An expatriate man who was deported from the Maldives after police discovered he was running a brothel has been caught again for the same crime, Miadhu reports.
Cicera Kumar Fernando, 32, returned to the Maldives using a forged passport, according to Inspector Hamdhoo Rasheed, head of the police force’s serious and organised crime unit.
Fernando was using M. Mariyaadhu, a guesthouse in Male’, as a front for a brothel.
Police also arrested an expatriate woman, 22-year-old Sharmila Prasaadini Gregory and two locals.
Whenever vacation time swings around, Maldivians always face the same dilemma: where to travel? Those who dream of seeing the Ganduvaru, the 16th century palace in Haa Alif Utheemu, the northernmost atoll, or the famous beaches of Fuamulah in the south or even Thohdhoo’s watermelon and chilli farms, soon give up when faced with the impossible task of finding cheap transportation.
Islanders who travel to Male’ for medical assistance and trade purposes have to wait weeks before they find a boat. Hiring a dhoni (traditional boat) is well beyond the means of the average Maldivian. And so, for many years we have resigned ourselves to the notion that it was always going to be impossible to have a cheap transport system in a country that is 99 per cent water.
But, the impossible is slowly becoming the possible.
Sealocked no more
The 28,000 people who live in Thaa and Laamu atoll are the first beneficiaries of the pledge made by the ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) to provide a nationwide transport system. Maldives Dhoni Services (MDS) signed a contract in August to provide a ferry service to the South Central province, which has been operational for just over a month.
“It is easy and cheap to travel now,†says Asma Raamiz, 37, a housewife in Laamu Fonadhoo. Comparing prices, she says it now costs Rf10 (US$1) instead of Rf50 (US$4) or even Rf500 (US$40) to travel to nearby islands Maamendhoo and Hithadhoo. Asma delights in the idea that islanders from the atoll can travel to Fonadhoo to watch the Women’s National Volleyball Championship being held on the island.
Mohamed Ali, 37, is a carpenter and businessman in Thaa atoll Kinbidhoo. “It’s my wife who’s going crazy,†he chortles. “She now goes to other islands to visit her friends all the time.†Since the ferry service began, he tells me, business has been booming with visitors from other islands buying items from his shop. Although a staple of the Maldivian diet, chillies were not available in Kinbidhoo before. Mohamed says chillies are now brought over from Kadhoodhoo and Veymandhoo.
But, says Ali Moosa Fulhu, the chief engineer for both atolls, the service is still in need of some tweaking. “I’m obliged to spent the night on some islands because of the way the ferry service is scheduled.†Nevertheless, he concedes, he can now travel about more easily for his work.
Full steam ahead
Mohamed Naasih, general manager of MDS, acknowledges there is still plenty of scope for improvement. “We’ve just started the service,†he says, adding changes will be made in accordance with islanders’ needs.
All ferry schedules are forwarded to the transport ministry for approval before being implemented. Maizan Adam Manik, the state minister for transport, says that the ministry plans to synchronise timings with institutions such as schools and hospitals. The aim is to enable ordinary citizens to disembark, have access to services and return to their islands with ease.
“We want to set islanders free from being imprisoned on their islands and allow them to have services without any hindrance,†says Maizan. He believes entrepreneurship and trade will flourish once a number of essential bills are passed. “The fruits of this transport network will be fully felt when the necessary support structure is in place,†he says, citing the land reform and housing bills as an example. “We hope MPs will process bills that will have a direct impact on citizens’ lives,†he says. Criticising the government, he adds, can continue after that.
Citizens and government
The government has now signed contracts with more parties to provide transport to four provinces. The Maldives Transport and Contracting Company (MTCC) has just signed to establish a network in the Mid-North Province. The service is to be launched in early December and will operate initially on four days of the week, says Adam Zaki, manager of MTCC. “Our priority is to make life easier for the islander, so a person living in Kaafu Dhifushi will be able to come to Male’, go to Guraidhoo and return to his island on the same day,†he says.
