The resort will be constructed under the Lithuanian brand Olialia, managed by the small European country’s largest newspaper, Vakaro Žinios. The company also operates a pizzeria, payment card, limo and bus service, and sells ice-cream, soft drinks, chips, and computers decorated with Swarovski crystals, and runs parties at popular Lithuanian nightclubs.
Local tourism industry website Maldives Traveller revealed that the project was expected to open in 2015 and would be funded by investors from Lithuania, Russia, UK, Germany, United Arab Emirates and an undisclosed Maldivian travel company.
In an interview with Maldives Traveller, Olialia’s Giedre Pukiene told the website that the company was already in negotiations “with the owners of several atolls, who are ready to cooperate in the creation of the island of blondes.”
The working title of the resort is to be ‘Olialia Paradise’, Pukiene told Maldives Traveller, but noted that this was subject to change.
The project will also include the creation of an airline and yacht service for visitors to the island, both staffed exclusively by blondes.
“The pilots and stewardesses on the planes will also be blonde only,” Pukiene confirmed.
On paper, the project is likely to encounter logistical difficulties. Resorts in the Maldives are obligated to employ at least 50 percent Maldivian staff who naturally have dark hair. Olialia has not revealed whether local staff will be required to use bleach.
State Minister of Tourism Mamduh Waheed said he was unaware of the proposed project, but noted that the Ministry of Tourism had no involvement in negotiations between operators and leaseholders.
“The Ministry officially has no role to play in negotiations, and I think it would be out of line for us to do so, but we certainly facilitate and assist those operators seeking to acquire property,” Mamduh explained.
If it goes ahead, the project would take the country’s tourism industry in a different direction to that proposed in May by visiting Islamic speaker Dr Zakir Naik, who noted that investing in a resort profiting from the sale of alcohol was already technically haram (prohibited), and recommended the country encourage investment in halal (permitted) tourism.
Such resorts, he suggested, should be “exclusively halal, free of pork and alcohol, and with proper segregation and dress code – it will be a benefit.”
President of the Adhaalath Party and State Minister for Home Affairs, Sheikh Hussain Rasheed, said that even if a company attempted to open a resort as the one proposed by Olialia, ”nothing against the Tourism Act can be conducted in the Maldives.”
”Tourism is not bad itself, but it can also be conducted in a bad way,” he said. “Ever since the beginning of tourism in the country has become broader day to day, and the government has established the Tourism Act to maintain and organise the industry,” said Sheikh Rasheed, explaining that the employment of female staff was also regulated by the Tourism Act.
”There should also be a percentage of Maldivians in all the resorts, according to the Act,” Sheikh Rasheed explained. ”I don’t really think the Tourism Act allows such an island to be developed in this country.”
In March the government signed an agreement with Dutch Docklands to develop a gigantic floating golf course, holding a signing ceremony in the President’s office.
”Golf has a good market in the world, and most of our resorts do not have a golf centre due to lack of space,” observed Press Secretary for the President Mohamed Zuhair at the time.
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The first person who visit SPA center on this island of blondes will be chief of Adalath party!ohohoho!
This brings into question the rights of non blonde. What human righst law allows women to be discriminated against emplyoment because they are not beautiful and not blonde. SIM Ibrahim,you are out of your mind to endorse this proposal.Its ambitious but completely stupid and against every ehtical law.
Such a concept will not be legal in the Maldives as it will contradict numerous laws of the country. I presume that this is just a fantasy which will not materialize.
wow..this is great, and adhaalath. dont get in between the properity of maldives and our livelihood. dont cross the line from mosques. or u might be in trouble
Alright! this is one of the most discriminatory idea that I have ever heard of.
What has being blonde to do with being beautiful, perfect and great?
Blondes are supposedly stupid.
In hollywood movies you always see a blonde female when it comes to roles where their bodies are more important than the brain as compared to those with dark especially black hair that is typical for any role to do with intelligence.
This is however, not true...
