A team of experts from the Israeli Foreign Ministry are training 35 Maldivian officials in emergency preparedness, with a focus on the management of mass casualties.
The experts from the ministry’s Agency for International Development Cooperation arrived on 27 January to run a two week course drawing on Israel’s experience with emergency response.
“Israel is one of the best in the field when it comes to emergency response,” said Abdulla Shahid, chief coordinator of the Maldives’ National Disaster Management Centre.
Many aid agencies had conducted disaster-response training in the Maldives after the “wake up” call of the 2004 tsunami, Shahid said, “but much of it was ad hoc and it wasn’t run under a proper department until this government came into power.”
He acknowledged while that there was little the Maldives could do to prevent a tsunami, it was possible to prepare for them; “things such as monitoring how you alter the environment and construct buildings. Artificial – reclaimed – islands were the worst hit and suffered the most number of casualties. Male’ is more than half artificial,” he noted.
Earthquakes were also a concern, especially because of the country’s “very poor building and construction standards – God forbid if anything happened.”
“On 15 July 2003 there was an earthquake 270 miles southwest of Addu measuring 7.6 on the Richter scale, which shook the whole of the southern Maldives. So we cannot say we are not an earthquake-prone country,” Shahid said.
“Since the earthquake in Haiti we’ve had to rethink [our approach]. A lot of warning was given by Haiti’s neighbours, particularly by the US Geological Survey. But they were not taken very seriously.”
Shahid also observed that “a quarter of the world’s crude oil travels within 20 miles of the north of the Maldives.”
Terrorist incidents, “especially given the state of the world at the moment”, were not being discounted either, Shahid said.
“In fact, mass casualty scenarios were the main focus of the Israeli training,” he said.
Politics
Working with Israel on aid projects was not politically difficult, Shahid said, despite parliament’s no-confidence motion against Foreign Minister Ahmed Shaheed after he said at a press conference on 15 September 2009 that the the government was in the process of establishing ties with Israel, and he did not see any reason not to pursue it.
Shaheed narrowly survived the no-confidence voting with 37 MPs voting in favour, two short of the majority needed to remove the foreign minister.
Vice president of the Adaalath party Asim Mohamed said the Maldives “should collaborate with anyone willing to help us in our development.”
Shahid meanwhile noted that “we were working with Israel throughout the no-confidence motion.” The issue, he said, “had nothing to do with Israel and 100 per cent with local politics.”
The Israeli trainers had travelled to 18 islands across the country without incident, he explained, “and received warm welcomes and typical island hospitality.”
The government was exploring further training projects with Israel around developing paramedics and agriculture, “two areas in which Israel is state of the art.”
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This is good news, at least to show that Maldivians are fair minded and are not anti-Semitic.
But this should not mean that Maldives condone the human rights violations in the occupied territories.
This is going to become an issue now on. Why? Because the ordinary people will know about it only when media carries these stories. The minute people are made aware of it, political parties will try to turn it against the government to score points. Just wait and see!!
Maldives should distance from all form of extremism and work with people who are creative and forward looking. Israel is very advance at the cutting edge of technology and contributes to humanity and technological advancement in many ways. Maldives can learn a lot from them. Unlike the conservative Arab countries Israel can offer real knowledge which can make difference to our lives.
Compared to hard working State of Israel, Arab countries are so far behind, in terms of freedom and knowledge. Of course they have high rising buildings built with oil money and know how to oppress women.
Anyone who oppose Maldives building ties with Israel and any other well wishes (likes of Adaalath, Muthalib or Fareed) should go and live in Arabia.
Good news, we are humans and we should respect each other. Let's work together to make this world a peaceful place to live.
hope our president can cope with the upcoming critics, its going to be hard.
wrong people doing wrong things at the wrong times....
Mr Shahid, I am one who is working at Disaster Management, and I didnt know that this were team of Israeli's, how can an ordinary Maldivian know? you have decieved Maldivians once and you are decieving them again.