The president, who is visiting the South Central Province, will be buying tickets to travel by ferry today. “He expressed happiness that so many citizens are using the service and numbers were increasing day by day,†said Mohamed Zuhair, president’s office press secretary. “The president believes the exchange of trade, services and goods will positively impact the economy.” At an MDP rally last week, Nasheed said people were limited as their minds were not allowed to wander beyond the shores of their islands. Once the nationwide network is established, he said, Maldivians will be able to travel freely in their own country.
A Maldivian man tested positive for swine flu today making him the fifth confirmed case in the country to date.
The 28-year-old returned to Male’ from Sri Lanka on Monday and will now be quarantined on Hulhule’ island for seven days.
Another man, a Japanese tourist, is also currently in the facility. The 26-year-old tested positive for swine flu at the ADK hospital after arriving in the country from a Sri Lankan airline flight earlier this week.
“Since swine flu is still spreading in countries that Maldivians usually travel to, the ministry urges all travellers to take precautionary measures and seek information about the countries,†a press release from the ministry of the health said today.
Symptoms of the disease include a running nose, cough, fever, sneezing and shortness of breath.
At a press conference in July, Ahmed Solih, permanent secretary at the tourism ministry, said it was likely that tourist arrivals would drop because of swine flu.
He said it was important to provide information to tourists to reassure them the Maldives was prepared for a pandemic.
“What is important is their trust,†he said. “The work in the resorts, airlines and airport is being done jointly with our ministry.â€
According to the latest statistics from the World Health Organisation, there have been more than 375,000 laboratory confirmed cases of the influenza and more than 4,500 deaths.
The organisation notes that as many countries have stopped counting indiviual cases, particularly of milder illness, the case count is significantly lower than the actual number of cases that have occurred.
In July, the WHO said the H1N1 virus could infect two billion people over the next two years.
The health ministry asks all those with symptoms of flu and common cold to contact the national emergency operation centre at 3304829.
On soporific Friday afternoons, when most Maldivians gather for a family meal, a street corner in Male’ starts filling up with people. The sun is high in the sky when the beggars start taking up their positions on flattened cardboard boxes and polystyrene containers. In the shade near the fruit and vegetable market, they sit patiently, leaning against a flaking blue wall.
Abdul Raheem, 54, comes by with a wad of five rufiyaa bills. Jovial and smiling, he chats with the beggars. He has handed out money for the last 15 years. “I do it as charity,†he says. Other benefactors, mostly men, follow in rapid succession, dishing out notes of varying denominations. Friday is the most rewarding day of the week for beggars when the usual daily income of Rf30 (US$2) jumps to Rf200 (US$16).
Reasons
There seems to be an almost equal mix of women and men among the 23 beggars. Like Khadeeja Adam, 48, most look older than their age. “I was a dancer in the 70s, my stage name was Shiranee,†she tells me. She used to live in Villingili but a spot in the vegetable market has been her sleeping quarters for the past six months. A divorced daughter with six children who live in rented accommodation are her only kin. “She is too hard up to help me,†says Shiranee with a goofy toothless grin.
Aminath Nafeesa Adam, 34, gives boredom as her reason for attending the weekly gathering. “It’s a month since I moved to Male’ to be with my relatives and am alone at home mostly.†But as she speaks some of the other beggars interject, telling her to be honest and admit her motivation is money. One man even reminds her that she is “sinning by lyingâ€.
A goofy-grinned Shiranee
Another of the beggars stands out among the rest. Aminath Abdul Rahman, 46, looks every inch the businesswoman she aspires to be in her dark blue velvet outfit, matching blue headscarf and dazzling gold and white handbag. “I only come here during Ramadan and the weekend,†she explains, adding she moved from Noonu atoll three months ago in search of employment. “On my second day here, I went to the municipality and applied for permission to have a coconut cart,†she says. Aminath insists she will stop begging as soon as she finds work.
Most of the men shy away from speaking, some of them getting up and walking away. Two men, Ali Musthafa, who is unsure of his age, and Ibrahim Yoosuf, 70, agree to talk. Both receive the monthly allowance of Rf2,000 (US$56) given to those over 65. Ali says he came from Addu atoll to Male’ during Ramadan to have a tooth extracted. He too does not have any close relatives. “My three children and three wives are dead,†he says. Ibrahim sits in a yellow wheelchair, a victim of leprosy at the age of 14. “I hope that this government will give poor people the chance to live a better life,†he says.
