30 June 2009

Life In Bangor, North Wales Part 2


Click HERE for Life In Bangor, North Wales Part 1.

Annually, less than 20 Malaysians were sent to Gwynedd Technical College, Bangor, North Wales to study A-Level. As a small group, we always helped each other out, especially with halal food supplies (beef, lamb and chicken). The nearest halal food supplier was in Liverpool (about 2 hours train ride from Bangor). FYI, passengers holding UK STUDENT UNION cards received 50% discount on all transportation charges - that was and, nowadays, still is very cheap.

Halal food shopping was done over the weekend, usually on a Saturday. There were no classes to attend to and sometimes a chance for Liverpool and Everton (boooo...) supporters among us to cheer on their favourite teams (me included) whether at Anfield (my favourite place) or Goodison Park. To be fair, we jointly agreed on a roster as to who should made the trip (at least 2 persons per trip - trying to follow the sunnah of the Prophet, pbuh).

As you can see, halal food supplies were made possible in the UK with the existence of strong communities of Pakistani immigrants all over the UK. Mosques and affordable rented accommodations too, existed within these communities.

Bangor was definitely not a favourite destination for the Pakistani immigrants. I am sure, by now, the Malaysian Student Department knows where exactly to send Malaysian students in the UK. There was no mosque to hold weekly Friday prayers. So, every Friday, what the Muslim students (Malaysians included) did were to congregate in a large room at Bangor University Students' Union Building and held Friday prayers there. Our Imam was a Jordanian student who looked like Yusof Islam (formerly known as Cat Steven). However, the best muazzin hailed from Malaysia, with my housemate, Zulkifle, leading the pack. Occasionally, the room was filled with banquet chairs and we had to rearranged them to create enough space for us to pray. This made the Friday prayer ran into overtime. When this happened, it meant "rushing time" for us for our afternoon classes. However, the Welsh learnt from their observations very quickly. There were longer lunch breaks on Fridays. Alhamdulillah!

For an 18 year old Malaysian student, being first time abroad and away from parents, trying to practice Islam as a way of life in a non-Islamic country was very tough. Who would ensure that you are on the right track, if not all the time, at least once in a while. My parents did supply me a few Islamic reference books, which I found it very resourceful and that kept me going.

It was very important too, to choose and be in the company of good friends. I once overheard a senior brother said, "You either be a good Muslim or a bad Malaysian living overseas when you are in the UK. You won't be able to sit on the fence". Later, I found out that there was some truth in what he said.

The UK provides freedom in worldly life and this did some damage to a few of my friends. Some didn't even made through A-Levels and were made to return back to Malaysia. While others rebounded from their mistakes, a few could not bear the shame of being "UK dropout" and disappeared out of the scene. Looking back at this chapter of my life, I felt lucky and grateful to Allah that I am still here and typing this article for others to comprehend and learn a tiny bit of knowledge permitted and granted by The Almighty Allah.

13 comments:

Azizi Ahmad Termizi: said...

Zauri

Yes, the UK afforded us total freedom in every sense of the word. It opened my eyes to so many new things and experiences. Alhamdulilah it also taught us on the idea of Islam as a way of life.

Anonymous said...

Betui..betui...betui.betui.We had these weekly chores too from Wrexham, Wales. Liverpool was about half an hour from where I reside during A levels. Halal foods - Cranby Street, Jermyn Street, Sandon Street and Princess Avenue all in Toxteth.Also have the Kelab Melayu - Senior Malay folks who decided to take the British Citizenship long time ago. They open up warung makan near the halal stores.In July 1981 racial riots broke out in Toxteh area...Aizuddin

mzauri said...

Azizi
Our prayers and the prayers of the loved ones that we left in Malaysia had been answered when we were guided to the right path and survived the life in the UK.