Fine to work with Israelis. But be mindful of mass sentiments about them due to Palastine. It will be easy to provoke the masses against them and all this should be weighed in.
Of course we're not condoning the Human Rights violations occurring in the occupied territories of Palestine. But we should still work with anyone who could help us advance as a nation.
Being intolerant towards an entire nation, the people of that nation, is completely unacceptable.
I do not like the Israeli government. I do not condone their actions. But I am also not in favor of any kind of intolerance. I have friends who are Israeli (& who are Palestinian) and have had Professors who are Israeli as well. Even my mentor is of Jewish decent - AND he is one of the world's foremost scholars on Democracy. (Dr. Larry Diamond).
Hatred needs to stop. And the sections of our society which preaches hate needs to be confronted.
Cordial relations with every nation should be sought. And those nations which are in a position to help us should be welcomed.
Yah, Lets work together - with Israel - to make this world a peaceful place to live!!
Working with Israeli foreign ministry is working with those who make the unjust policies of Isreali towards the Palestinians. Not wanting to work with Israel does not have anything to do with intolerance or anti semitic views.
It simply is unfathomable to think that a state that so mercilessly treats and justifies treating an innocent people like they r in a constant state of war....can or will do right by another group of people who r sympathetic towards the Palestinians.
it is not Jews that i am against working with, but Israeli govt... they r and continues to be a terrorist force that indiscriminately targets Palestinians, and keeps taking over the little land that is left for Palestinians.
I do not believe anything good will come out of taking help from a terrorist minded govt...that has no emotions towards the helpless Palestinians.
Everyone is taking about humnanity and equality, peace, better world, advancement... with Israel. Fine, lets see when will Israel give humanity and equal rights to the hundreds of men, women and children locked up in Gaza? When will Israel give peace to palestinians and give them their own freedom to live on their own lands? When will Israel respect UN human rights resolution and open up fair media involvemnt in Israel? When people. You guys have your brains in your p**** and in your b**** when you so stupidly write those comments of seeking help from Israel in the name of humanity, advancement and rights. Israel is not a very good example to follow. They are expert in killing, war crimes, genocides and violation of human rights too along with health technology and agriculture. Dont forget this. Maldives is so selfish that they have started begging for help now from Israel. What a day to see. And what do you think you can save Maldivians incase of a massive earthquake or Tsunami again just because Israel trained you guys. Bullocks. Nothing much can be done incase if it happens because we are all surrounded by deep oceans. The guys who invited those Israelis must be f****** retarded.
OK to take their experience in helpful ways for maldives... it doesn't mean we support their occupation of Palestine
Salim:
Lets make relations with Taliban too. Huh?
Lets look at establishing ties with a country from another angel. Would the liberals of Maldives or any country will be willing to have relations with the Taliban government?
Israel has violated numerous UN resolutions. They have failed to comply the Geneva Conventions. They have committed war crimes. They have targeted Palestinian civilians & have gunned down little kids. This is the state of Israel. A terrorist and rogue state that does not live by the democratic values. It does not matter whether the country has advanced technology or has a stable economy, if the country has a horrible human rights records.
There is no way as a Muslim & a human being I recognize the state of such a horrendous state.
Israeli trainings for mass casualty.
Taliban feels Maldives 'safe' enough for to hold their conferences.
So when's link for these two events scheduled for?
brrrrrrr.
Dear mr jj, you write "despite parliament’s no-confidence motion against Foreign Minister Ahmed Shaheed over his establishment of diplomatic ties with Israel". Pls get facts right. Dr shaheed did not and can not establish diplomatic ties with israel. Only the majlis can do that.
Thank you for your input. This has been clarified.
-Minivan News team
"Compared to hard working State of Israel, Arab countries are so far behind, in terms of freedom and knowledge"does freedom mean locking up ppl in open jails and deprive them of their basic human rights.or does it mean depriving a whole nation to their right of self dtermination for more than 6 decades.then if it is so i dont want to learn that kind of advanced freedom . or and as far as hard work is concerned israel recieves more economic aid than rest of the countries combined so no wonder they can develop state of the art technology.