Of course Sim would just love the idea. He loves to have beautiful young girls, two thirds less his age around him so that he could watch them and drool.
In Canada, in their past, there was a rule that people with a certain height can only be recruited in the police force.
The objective was to ensure that the police force is all Whites of French or other West European origin.
This was when people of other skin colors were treated as scapegoats for crimes. And whenever there was a crime committed, the non-whites involved were always accused and punished.
The idea of this Island of the Blonde is to keep away the Maldivians and the Asians especially.
Will there be flowing springs of honey and milk? How much did Sheikh Ilyas get for selling his idea? 🙂
There are already themed resorts like the Italian Club type of islands which has operated successfully for many years in the country. However taking the theme to exclude the non-blond is taking the idea too far. If this idea goes ahead, some investor might want theme his resort in the style of the Third Reich with Nazi uniforms and swastikas and all.
Also resort workers in the country will object if they will be excluded from employment simply because they do not have the required skin color. This country of ours is one of the few countries in the world where the conflict of skin color has remained dormant for the past millennium.
That the government and the relevant ministry is color-blind to this can of worms is evidence of how removed they are from reality.
As for the likes of Sim, nothing more needs to be said. Anything that can make a buck will be acceptable for them be it at the cost of reputation, social justice or workers rights. Anything will do for them.
oh man. you guys never heard of hooters?
This sounds more like Hitler's Nazi super racial thing. I suppose those Maldivians who work there will be wearing blond wigs and blue contact lens too. This is really stupid.
It's high time to have Maldivian only resort.
Staff as well as tourists!
Russian blondes?
*winks*
Lithuania is one of the poorest EU country whose nationals are scattered in rich EU countries doing the lower class jobs. Thats how they send money back to their own home country. The question is how can such a country run a wealthy tourism business in Maldives?
Another thing Lithuania is famous for are their blondes are the most demanding prostitutes in Europe. Many Lithuanian blondes work in Europe as prostitutes. So is this this blond island which they are making in Maldives a new prostitute centre of Lithuanians? The Maldives governemnet need to make some authentic research before giving them a green signal for this business.
If the laws require all resorts to have 50% maldivians, why didn't Sim say anything about this being illegal? Or will 50% of the staff be required to bleach their hair for real?
Thank you Minivan for bringing this to our attention. This smells more like an upmarket brothel for fascists and men who just love white blonde women. I guess there will always be a niche market for this, but why we do have to have it in the Maldives?
If indeed this racist and sexist idea is for real, I hope it is killed off right away. There is so much we can tolerate in the name of tourism.
this is not going to happen in maldives unfortunately or fotunately. the opposing values are already presented in this article.
to begin you have quoted the one&only all knowing Zakir and then Shaheem and that if you did not know already is the public voice.
fehurihi... the existence of the hooters chain does not validate this idiocy, who the hell thinks considers them a morally appropriate business model?
its just lame.
Across the world, discriminatory or not, blonde girls are widely believed as the more beautiful/attractive of the human race.
But that is a very subjective argument.
Regardless, given chance, i bet that most Maldivians would drool over the blonde girls, when ever we get a chance.
If Minister / Stateminister (Islamic Ministry) would get a chance to dip into a blonde, they would even claim temporary insanity to do it.
So basically, cut the hypocritic mumbo jumbo.
Blonde Island is a dream for the Maldivians. Both as a tourism concept, and a sight for sore eyes.
WTF? Really! It's not 1st of April, is it?
I am sorry, but it sounds like a racist supremacy-esque idea, promoting an "Aryan" race like some of the comments above suggested.
The products and services offered there don't greatly vary from what other resorts offer, not much controversy there.
Come to think of it, do you think they will hire brown-skinned staff as long as they bleach their hair blonde?
Sounds like an interesting idea, their is a racial twist to this but one could argue that a non blond can bleach there hair blond. I don't see this any different from being asked to be clean shaven and wear a particular Uniform, of course given that they don't set a certain skin tone requirement.
Ps. Natural blonds are found all over the world, blondism among the Australian aborigines.
