Month: September 2010

Maldives updates UN Human Rights Council on political developments

A day after taking a seat on the UN Human Rights Council, the government has updated UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay on recent political developments in the country, and the challenges “surrounding the division and balance of power between the three branches of government.”

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement that Permanent Representative of the Maldives to the UN in Geneva Iruthisham Adam explained to the Council the Maldives was undergoing a democratic transition and was facing “many challenges and difficulties.”

“Many of the institutions, mechanisms and concepts introduced by the 2008 Constitution are new to the Maldives and all of us, including decision-makers and the general population, are still adapting and learning,” Adam said.

She noted that the government had invited the Inter Parliamentary Union (IPU) to assist in ensuring the separation of powers between the executive and legislature following recent political deadlocks, and added that the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) had sent a high-level mission to the Maldives to strengthen judicial independence and accountability.

The Maldives delegation also requested the Council to work with the authorities in Myanmar/Burma to ensure the country’s elections in November were “fair and free and reflect the will of the people.”

Press Secretary of the President, Mohamed Zuhair, observed that the Maldives faced its own human rights challenges domestically.

“One allegation many Maldivians are not aware of is human trafficking – the employment of cheap labour, and inhumane treatment of workers,” he said, adding that how to handle it “is one of our biggest [human rights] challenges.”

Minivan News recently reported that exploitation of foreign workers rivals fishing as the second most profitable sector of the Maldivian economy after tourism, according to conservative estimates of the number of Bangladeshi workers showing up at their commission in Male’ after being abandoned at the airport by unscrupulous employment agents.

“Certain sections of society treat their servants appallingly, whether they are Bangladeshi or Maldivian,” Zuhair noted, “but a lot of what is described as human trafficking is not happening intentionally. People obtain labour quotas for foreign workers, and then afterwards the workers fade into society.”

Zuhair noted that on one street corner in Male’, “every morning there are 300-400 Bangladeshis out moonlighting – it looks like a minor demonstration, and people have started calling it Bangladeshi corner.”

“Both sides are culpable,” he observed, suggesting there needed to be awareness programs, better legislation “and also a central point where the rules and regulations are available [for workers].

“Right now there is a split between immigration and the employment ministry – there should not be a split, and it doesn’t help,” Zuhair added.

The Maldives also faced other human rights maladies such as child molestation and civil rights, he noted.

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World’s third largest dredger begins reclaiming Gulhifalhu shallows

President Nasheed visited the third largest dredger in the world on Monday, as the enormous vessel begins reclaiming the shallows of Gulhifalhu in Kaaf Atoll.

The 10 hectares reclaimed by Boskalis International and the ‘Queen of the Netherlands’ – capable of reclaiming two hectares a day – will be converted into an industrial zone.

Nasheed told newspaper Haveeru that an area the size of half the capital of Male’ would be released by the project, boosting the economy by 20 percent and taking the stress of real estate prices Male’.

The first phase of the industrial development will see the construction of 1,500, 2,500 and 3,000 square foot warehouse complexes and hotels.

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Letter on food safety

To the Maldives Food and Drug Authority:

It has been repeatedly noticed that foodstuffs like eggs and fish sold at various shops in Hulhumale’ have been found rotten. These shop owners know that customers don’t take rotten eggs back to the shops and that they can easily make money out of the old stock they purchase from Male’ shops at very cheap prices.

Let me also share a similar information regarding cooking oil found in yellow cans (20 litres) and in bottles (2 litres) coming under OKI brand. Normally products packed in the Free Trade Zone in Singapore are labeled as a product of Singapore. But it seems import of this product has been rejected by Singapore’s Food & Drug Authority (FDA) and is exported to Somalia and Maldives where FDA surveillance is poor.

I understand from an importer of food items that many times he receives egg shipments containing numerous rotten ones but he receives no complaints from customers. This means either people are using such food without knowing the danger or taking it easy and simple.

I believe this is a critical issue because we hear doctors saying they are concerned over the very high number number of cancer, kidney and heart problems diagnosed with causes unknown.

I think it’s very irresponsible if we wait and see if these problems relate to lifestyle changes. We must make our FDA work in line with the times, and with today’s technology.

In the old days we used very fresh eggs and very fresh fish which we did not even need to refrigerate. We used eggs direct from the nests and fish we used a few minutes after catching them.

I believe this is a health hazardous issue that has to be brought to your notice so that you can discuss the issue with relevant agencies or stakeholders.

Mohamed Saeed

All letters are the sole view of the author and do not reflect the editorial policy of Minivan News. If you would like to write a letter piece, please submit it to [email protected]

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Criminal Court releases assets of alleged drug lord

The Criminal Court has ordered the bank accounts of alleged drug lord Hussein Mohamed Manik be unfrozen.

Manik was arrested for allegedly dealing drugs at a large scale, however the court earlier found that police evidence was insufficient.

The court order issued on last Tuesday overruled an order issued on April 13, 2009 to freeze Hussein’s bank accounts.

Haveeru reported that police have requested the Prosecutor General’s (PG) Office appeal in the High Court, however the matter has yet to be filed.

Earlier this year the Criminal Court acquitted another alleged drug lord, Ahmed Naseer, after police confiscated Rf5 million (US$389,000) from his houses in Male and Hithadhoo.