He describes how his house in Guraidhoo was destroyed during the tsunami and its reconstruction was not completed by the former government. “The allowance is insufficient,†he tells me. “A fish costs around Rf100.†But, Ibrahim says, he has spoken to the president who has assured him the matter will be looked into.
Occasionally scuffles break out between newcomers and veteran beggars. 40-year-old Aminath Hassan, a stern-faced woman, Bored: Nafeesa
says that when she first turned up, she was punched and promptly informed there was no more room. Yet she says she will persist: “I will come here until I get a job; I have children to feed.â€
Skeptical
As I interview, a crowd of onlookers gather around and sceptical exclamations can be heard. One spectator, 30-year-old Solih Shiyam refuses to believe the beggars are destitute. “This government takes care of the poor,†he says. He points to the allowance for those over 65 as well as the introduction of universal healthcare. “Even the previous government gave Rf500 (US$39),†he says. “There are people here who earn enough to live on.†Ahmed Adam, 52, who runs a nearby shop agrees. While he says the beggars are not an inconvenience, he has never given them a single laari as he too believes most are not impoverished.
Seated in their spots at beggars' corner
Director General of Male’ Municipality Abdul Hameed Ali is of a similar opinion. He says some employees at the municipality have been known to beg. “People even take the ferry and come from nearby islands like Guraidhoo to beg on the weekends,†he says. Under the previous government the municipality was entrusted with the task of talking to and counselling beggars, which led to a reduction in numbers, he adds.
Their care has now been conferred to the National Social Protection Agency (NSPA). Mohamed Ismail Fulhu, director general of the NSPA, says the government provides Rf1,000 (US$78) to those who cannot meet their basic needs. Currently, the number of people receiving benefits is 686. Ismail thinks few are truly needy and alludes to Naasira, a well-known miser and beggar who purportedly has thousands stashed away in a bank. While the jury is out on whether Maldivians who beg do so out of necessity, in recent years, the consensus is that more and more people are gathering at the now well-established corner of the capital to hold out their hands.
A lot has been happening this year since this government came into power to address violence against women and children, in parliament and in the administration and in the community. We have seen the growth of various pressure groups in the country to support the cause of the abused in this country. Bills have been submitted to parliament to address the abuse against children and the violence that we see in our streets. The new hotline for children introduced by this government is a huge step forwards as the dynamics of being in small tight communities that we live militate against the protection and trust of those who seek support.
Where things are not moving is the judiciary and therein lies the heart of the problem. Perhaps the judges lack education and appropriate training. Perhaps they are indifferent to the plight of our women and children who come to them seeking justice. Perhaps the judgements they have been making against our children and women in courts are grounded in their personal belief systems.
What we know is that the current systems in place for women to seek divorce and for women and children to seek protection from domestic violence and to seek justice for the trauma of violation and violence is inadequate and needs attention urgently.
We walk on egg shells around this topic just as we do in our abusive relationships. I believe it’s time now to start a national debate on this matter. Look with truth and courage at the structures, systems, customs, beliefs and practices that dishonour women and our children in our society.
We need to qualify and quantify the spiritual, financial, emotional and social cost to those who have suffered violence and been violated in our families and in our communities. We need to set up witness protection systems, safety nets, safe houses and ensure investigations into these matters are conducted with integrity and a high degree of safety. As we need legislature that protects women and children from domestic violence.
I believe we have come to a critical stage in our new democracy where we are not just being challenged by the forces that oppressed us for thirty long years but also by forces that seek to oppress our women and children and impose on us cultural norms alien to our society in the name of Islam.
We must raise our voices collectively and close ranks against these forces if we are to assure our daughters of a future which honours women and children in the modern Islamic state that we aspire the Maldives to be.
If you have missed out on any exhibitions at the National Art Gallery (NAG), this is the time to catch up. To mark the occasion of World Tourism Day, the ministry of tourism in collaboration with NAG is holding a month-long exhibition titled “Maldives Artâ€.