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Ibrahim Yasir on Thu, 9th Sep 2010 11:40 PM
Another thing Lithuania is famous for are their blondes are the most demanding prostitutes in Europe. Many Lithuanian blondes work in Europe as prostitutes.
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It sounds like Yasir has done _his_ research. I'm northern european and I had no idea lol.
In europe I doubt anyone will care terribly much.
Its not racism or anything else!
Special Prostitute Availability (SPA) is going to come in colours!
First blonds, then the red heads, and then the who ever and finally the all blacks!
Oh my goooooooooooooooood!
I'd keelhaul anyone trying to fiddle with this!
Next after Adhaalaath! or whoever!
Hey Olialia’s Giedre Pukiene! Why don't you call it "Island of Dumbos'
you can certainly expect a huge lawsuit from various human rights groups around the world, not to mention a giant fine from the international employment agency which Maldives is a signatory to , and oh yeah , they used to have blond only places......in Nazi era Germany ...
ihedenius: COme to europe and see for yourself. These eastern europeans are treated like trash in by the rich EU nationals like France, UK, Germany and Italy because all they can do is sell their bodies on bed. They worth nothing more than that and got no brains to do a decent job. So dont dare me regarding my research. If you wanna enjoy them too and are eagerly waiting for them in Maldives, then go for it. No need to brag defend them.
Just gonna say the most beautiful women in the world are brunette. Example: Angelina Jolie and Aishwary Rai Blondes looks are always fleeting like Pam Anderson while brunette beauty tends to last well past their 20's.
is this for real? what does the gender ministry have to say about this? isn't this reducing women to mere objects to be looked at?
so if you are a woman, you have to be 1)young 2)blonde and 3) beautiful to be "perfect" eh? The tourism ministry is really allowing this kind of barbarism to enter Maldives?
oh i forgot, anni abolished the gender ministry the minute he assumed office..
Ok, leave everything aside. The point is - this Lithuanian company and their Maldivian partners are trying to establish a rascist system! As if the third world hasn't already suffered enough from colonisation!!! I really hope that this project doesn't go ahead. Technically speaking its against the Tourism Act, so I guess we can all take relief in that.
Love blonds and it's not racism, just think they look the best.
Relax everybody, this will never happen. It's just a pipedream. I'm going to establish a company of only staff with dark hair to build a bridge to the airport. Ok, I'll hire a few blondes if they will work 11 hours a day, work for $100 per day and live in a tin can in paradise. Let me know if any resort workers feel any discrimination. It's all a pipedream. Well, except for the dark haired people working for $100 day living in a tin can in paradise. How come there is not a law requiring 50% Maldivian staff on construction sites?
Oops i meant to say $100 per month
The concept of Island of Blonds is a sexist's open and apologetic abuse on the same level as blond jokes. Blonds are singled out and still an "acceptable" target where they are made out to be stupid and worthless as equal capable human beings. This is an ongoing discrimination.
If Maldives accepts such a concept and allows it,it is openly declaring this discrimination and the country's leadership lack underlying values of humanity. A country lacking principles cannot teach values to its people and never can we come out of the sufferings we have today.
Mr Pukiene and Mr Sim,
I have a better idea for you both.
Why don't you arrange it with some medi company to have certain contact lens or specs developed - like the one you wear for 3D movies.
When you wear that lens you see that everyone is blonde.
Being blond is skin deep so it doesn't matter except for how you see.
Maybe you can add a feature so that even the men will turn into blond girls. However, at this point I don't know what to do when you get into a physical relationship with one of them and find some odd things around.
Now you can distribute these lens free of charge.
This wont create any problems to do with the employment laws and the fact that Maldives is going to sit in the UN Human Rights Council on 13th September.
Man, this is so creative!
🙂 this article made not just my day, but the entire week!
I think the Name "Island of Blondes" is false. The correct name would have to be: "Island FOR Blondes" 🙂
Hmm. Finally Good news!