Hate should not define us. Very true. We are showing Israelis that we are fair minded.
Could this generosity extend to Maumoon...
No body talks about this. Turkey occupation in Cyprus and their genocide in Armania. Sudan genocide in their homeland. Shittis killing Sunnis and Suniis killing Shittis. Who does care about Kurds?. Are Palestinians suprior to Kurds?
Alî ibn Abi Talib said, "The Prophet led us in praying Salat al-Fajr (the morning prayer). When he had finished, a man called to him: 'When will the Hour be? The Prophet reprimanded him and said 'Be quiet!' After a while he raised his eyes to the sky and said, 'Glorified be the One Who raised it and is taking care of it.' Then he lowered his gaze to the earth and said, 'Glory be to the One Who has outspread it and has created it.' Then the Prophet said, 'Where is the one who asked me about the Hour?' The man knelt down and said, 'I asked you.' The Prophet said, 'The Hour will come when leaders are oppressors, when people believe in the stars and reject al-Qadar (the Divine Decree of destiny) when a trust becomes a way of making a profit, when people give to charity (Sadaqah) reluctantly, when adultery becomes widespread - when this happens, then your people will perish.'"
Abû Hurayrah said, The Prophet said, "Woe to the Arabs from the great evil which is nearly approaching them: it will be like patches of dark night. A man will wake up as a believer, and be a kafir (unbeliever) by nightfall. People will sell their religion for a small amount of worldly goods. The one who clings to his religion on that day will be as one who is grasping an ember - or thorns." (Ahmad)
to.:The Liberal....Have the Taliban any expert on Tsunami and Earthquake ????? hahaha
Let me clear you one thing all of you. Israel do not have a great technology in health and agriculture which they have invented by themselves. They are one of the lowest when it comes to research and own inventions. Whatever they have comes from US and Europe. And they get the money from the Jewish lobby of USA. So dont say Maldives need to obtain their technology. Their 80% of men are in their army learning to kill innocent men, women and children of Palestine. How can such a nation invent techologies and advances. And the weather of Israel is as same as the rest of the arabia. So whatever they have is all artifical inventions from the western world for them. And dont think arabs are lazy. Just because they have the oil doesnt mean they are lazy. They have more brains than any other nation. When it comes to laziness maldivians are no less than any other nation, just think why we have so many bangadeshis, indians and phillipinos oin this country, Who are they woring for? For their lazy Maldivian Bosses and their families. If Maldives truly wants to be truly genuine, then call the leaders of both Israel and Palestine for a peace meeting in the Maldives and pressurise them to come to a peace deal. Make Israel to free the Palestine from their grip.
"This is good news, at least to show that Maldivians are fair minded and are not anti-Semitic."
Not true. Just last night, I heard Sheikh Fareed going on and on about 'nasorain' and 'yahoodheen'.
Jews and Christians are spoken of in the Maldivian public discourse with a marked distaste and bigoted racism. And for some reason this is acceptable, just like the term 'bangaalhis' to refer to expat laborers is even used in the Maldivian Parliament.
ayesha:
"does freedom mean locking up ppl in open jails and deprive them of their basic human rights."
I'm afraid we Maldivians are in NO position to condemn or even criticize Israel's policies.
Does the Maldives provide human rights to its religious minorities? We are far worse off than them.
Israeli Arabs at least the have the basic human right of existing and being recognized, despite the country being a Jewish state that has every reason to be suspicious of its arab neighbours.
Maybe tomorrow they will announce a team of Taliban were here to train our army?
why israel? i cant understand. yes they would have experience in mass casualty management because of the troubles they have in their country caused by their own unethical actions. but is this the kind of technologies that president said they will give us. this is a stunt to show people something is being done. sometimes this government even deceives the people. recently the waste equipments that were given to islands in south ari region were given to other parts of maldives saying its for the whole maldives just to get a short term support from some other islands. any reporter who dig this will know, but i doubt if minivan was even intersted to see.