A potpourri of work from different exhibitions held this year such as Maldives Contemporary 2009, Whimsical Poetry and Jaisalmer Yellow, is on display. This makes for an interesting display of Maldivian life in a variety of styles. Samah Ahmed’s oil painting from the Blue series transported me back to my childhood when I would float down to the bottom of a lagoon and look up at the shimmering blue waters above.
“We want to show that visual culture and tourism is very much related like the souvenir industry,†says Mamduh Waheed, deputy minister of tourism, arts and culture, explaining why the art exhibition has been included among the activities to mark World Tourism Day. “There is a huge potential for this. We also want to explore the idea of how identities are formed through images and craft.â€
Mamduh believes that this is an “opaque†segment within the tourism industry at the moment. “We are not only talking about art, as in fine arts and painting, we would also like to encourage more Maldivians to take up other fields, like crafts and performing arts,†he says.
Browsing through the paintings and you realise that the picture perfect postcards scenes most commonly associated with the Maldives are depicted alongside others, which are not so visible to the average tourist.
Psycehedlic: Bandiya Dance
In Ibrahim Rasheed’s watercolour, “Mending the netâ€, an old man is patching up his fish net, his brow furrowed in painstaking concentration while ‘Deep Mistic’, with its hues of green and yellow, lends a mystic quality to the kulhi (lake) and its surrounding mangroves.
Ali Ishaan’s (Raape) ‘Sun, Sea, Sand’ as the name suggests is the quintessential tourist brochure image that lures hundreds of thousands of tourists to the Maldives every year. The beach stretches out endlessly while a couple stands on the water’s edge, the different shades of blue capturing the colours of the sea. A sailboat on the horizon completes this languorous scene. Raape says tourists dislike abstract paintings. “The colours I have painted are the ones tourists want to see,†he says. Raape works in the souvenir trade, producing artwork for tourist consumption. “Tourists come here for the sun, sea and sand. They’re not interested in seeing weird artistic images that come from the mind of an artist,†he says. He relates an anecdote about an artist who had angered a group of tourists after drawing a scene of a girl with a rope around her neck.
Apart from the ubiquitous blue, Raape says tourists are fond of the various colours of a sunset. “Those are the colours and shades I stick to when I do paintings for tourists,†he says. He says he feels his paintings must correlate with a visitor’s blissful state of mind when holidaying in the Maldives.
Mixed in with the feel-good paintings are others that provoke thought. Hassan Ziyad’s Tsunami is one such painting. It shows a house, partially
Wrecked: Tsunami
destroyed, its outer wall lying in pieces. A window still intact shows a vista beyond the destruction.
All of the paintings on display apart from ‘Sun, Sea and Sand’ are from the national gallery’s permanent collection. Curator Ahmed Naeem says the gallery has a budget to buy paintings every year. “We take certain things into consideration, like how long the artist has worked and what type of work it is when we choose paintings,†he says.
Some of the pieces have been commissioned, like Eagan M Badeeu’s triptych – an artwork that consists of three adjacent paintings. Reminiscent of island life some time ago, it is aptly titled, ‘Goathi’ (courtyard). Two women sit near the outdoor kitchen cutting fruit. Chicken roam freely in the courtyard and children play nearby. The low outer wall of the house is visible in the background with several crows perched delicately atop and a man walking by behind. Complete with the libaas (traditional dress), the scene has been captured by Eagan’s brushstrokes to perfection.
Despite the beauty of the paintings, artists like Raape say Maldivian artists face limitations in their creativity. “For example, in the Maldives it would be impossible to create a six-feet art piece with lacquer work as we wouldn’t have the necessary items available,†he says. He believes the workshops held by foreign artists at the national gallery do not amount to much as it is impossible to find the necessary materials to put into practice what was learnt. “We have to import what we need for art work,†he says. Knowing the constraints faced by Maldivian artists, the artwork on display seems like even more of an achievement.
Maldives Art will be held at the National Art Gallery from 10am to 4pm, Sunday to Thursday until 30 October.
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