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Hi. My name is ilyes and you can call me Gahaf. Tunisian Gahaf halfway around the world.
Many people think I already travelled the world, which is not true. I just had a short trip in Asia
And the journey just started. I still have to go to latin America hopefully this summer
then I go to travel a bit around Africa, then hopefully around eastern Europe
and in the end, make a good trip around Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco.
And I travel in Gahaf mode, and my budget is 100$ per month.
The purpose behind this trip is to make a documentary where I will share about my trip
But also mainly about what I learned. Because I did not travel just to have fun and play, I did not leave for holidays...
But I left to learn. I left with the hypothesis that travel will teach me more then Any university, or any book.
and that was the purpose of my trip
When I left I left on 31st of February 2012, with a one way ticket to India,
and I came back to Tunisia 14 months later. I spent those 14 months travelling between
6 countries. Some people might wonder, why only 6 countries in 14 months.
Actually I don't like to jump from a country to an other just to say that I was there.
I travel very slowly,and I try to live the place, to live its culture and to learn about it.
I spent 5 months in India. Then I went to Sri Lanka for 3 weeks. Then Malaysia where I spent 4 months in total
1 month in Thailand, 3 weeks in Cambodia and 2 months and a half in China
It was such a rich experience where I could visit more then 50 cities.
I found my self in the snow in the Himalayas, in the desert of Jaipur, in the tea plantations in Sri Lanka...
in the waterfalls in Thailand... such diverse landscapes and cultures
So I was trying to enjoy every place I go. Many people think that I travel walking
which is not true. Is true that I walk a lot, and when I can borrow a bicycle, I use the bicycle.
But also use the train a lot. I spend more then 400 hours travelling by train, and more then 300 hours travelling by bus.
I travelled alone, but believe me, I never been alone,
every day I find my self between people, group of friends, I made many friends, not just contacts, but real friends
I lived with them, they hosted my in their houses, I travelled with them...
experiences that can not be forgotten and very strong relationships.
This experience of 14 months, believe me, made me become a completely different person,
it really changed me. Is not the same when you travel as a tourist just to play
as when you travel in Gahaf mode where you live with people, where you live moments that are simple but that change you to a different person.
So I will try to tell you about some experiences I lived.
For example in India, in my first month, I got a part time job, teaching in a kinder garden
and I was hosted by a friends that was 2 hours away by bicycle.
I woke up early in the morning not very excited about going to work, but on my way, I met this old man,
should be 60 or 70 years old, riding a reksha, the reksha is a bicycle that is pulling a car like the one you can see in the picture in the left
But the car that this old is pulling had 14 to 15 kids in it, that he was taking to the school.
And he was so nice to me and smiling when I asked him about the way. He looked happy.
Then I looked to my self, a 27 years old healthy man, riding a simple bicycle
I felt really ashamed, after that moment
I couldn't complain any more about anything.
Also the experience of the train, there was a festival happening, so the train was really crowded
and I bought the cheapest ticket. I got inside the train and I found people on top of each other, but literally
I couldn't find a place even to put one feet.
And you can see it in this picture, my feet was on the washbowl in the bottom of the picture, the other feet was on a window,
and I was standing with my luggage in the air, and every one was standing somehow in a different position during 9 hours
But those 9 hours, believed me, passed so fast, like a 30 minutes. Because every one was smiling, singing, joking, such a nice ambiance,
and I did not have the right to complain, and even pain, I did not have the right to feel it.
And that was one experience that changed me and made me stronger. I felt happier.
When I went to India, I went with the idea that, people there that can live with 1$ per day, they are not stronger then me or smarter then me
Maybe I could do like them which will free me from the system, that I will talk about later.
And other experience in Malaysia, when we left to a beautiful Island called Perhentians.
My friends went to stay in a Hotel, but from the first day I told them that I will stay on the beach. And I had just a plastic sheeting.
My friend from Bengladesh joined me and we spent our nights on the beach, and every thing was so easy
We had our plastic sheeting, we found wood sticks that helped us to build the tent and make fire and keep the mosquitos away
we cached fishes from the sea, we used hooks that we found on the beach, then we learned how to fish using a plastic bottle
we collected water from the rain, we eat coconuts and drunk its water, and we found every thing available
This experience taught me many things, I never did camping before, and I used to fear the nature, every one fears the nature,
but after this experience I understood that in the end, we should fear the city much more then we fear the nature
Because in the city, many people die every day, from accidents, or diseases or criminality...
and the city has its rules, we should look around before crossing the street, we should not go out late in the night...
actually the nature also has its rules, that are much simpler and much more flexible.
And the nature is much more generous. Any thing you need, believe me you will find it.
An other experience that changed me was, the Kumb Mela. Just like muslims have the Hadj, Hindous have the Kumb Mela
People go, from India, from Nepal and from all around the world, during two months, people go in pilgrimage
I was there in the biggest and most important day, they were more then 30 million people that day
We might need to gather the population of Tunisia, Libya and Algeria to reach that number
That experience changed me because I did not use to believe in peace before.
I used to believe in peace between two people, between 10 people, between 100, is ok. But between 6 billions, that is impossible.
