Month: November 2010

Comment: Volley anthropology

This article originally appeared on ‘Miss L in the Maldives’. Republished with permission.

We play volley every day.

Seven days a week, for the last seven months, provided it’s not already raining, we play volley. It’s never referred to as volleyball, just ‘volley’, and it has become such a huge part of our lives that it deserves a blog post all of its own.

It was The Boy who started it. We had always known that there were people who played volley on the sandy area next to the football pitch but it had not really occurred to us to get involved, nor would it have been right to charge in and invite ourselves along. Participation for foreigners is by invitation only. And so it was, in April, that we first donned our volley clothes and ventured along.

The daily routine goes something like this: at around 4:20pm, 20-odd 20-somethings rock up at the volley court. Two teams play against one another. The winning team stays on and swaps sides, and the losing team goes off to be replaced by a fresh team of competitive individuals who want to oust the current champions from the court and stay on for more than one game.

While it brings out everyone’s competitive spirit on-court, volley is essentially a social affair, presenting a perfectly legitimate excuse for us all to ditch whatever we happened to be doing up until volley time and hang out for a glorious hour and a half.

When we’re not playing, Bella and I mostly sit on the wall and give a quiet but highly-finessed fashion commentary on everyone else’s clothing, hair styles, and chosen facial hair of the day. We have it down to a fine art.

We’re aided by our collection of nicknames, bestowed upon our volley-playing friends at a time when we had absolutely no idea what their real names were. And here they are, the Volley Crew: The Boy and Coach, Handbag Man, Ali Mansoor, The Tank, the Oomper Loomper, Red T-shirt guy, Goat Man, The Gooseberry, Daddy Longlegs, Cheeky boy, Dhonbe, Yummy Mummy and Yummy Daddy, Nappy pants, Junior Team Member, Afro Man, Yellow Shorts guy, The scrawny one, Vin Diesel, Twiggy, the Accountant and, occasionally, Captain Haddock. There are others but their names are perhaps best left unpublished!

Aside from our own private set of nicknames, volley has its own language:

Outoo = out
Bodu outoo = badly out
Charlotte, ready?! = Charlotte, are you awake and ready to hit the ball?!
Receive, receive! = Wake up team and make sure one of you returns the serve
Back! (as uttered by the Tank) = person in the middle smash the ball back across the net
Saadha-game ball = 14 points to the winning team and it’s game ball
Ethere = in
Egaara = eleven
Ehvaru = equal/all e.g. eleven all

The final three words in the volley vocabulary are easily confused, and if you’re not careful you find yourself shouting “eleven!” when trying to tell your team that the ball was in. Volley was also the forum in which we learnt to count in Dhevehi. Most of the time we play to 15 points and so for a long time our Dhivehi counting went like this: eke (1), dheyh (2), thineh (3), hathareh (4), faheh (5), hayeh (6), hatheh (7), asheh (8), nuvaeh (9), dhihayeh (10), egaara (11), baara (12), theyra (13), saadha (14), game ball, much to the amusement of everyone else.

The events that take place on court during a game, the interactions between team mates, and the stances adopted by each of the players are a social science study all of their own. Most of the time play is extremely good-natured but from time to time a team member will be roundly chastised for screwing up a shot.

Occasionally there are altercations and you can usually tell if someone’s upset The Boy because (much to the delight of Bella and I) he begins to puff up like a rhino about to charge.

Seven months of careful observation have led to at least one conclusion: humans the world over find other people’s misfortunes funny. On an almost daily basis we will be crippled with laughter as some highly improbably shot sends the ball flying in an extraordinary direction, bopping an unsuspecting person on the head as it lands. And when Maldivians find something really funny, they have to sit down. So you’ll be in the middle of a game and something ridiculous will happen and suddenly everyone is creased up and sitting cross-legged in the sand.

It is widely accepted I am crap at volley and generally not to be trusted with the ball. Despite my indignation their beliefs are not unfounded. I often find myself paraylsed, rooted to the spot, unable to move into the path of the oncoming ball nor out of it. In a moment of bravery I will stick my arms nervously in the air to receive the ball, only to second guess myself at the last minute, leaving my team mates to dive for the ball and avert another lost point.