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Cabinet to establish government holding company

Cabinet has decided to place all government-owned companies under a single limited liability holding company, following discussion off a paper submitted by the Finance Ministry.

The government has transferred the assets of many formerly state-run institutions, such as Television Maldives (TVM) into 100 percent government owned corporations. Of the 46 state-owned companies, 33 percent have been transformed into corporations.

The government claims such corporations can run state assets more efficiently in a bid to make the country’s administration leaner. Opponents argue the practice reduces accountability as employees of corporations – government owned or otherwise – are not subject to the oversight of the Civil Servants Commission (CSC).

Cabinet also tasked the Ministry of Housing and Environment to design a project to manage a national electricity grid, in an effort to reduce the cost of electricity through economies of scale and networking islands with cabling, rather than having a generators on every island.

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Safari boat catches fire

A 165-foot safari boat under construction at the Alifushi boat yard in Raa Atoll has caught fire, reports Haveeru.

Islanders and police and trying to move equipment from the area, while an islander who tried to extinguish the fire suffered burns and is being treated at the island’s health centre.

Haveeru reported that the fibreglass safari boat, believed to be the largest under construction in the Maldives, caught fire after a short-circuit in the electronics systems.

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Police find stolen beer cans and alcohol bottles

The Maldives Police Service have discovered stolen beer cans and alcohol bottles believed to be stolen from Herathera Island Resort in Addu.

Local radio station SunFM recently reported that a group of people broke in to the resort’s bar and stole alcohol.

Police discovered five beer cans and 38 bottles of alcohol, police said.

The bottles were discovered inside an abandoned house near the harbour.

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MNDF discovers ‘lost’ fishing boat and crew

The Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) Coast Guard have discovered a ‘lost’ fishing boat.

MNDF reported that the fishing boat was erroneously reported lost because the boat stayed at sea longer than the time they usually did for fishing.

The MNDF advised dhoni captains to update the owners and family of the crew members about any revision of the dhoni schedule, to avoid such confusion in the future.

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Dhoni captain appeals for help to save life of thalassaemic daughter

“This could be my one chance to save the life of my daughter.”

When Mohamed Faiz received a letter offering his eight year old thalassaemic daughter a life-saving bone marrow transplant in Italy, departing on October 25, he was ecstatic.

“It was amazing, I was surprised and thought we would never get such an opportunity,” he tells Minivan News.

But their dream was shattered when he learned that while the Italian regional government of Abruzzo would bear the cost of the operations, and the Associazione Genitori Bambini Emopatici (AGBE) would arrange accommodation, the offer was conditional on his paying food and all other living expenses for five months – a cost they estimated at US$4500 (Rf57,375).

The 46 year-old father of four has spent most his life trying to extend the life of the two of his children who suffer from thalassaemia, a crippling genetic disorder that affects the body’s ability to produce red blood cells.

The Maldives has the highest incidence of the disease in the world, and for those like eight year old Fathimath Shama with Beta Thalassaemia Major, the disease causes severe anemia and requires lifelong treatment.

According to the National Thalassaemia Centre of Maldives, Abdul Gafoor, there were more than 690 thalassaemia patients registered in the Maldives last year. Since then, 30 have fully recovered while 150 have passed away.

Separated for his wife and working as a dhoni captain, Faiz spends most of his monthly salary of Rf6500 (US$505) on his two children.

“I wasn’t able to save anything,” he says. “I spent Rf4000-5000 a month on the kids’ blood transfusions, Desferal (a drug used to moderate iron in the blood of transfused patients) and other kid’s stuff, mostly medical treatments essential for their wellbeing.”

The relentless financial pressure of caring for children with thalassaemia makes for “a hard life” he says.

“You have to struggle, and most of your time is spent thinking about the future of the poor kids,’’ Faiz explains. “It’s hard to handle the situation when you have to afford the same treatments every month, without any idea of when you might find a better way.’’

Faiz received word through the government one and a half months ago that Fathimath had been selected for a bone marrow transplant in Italy, a risky procedure with many possible complications and reserved for patients with life-threatening disease, but nonetheless offering a chance of recovery.

His other daughter, aged 18, needs to travel to Italy as well to serve as the bone marrow donor; according to the National Thalassaemia Centre of Maldives, only 10 patients in the Maldives have a donor sibling who matches closely enough to attempt a bone marrow transplant.

But despite beating those odds, and so close to a cure, Faiz has despaired of being able to afford the high cost of living in Italy for five months.

“The organisation will bear the cost of the operation, accommodation and tickets, but we were asked to cover all the other expenses,’’ Faiz says, awkwardly. “We have to stay there five months at least.”

He now believes the offer is the only hope his daughter may fully recover, and increasingly desperate, has resigned from his job to focus full-time on raising money for the trip.

“For an ordinary person like me, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” Faiz says. “I would despair with the world if missed this only chance, the only hope to save my daughter. I would have to live knowing I missed a miraculous opportunity to make my daughter normal, and give her a real chance at life.”

Mohamed Faiz can be contacted on (+960) 773 4042, or (+960) 762 7899. Faiz’s Bank of Maldives account number is 7701-153358-101.

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