But in this place, they were so many, but I did not see any fight, any trouble, every one was smiling, every one was happy, women, old people, kids...
when you enter there, no one asks you about your religions or anything else, you can eat for free and sleep for free
but every one is treated the same way, every one eats on the ground and sleeps on the ground. Maybe that was the secret
Those are some of the experiences I tried to tell, that changed me and made me a different person
not because I travelled, but because I travelled in Gahaf mode
which mean that I try to not spend money, to live with people in their houses
and I try to live like a poor local people and I adapt my self to their culture.
Actually when I talk about Gahaf, I talk as it was a different person, which is right
Gahaf is not me. I am Elyes. Gahaf is a character that I created
It is a brand. it has its logo, and Gahaf style pictures where he poses with the hat hiding his face like this
So this is Gahaf, and this is Elyes
So the Gahaf has his philosophy, and his philosophy is a little bit hard. For me the Gahaf is an ideal, I try to be the Gahaf
I put my self in Gahaf mode, and even when I do, I give my self a mark of 7/10, because I met people that are much better Gahaf then me
So the Gahaf is an Ideal, why, because the Gahaf assumes him self. He assumes himself when he does not use money
and try to live by getting help from people, and helps people
Why? Because people today know that the world is running into a wall, we live in a consumption society, we run after time
we build high building, we don't care about the future and the resources will end, wars, hunger, problems
but people like to point their fingers and say that "hey that guy is the problem, he is responsible"
like in Tunisia we say "Oh, Ghannouchi, or Marzouki is the problem", or some people say "George bush is the problem"
Or some people talk about the sect of illuminati that are ruling the world and manipulating it...
The Gahaf does not believe in those things
Gahaf believes that what is ruining the world is a character that we find within all people, that was developed, that is called "Greed"
The greed is when you have a big stomack that never gets full, you always want more.
And this greed was developed within humanity when something called "money" was invented
Before that, people used to live in communities, and every one used to contribute the way he can
A human being naturally needs to contribute, no one likes to do nothing and spent his life doing nothing. So every one used to contribute
And for exemple, the hunter when he hunts a rabbit, he used to eat a thigh, gets full, then he shares the rest with the community
Till the day when money was invented. After money was invented, the hunter hunts a rabbit, eats a thigh, gets full
then what rests of the rabbit, it has to stay there until it gets sold or wasted.
and he would not care about his mate that is hungry and could not find something to eat
And since that time, every thing started to be valued by money, and social differences in society, rich and poor, was made
Then this phenomena was developed when something called "bank" was invented
The bank is a system that can make money out of money, which made more problems
and today we live in a world where the 300 richest people own the same wealth in terms of money, as the 3 billions poorest people
This is how Gahaf avoids using money
Also, the Gahaf avoids consuming. He does not spend money because he is opposite to consumption. Why am I obliged to buy stuffs that I do not need?
Because when we say consumption, we say production of trash. Today people produce kilos of trash everyday
The packed food, the plastic bottles, a new phone every two years, a new laptop every two years. We are producing so much trash and we don't know where it goes.
We are wasting resources of the planet and we know that resources are going to end one day
So when Gahaf does not consume, it is also an act of resistance
He is trying to get free, knowing that when he consumes, he will be obliged to work to pay what he consumed
And actually the Gahaf assumes the fact that, he does not have a job. He is opposite to something called "job".
Why? Because people usually get jobs for two reasons. They get jobs to feel like contributing to society, and to get rich
But if you really want to contribute to the society, that is very easy, you can do it, you can help people...
you can do volunteering, you can participate in projects, you follow your passion and you do things that you know
if you have a craft you can do you do it, then you can contribute to society
But if you get a job, you can not be sure that you will be contributing to society
For exemple me, I have a master in management control, if I use it to be a management controller
I can find my self in a situation where I write a report to the owner of the company, that tells that finance is not going well, so he takes a decision to fire 5 workers
So in the end, my impact would be that I helped to ruin 5 families. And I would be still respected by the society
Many jobs are respected by society but do not have any contribution or positive impact on society
For the people who work to get rich, I would tell them that if you want to get rich, first you need to know that money never been a wealth
Money is an object made by men. Food is wealth, water is wealth, nature is wealth, animals is wealth
fresh air we are breathing is wealth, people are wealth, young people, the energy they have and the passion they have is wealth
the crafts we have and we used to have are wealth, but the money never was a wealth
And because it is a system in crisis, the day will come when the money will loose all its value
Actually if you want to get rich, you need to know that money makes you forget the value of things
It makes you forget the value of the food you eat, then food can be wasted, it's ok.
It makes you forget the value of the water you drink,it makes you forget the value of time and makes you run after time without realizing it
it makes you forget the value of your family, of your brother, of your mother...
and when you get a lot of money it makes you forget the value of money itself
and mostly, it makes you forget your own value, how valuable you are to society, and people love you for your money not for who you are
So now, I will try to conclude my talk
About the Gahaf people, is true that they are jobless and broke, but they need to know that they are free
And that since they are young and they have energy, if they follow their passion and try to be aware that they are free, they can do great things
So... just to not forget, I think I lost my note :p
yeah one more word to conclude
So the Gahaf needs to make sure that he is free
free to do what he really like to do
Better use that opportunity. Thank you