaud Dauiri. He is a wonderful man, full of passion, full of experiences and to set an example how people can evolve to reach out their dreams in life.
by: M.N.Abdullah @ Karma Jumantara 280211
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