Hi Ibrahim Yasir, can you read this.
Israel: Diverse, Creative, and Free
Israel, the 100th smallest country, with less than 1/1000th of the world's population, can make claim to the following:
Israel has the highest ratio of university degrees to the population in the world.
Israel produces more scientific papers per capita than any other nation by a large margin -109 per 10,000 people - as well as one of the highest per capita rates of patents filed.
In proportion to its population, Israel has the largest number of startup companies in the world. In absolute terms, Israel has the largest number of startup companies than any other country in the world, except the US (3,500 companies mostly in hi-tech).
Israel is ranked #2 in the world for venture capital funds right behind the US.
Outside the United States and Canada, Israel has the largest number of NASDAQ listed companies.
Israel has the highest average living standards in the Middle East. The per capita income in 2000 was over $17,500, exceeding that of the UK.
With an aerial arsenal of over 250 F-16s, Israel has the largest fleet of the aircraft outside of the US.
Israel's $100 billion economy is larger than all of its immediate neighbors combined.
On a per capita basis, Israel has the largest number of biotech start-ups.
Israel has the largest raptor migration in the world, with hundreds of thousands of African birds of prey crossing as they fan out into Asia.
Twenty-four percent of Israel's workforce holds university degrees - ranking third in the industrialized world, after the United States and Holland - and 12 percent hold advanced degrees.
Israel is the only liberal democracy in the Middle East.
In 1984 and 1991, Israel airlifted a total of 22,000 Ethiopian Jews at risk in Ethiopia to safety in Israel.
When Gold Meir was elected Prime Minister of Israel in 1969, she became the world's second elected female leader in modern times.
When the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya was bombed in 1998, Israeli rescue teams were on the scene within a day - and saved three victims from the rubble.
Israel has the third highest rate of entrepreneurship - and the highest rate among women and among people over 55 - in the world.
Relative to its population, Israel is the largest immigrant-absorbing nation on earth. Immigrants come in search of democracy, religious freedom, and economic opportunity.
Israel was the first nation in the world to adopt the Kimberly process, an international standard that certifies diamonds as "conflict free."
According to industry officials, Israel designed the airline industry's most impenetrable flight security. U.S. officials now look to Israel for advice on how to handle airborne security threats.
Israel's Maccabi basketball team won the European championships in 2001.
Israeli tennis player Anna Smashnova is the 15th ranked female player in the world.
Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers was produced by Haim Saban, an Israeli whose family fled persecution in Egypt.
In 1991, during the Gulf War, the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra played a concert wearing gas masks as scud missiles fired by Saddam Hussein fell on Tel Aviv.
Israel has the world's second highest per capita of new books.
Israel is the only country in the world that entered the 21st century with a net gain in its number of trees.
Israel has more museums per capita than any other country.
Israel has two official languages: Hebrew and Arabic.
Medicine...
Israeli scientists developed the first fully computerized, no-radiation, diagnostic instrumentation for breast cancer.
An Israeli company developed a computerized system for ensuring proper administration of medications, thus removing human error from medical treatment. Every year in U.S. hospitals 7,000 patients die from treatment mistakes.
Israel's Givun imaging developed the first ingestible video camera, so small it fits inside a pill. Used to view the small intestine from the inside, the camera helps doctors diagnose cancer and digestive disorders.
Researchers in Israel developed a new device that directly helps the heart pump blood, an innovation with the potential to save lives among those with congestive heart failure. The new device is synchronized with the heart's mechanical operations through a sophisticated system of sensors.
Technology...
With more than 3,000 high-tech companies and start-ups, Israel has the highest concentration of hi-tech companies in the world (apart from the Silicon Valley).
In response to serious water shortages, Israeli engineers and agriculturalists developed a revolutionary drip irrigation system to minimize the amount of water used to grow crops.
Israel has the highest percentage in the world of home computers per capita.