I completely clueless to why such a place is needed. What is so attractive about it? I don't think they are trying to promote a sort of sex tourism. Is the resort going to be exclusive for women? Is it a racist thing? What is the purpose of such a statement?? I honestly cannot see any objective of such a venture.
...will only blondes be allowed on the island too? kekeke
what a joke...
i mean,who cares?
Dear Pukiene and Sim,
I don't think you should stop at just "Island of Blondes" and having blonde staff.
You can even rename the staff with names such as Blo, Bloe, Blonny, Bloney, Blondy, etc.
And have drinks named "Blonde on the rocks", "Blondy Mary", "Blonduerita", "Blonde Ice" etc.
You can have restaurants names as "Blonde Hot Chillie Peppers", "Blonde Chicks and Veggie" and "Blonde Wok on the Fire"
You can also have special rooms with special blonde facilities such as "Blonde Blow", Blonde Bloom", "Blonde Bliss", "Blonde Blue", "Blond Blitz", "Blonde Blaze", Blonde Blotto" and even a "Blonde Blizzard".
I'm sure the guests won't get Blonde bloated at the end of their stay!
Pure fantasy..will not materialise. This would not work out even in Europe so why the hell bother trying in Maldives. I think this concept developer is reluctant to say that he is planning to open an international PROSTITUE RESORT which he is scared to mention. Be open !!
True Black said: "In Canada, in their past, there was a rule that people with a certain height can only be recruited in the police force. The objective was to ensure that the police force is all Whites of French or other West European origin." Whey would they have done that when the tallest people in the world are not necessarily European and have never been so. The Maldives NSS also had a cut-off height until about the mid 1980s when the then commander-in-chief abolished it. He was one of the shortest Maldivians and he wanted at least some of the soldiers to be shorter than him. By the way not all natural blonds are White. There are natural blondes among Malenesians and some indigenous Asian tribes such as the Veddahs of Sri Lanka.
sounds like prostitution!! I guess the russian whore are finding their way to Maldives
there's nothing wrong and unethical about hiring blondes, and blondes aren't stupid, rather they are quite intelligent than the most "know it all" Maldivian .
if no one likes this idea "island of Blondes", then they should just shut up and be on his/her way.and for those who are brave enough to accept that our whole ideologies about everything would change within time, this is a good opportunity to taste the diverseness of human culture, besides blondes are an Endangered species.
Wine Lover,
You are right. There could be people above the average height among any racial or ethnic population.
However, laws like the one I referred to in Canada ARE made to keep certain ethnic groups out.
Also there are people with dark skin but blonde.
But do you think that Island of Blondes is meant for people with dark skin?
NO.
They wouldn't mind having having dark or red 'burnt' skin, lined, dotted and saggy resulting from excessive sunbathing. But not those with original dark or 'coloured' skin.
You should read a little bit of history to understand these things, my dear.
human trafficking:
http://gvnet.com/humantrafficking/Lithuania.htm
child prostitution: http://gvnet.com/childprostitution/Lithuania.htm
but everybody likes blondes. and this place seems to be the source of blondes.
"A theory propounded in The History and Geography of Human Genes (1994), says blonde hair became predominant Northern Europe beginning about 3,000 BC, in the area now known as Lithuania, among the recently arrived Proto-Indo-European settlers (according to the Kurgan Hypothesis), and the trait spread quickly through sexual selection into Scandinavia. As above, the theory assumes that men found women with blonde hair more attractive".[Cavalli-Sforza, Luigi Luca; Menozzi, Paolo; Piazza, Alberto (1994). "Europe". The History and Geography of Human Genes. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press. p. 266. ISBN 978-0-691-08750-]
ALARM! im just saying we should be carefully watching them.
The Veddahs put up a really good musical show. It would cost a pittance to fly in plane loads of Veddahs. An island of genuine, charcoal-black skinned, natural blondes would bring in much needed foreign currency. Who needs white blondes?
this is rediculous.......why dont we call this a whorehouse of blondes. its just too much. ...its ignorant !!!