In 1992, then 14-year-old Remona Aly took the trip of a lifetime from London to Germany with her family. The voyage turned out to be very eventful, with 11 family members, including aunts, uncles, brothers, cousins all age from 5 to 50. This trip was not just a glamorous sightseeing excursion. It combined different cultural experiences, added a stirring of untold challenges, and deepened our familial ties.
So Remona’s dad rented a minibus. It was covered with their slogan “Never too old for fun,” a motto that pretty much captured the spirit of their adventure. The fat eading their journey, as the family boarded a ferry from Dover to Belgium. This trip was just the start of many amazing adventures into the future. Remona had a pretty interesting suitcase going into the trip. She mixed contemporary T-shirt material with classic Indian shalwar kameez, demonstrating her deep culture and history.
Her T-shirt was the most eye-catching of the bunch. The can was depicted in a bright graphic print style, with MDMA pills being poured into it, with big letters reading “EUp.” That Fido Dido, the cartoon mascot for 7Up, bloodshot eyes and spliff at the ready, was the other half of that image. Little did Remona know that the shirt’s importance would soon be the subject of widespread debate.
It wasn’t easy — throughout the journey, the family faced many obstacles. From times of being lost and fighting with one another, they pulled through. Soon Remona ran out of local currency, which presented a very practical problem. For two days, her only sustenance came from watermelons and boiled eggs. The experience tested their resilience and adaptability.
In a rather magnificent stroke of luck, Remona and her family ended up living in the heart of Amsterdam’s red light district. This led to even more trauma, including the presence of bedbugs that forced their stay with them to be uncomfortable. During their bus ride across Switzerland, Remona nearly crashed their minibus over a mountainside cliff. Yet this close collision only touched upon the dangerous turns that marked their trip.
Despite these trials, Remona embraced her identity as a Muslim girl who does not use drugs, contrasting sharply with the imagery on her shirt. Though her misadventures were a combination of fun and mischief, it bestowed incredible memories to her and her family.