Israel leads the world in the number of scientists and technicians in the workforce, with 145 per 10,000, as opposed to 85 in the U.S., over 70 in Japan, and less than 60 in Germany. With over 25% of its work force employed in technical professions. Israel places first in this category as well.
The cell phone was developed in Israel by Motorola, which has its largest development center in Israel.
Most of the Windows NT operating system was developed by Microsoft-Israel.
The Pentium MMX Chip technology was designed in Israel at Intel.
Voice mail technology was developed in Israel.
Both Microsoft and Cisco built their only R&D facilities outside the US in Israel.
The technology for AOL Instant Messenger was developed in 1996 by four young Israelis.
A new acne treatment developed in Israel, the ClearLight device, produces a high-intensity, ultraviolet-light-free, narrow-band blue light that causes acne bacteria to self-destruct - all without damaging surroundings skin or tissue.
An Israeli company was the first to develop and install a large-scale solar-powered and fully functional electricity generating plant, in southern California's Mojave desert.
yea shad,
Billions in aid spent , earned in billions via israel, this is the con art of jewish lobbyists in US. and technology is not the answer of prayers of the innocents. we need humanity and that lacks in jews. they are too much self centered. much worse that Muslim extremists.
shad,
it all comes from US an europe. and do u think all jews in israel are true israelis? a crazy person woud belive that. majority r migranta from US and europe after the creation of israel. the true jews there are extremist zionists. no matter what big lit u have put in here, the bottom line is that it all comes from the vast help they get from US and europe. Its not all theres. and dont forget that israel is also on the top for killings. do u know how many men, women and children were killed by israel in the recent gaza war? a day war killed more than 10000 people. plus they used ilegal phosphorus bombs on them which the UN war crimes agency has also confirmed. I guess you forgot to put all this in your list. And to let you know, all israel men and women has to undergo a compulsory service period in isarei army for a minimum period of 3 yrs, where they are engaged to kill innocent palestinias. no matter which university they are stuyding from. And the F-16 they have, comes from US. They didnt make it. Get a load of the real world.
Mo-Shad, an Israeli PR Agent?
Shad, also add :Isreal,the best killer of innocents and violator UN charter!
Dear Salim Waheed,
Comments from YOU indicate what type of person you are.When the Taliban held talks with Afghan government in the Maldives you were shouting to the top of your voice.calling them terrorists and killers.Blaming government for not what had occurred.
BUT WHEN MALDIVIAN GOVERNMENT BUILDS A STRONGER POLITICAL BOND BETWEEN ISRAELI GOVERNMENT AND STARTS TO TRAIN LOCALS ITS COOL AND NOBODY SHOULD SAY A WORD.
WHERE IS THE DEMOCRACY YOU BRAG,WHERE IS THE HUMAN RIGHTS,WHERE IS THE AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL AND WHERE IS GENEVA CONVENTION.
IF YOU COMPARE THE TALIBAN AND THE ISRAELI GOVERNMENT THERE IS NOT A SINGLE SOUL IN THE WORLD WHO WOULD SAY THAT TALI BANS ARE BLOODTHIRSTY THAN THE ISRAELIS.
YES,FOR PEOPLE LIKE YOU ITS OKAY AND COOL IF ANYONE RAPES,KILLS AND MASSACRE MUSLIMS AROUND THE WORLD.
BUT WHEN THE MUSLIMS RISE TO DEFEND THEIR COUNTRY , MOTHERS and DAUGHTERS FROM BEING RAPED,THEIR WEALTH BEING SNATCHED ,BEING BOMBED TO AN ABYSS AND THEIR FUTURE BEING ERASED THAN YOU CALL THEM TERRORISTS AND KILLERS.WE DON'T NEED DEMOCRACY,HUMAN RIGHTS,AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL,WOMEN RIGHTS AND GENEVA CONVENTION WHICH IS BLIND IN THE ONE EYE.
MAY ALLAH SAVE US FROM HYPOCRITES WHO DRESSED AS MUSLIMS IN OUR COMMUNITY AND IN THE WORLD.