HIKE4GAZA Blog

Compared to Ben Nevis, Snowdon was a walk in the park by Elest Ali

15 March 2008   

How to redeem this piece of writing after dooming its subject matter from the start? This is how: Picture low clouds; below zero temperatures; snow (and none of your fluffy stuff) strong winds; rain; and a pair of very wet jeans. Snowdon may have been an easier trek in terms of height and a gentler incline, but it certainly was not one to easily forget.

With its ups and downs (literally and figuratively), the journey there and back, the ‘I spy with my little eye’, the instances of bonding and then the arguments that eventually brought us closer together, we found that the challenge was not merely about climbing a mountain and raising money.

Seagulls don’t really fly. They soar. And to catch sight of one riding effortlessly on the kind of killer winds we faced up there, is really something. It was, for me, one of those defining moments among the many memorable, like skimming stones on a lake, praying off a cliff face, and replenishing our empty Evian bottles at waterfalls (Mountain water. comes from mountains!) Who ever said sequels are rubbish?

None the less, a great experience is often marred simply by the state of mind of the man who looks upon it. For this reason, and also because I was not one of the few who managed to reach the top, I turn to someone who was.

Afsheen, is one of those quirky, little people who go and do big things and surprise everyone. “I won’t be able to do it justice!” her eyes light up when I hold out the metaphorical microphone. “but there was this moment up there, after Dhuhur Salah, when all I could say was ‘Oh my God!’ and Mabz responded ‘I know.’”

The Mabz in question is, Mehboob, our loveable finance bop. After having struck enough airs of ‘all hail the conquering hero’ upon his dissent, Mabz had one of those sobering moments. In the Muslim Aid tradition, a staff email followed. Mehboob’s sentiments were that in truth ‘we live in luxury , and we put ourselves through difficult situations just to feel a sense of achievement, whilst all over the world people are living through these difficulties every day through no choice of there own. They do so with out any sense of achievement, except for the right to live another day.’

We at Muslim Aid climb a mountain or two each year to feel a fraction of what some of these people go through. We do this because, as Mabz put it, you and I live in a world where 'the 10 richest people of our times could actually eradicate these problems without even feeling a dent in their wallets.' The reality verges on the absurd; the richer countries are all too ready to provide aid to those countries to which it refuses to give justice. And let's face it; climbing a mountain is after all, a fundraising gimmick. The real challenge for us, was not the climb, but the descent. It was returning to the mundane where, in the grander scale of things, our efforts fall laughably short.

Thinking of Palestine now, I remember meeting a woman from Nablus last August, at a conference in Istanbul. In my not so sheltered life, I have never met a woman command more strength and possess more dignity on frail though old shoulders. She spoke to us of the realities her people live with, like a warrior, unmoved. Our sympathy was comical.

They say that one can see the world more clearly from on high. For me Snowdon was about realising the mediocrity of our little squabbles and the futility of our struggles. It was disheartening yet strangely encouraging at the same time. Yes, I am human and I am small, but I am also great enough to still want to change things which are bigger than me. And here's where the aforementioned seagull is relevant. Life is often a cold dark place. I pray that Allah (swt) gives us the strength, the patience and the insight to harness storms under still wings.

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