Aizuddin
It was not meant to be that we would meet in Toxteth District, Liverpool during our weekly chores. It was not meant to be that we would meet face-to-face after 31 years. Will it meant to be that we would meet at the Reunion Dinner 2009? We make plans but the Best Planner will always be Allah swt... Subhanallah walhamdulillah walailahailallahu Allahuakbar.

Aizuddin said...

Zauri,
It was Granby St. in Liverpool, not Cranby, typo error.
Actually I went to Bangor during the A levels. Even watch world rugby on tv in one of the students houses there. Pretty hilly area overlooking the North Seas.thus windy too. Met Zul in Bangor, but can't remember mtg u. Allah does what He wills. Godwilling we will meet each other...Aizuddin

mzauri said...

Aizuddin
Now I could recall Brother Razak (an undergrad @ Bangor Uni) was telling me about somebody named ...Din from Wrexham looking for me. I knew a lot of ...Dins who further their studies in the UK but I could not imagined it was YOU! This mystery had been haunting my mind for more than 30 years... We could only plan, but He is The Best Planner...

Azizi Ahmad Termizi: said...

Aizudin

Actually, Bangor is located by the Irish Sea, not the North Sea. Sunderland & Newcastle are by the North Sea though...

Dino said...

Aku pasal bab makan ni payah sikit aku nak cerita. Kadang kala aku terpaksa beli khosher diet (makanan Yahudi), kot tidak pun vegetarian, kot tidak pun bertahan habih, kot tidak pun asalkan in Christian countries, asal bukan benda tu, kena jamah juga.

Yang vege punya pun kalau nak perhatikan ada juga wine, dan minyak tu.

Masa aku kat West Berlin oklah ada orang Turki, masuk East Berlin, Yugoslavia, Chezh, Russia, ... no choice.

mzauri said...

Dino
Aku pernah jumpa sorang Brother yang melawat Rep. Czech selama 1 minggu. Tiap2 time makan, dihentamnya telor rebus sahaja, sampai kawan2 dia panggil dia Mr. Boiled Egg. Masing2 dengan tahap ketelitian masing2.

Fauzi Dino said...

Zauri,

Dlm hal makan ni aku ambil middle path - between Malaysian and Arab.

Dah tak ada geng Melayu, duduk dgn Arab, Jews, dll... dalam hukum ni I have to survive using the minimal passing mark.

Kat East Europe shj 3 bulan, Sampai kat Moscow yg bitterly cold tu, Tallin, dll takkan teloq rebuih ajer... Aku ambik roti, cheese and vege food, serupa juga ada benda tu - tak boleh lari.

Masuk gereja dan baca kitab mereka tu tak usah cerita lah - dah kursus dan kerja aku kena macam tu. Kisah aku tak plain sailing macam kebanyakan budak2 melayu pergi sana, banyak up and down. Survival aku juga lain kisahnya.

Kot2 ada org kata cara org2 yg life dia mcm aku ni ada yg kawin ahli kitab, itu bukan cerita pelik.

Alhamdulillah, dalam banyak hal Allah selamatkan aku.

mzauri said...

Dino
Jika kita masih ada ruang dalam diri kita untuk berubah, Allah akan merubahnya (ingat balik ayat Quran yg berkaitan)...

Wak Dogol said...

Kita kalau ingin berubah,kena kuatkan iman kerna banyak sangat godaan2 dan strategi2 syaitan & iblis..cara dan bagaimana terpulang pada kekuatan kita.Selagi ada nyawa,maka ruang sentiasa ada untuk berubah.Senjata muslim adalah zikrullah dll.

Sama sama kita berdoa untuk kesejahteraan kita semua..Amin Ya Rabbal Alamin.

mzauri said...

Terima kasih Wak Dogol...

Anonymous said...

"Jordanian student who looked like Yusof Islam (formerly known as Cat Steven)"

Tat wud be Brother Fahmi, if my memory serves me correctly.
Married to Malaysian gurl, i think.

I have to see you.

First Batch
Gwynedd Tech Coleg Sept 1979
Llainfairfechan

lagu-lagu top 1974-78