This open letter first appeared on shahadaahmed.blogspot.com. Republished with permission.
Minivan News journalist Ahmed Rilwan has not been since August 8 after neighbours witnessed a man being abducted outside his apartment building. Better known by his twitter followers as ‘moyameehaa’, Rilwan’s disappearance has prompted an outpouring of grief across the country.
One person influenced by Rilwan’s work, Shaha Ahmed, has written this open appeal to President Abdulla Yameen to do all within his power find the 28-year-old, missing for 19 days.
Dear Mr President,
I like you, I do. As a person I think you are a a good-natured person and I respect you a lot because I was brought up to respect elders, especially the people who are leading the country. Your brother is again someone I dearly respect and love. I remember writing letters to him on his every birthday when I was young and it would make my day to get that thank you letter back from the president’s office. My childhood was rather happy and I also did not know about any of the problems or anything because children are children and they are innocent.
I can’t even understand how much pressure you get from people far and near. Being the president must be hard. You are always trying to do the right thing but everything you do, you get picked on. You have always lived a public life and I can’t imagine how it must have been. Let’s not dwell on that. I just want you to know that I appreciate every good thing you do for this country.
Moving on, I met moyameehaa for the first time on twitter a couple years ago when the Maldivian twitter scene was first starting. Though I don’t know him enough to call him a friend, we have been aquaintances through some twitter meet ups and others. His love for the Dhivehi language has always been an inspiration for me. I have known him to be a good hearted, kind soul who always tries to make people happy, by sharing jokes and just being himself. The last time I met him in person was this February during the Shinzou Con where he and Juxyn commented on my TARDIS outfit and we shared a joke or two.
When I heard he was missing, I didn’t actually realise what it meant. I mean, we see kidnappings and things in movies and in real life, it just doesn’t add up. Somehow I always think that the police would find them before the episode ends, like in an episode of Criminal Minds but this episode is too long. It has been more than two weeks and this is a very small country.
Mr President, you hold on your shoulders, the responsibility of the population of Maldives and that is far too big for one person but alas you knew that when you applied for the post, you knew that when the majority of this country voted for you, you have known that growing up with your brother who carried that responsibility for thirty years. When there are so many problems going around, this missing human being might seem small but dear president, I have been taught that no person’s problem is too small or too insignificant.
The doctor, in his many years of travel has not met a person who was not important. You, moyameehaa, and I, we are all the same. We are human, we are Muslims and we deserve everything this world has to offer to us. Please do everything in your power to help him, to return a son to his mother, an uncle to his nephews and nieces, a friend to his friends and a citizen to this country. I hope, I dearly hope that police is trying very hard, looking through every nook and cranny to give us some good news.
We have not lost hope, at least I haven’t. I’m still that same girl who writes letters on your birthdays and the same girl who believes that at the end of this episode, Rilwan will be found and all would be right with the world. It’s not an easy thing being a dreamer when the rest of the country is so cynical and fighting with their brothers and sisters.
All I ask my dear president is to not let the people of this country down. Be the president this country deserves, be the kind of hero that the little children would happily write letters to, be the man those little boys will be inspired to grow up to be. If all fails, know that there is still one girl who trusted you, who believed in you when the rest of the world doubted you, who will stand by you through thick and thin not because you are the president, but because you are a human being and your deserve to have a cheerleader and I will always try to be that girl.
May Allah bless us with the truth and guide us in our journey to find Rilwan and also in everything we do to make this country better for the coming generations.
Sincerely,
Shaha
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