I am also unfortunate. One of my baby fingers is now a completely different shape to the other as a result of two ill-judge catches, which mashes first one joint and then the other. And until recently there’s been something wrong with the angle of my scoop shot, causing me to send the ball flying straight into my own face, instead of back across the net.

On more than one occasion I’ve ended up in a heap on the ground after tripping over the lines.

Then there are the injuries sustained as a result of poor positioning. The Boy has a killer spike. It’s his party piece. The setter sets the ball; the Boy takes a run and jump, and comes down on the ball, wham! Sending it flying across the other side of the court. It’s terrifying for anyone to be on the receiving end but it just so happens that my head is in the direct trajectory of the ball if I stand five paces back from the net.

The first time it happened there was outrage that he could have slammed the ball straight into my forehead. For my part, I was stunned – literally! The second time it happened, there was nothing to do but laugh. The chances of the unfortunate incident occurring again were so remote that it was hilarious. And so, it was to The Boy’s horror and my incredulity that just that other day I got in the way of yet another killer smash and sustained the sprained wrist that delayed the posting of this very blog.

I could go on, but I have to stop. I can only hope that I have done some justice to this dearly beloved aspect of our island life.

Charlotte Lamptey is a volunteer teacher working on Ihavandhoo in Haa Arif Atoll.

All comment pieces are the sole view of the author and do not reflect the editorial policy of Minivan News. If you would like to write an opinion piece, please send proposals to [email protected]

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Dhiraagu signed up for court video conferencing services

Maldives-based telecoms group Dhiraagu will provide video conference technology to link the country’s Criminal Court and Maafushi Magistrate Court under a new agreement with the Department of Judicial Administration, reports Haveeru.

Ibrahim Ahmed Manik , the Chief Judicial Administrator, said at a signing ceremony that launching the video service, which has been devised to remove potential difficulties in transporting people between the individual courts, had been delayed from earlier this year, adds the report.

The Department of Judicial Administration has also claimed that it has met about 99 per cent of the annual objectives stemming from its 2010 budget. These objectives include training for both judges and administrative staff in skill areas like conferencing and IT skills, as well as programmes to improve English, according to Haveeru.

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US Special Representative to speak at American Centre

US Special Representative to Muslim Communities Farah Pandith will speak on the US’s ‘Commitment to Engagement with Muslim Communities’ at the American Centre in Male’ on November 21, at 4:30pm.

Kashmir-born Pandith is Senior Advisor to the Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs, focusing on Muslim communities in Europe. She is responsible for policy oversight for integration, democracy and Islam in the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs, and also works on issues relating to countering violent Islamic extremism.

Prior to joining the US Department of State, Pandith served as Director for Middle East Regional Initiatives for the National Security Council, and was responsible for coordinating US policy on Muslim World Outreach and the Broader Middle East North Africa initiative.

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Budget 2011 will drop fiscal deficit to 10-15 percent, President tells media

President Mohamed Nasheed has said the country’s crippling budget deficit of 26.5 percent will drop to 15 percent in the upcoming 2011 state budget, and potentially 10 percent by the end of the year.

The government’s aim had been 18 percent, Haveeru reported the President as saying following the laying of the foundation stone for 1000 flats in Hulhumale’ last week.

Nasheed noted that when the present government came to power in 2008, “the deficit was 44 percent compared to net national productivity.”

The government is under considerable pressure from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to reduce the deficit, and earlier this month delayed its third disbursement to the country because of the government’s inaction on the matter this year, pending the release of the 2011 budget.

While the IMF program itself is worth US$92.5 million, other foreign donors and investors consider the IMF’s opinion of a country’s fiscal policies when making decisions.

While acknowledging the political pressures faced by the government during 2010, particularly regarding its ability to cut a crippling public sector wage bill which increased 400 percent between 2004 and 2009, the IMF has stated throughout 2011 that the country is “living beyond its means.”

In June 2010, the IMF published its Country Report for the Maldives, and calculated that if the government continued to pursue economic reform at its current pace and policy, the country’s fiscal deficit would increase by one percent of GDP in 2010 and 4.5 percent of GDP in 2011.

Attempts to increase revenue by passing a Business Profit Tax bill has been obstructed in parliament by vested business interests, while the Civil Service Commission has taken the Finance Ministry to court over its refusal to restore a 15 percent salary cut.

The forthcoming 2011 budget, explained leader of the Maldives IMF delegation Rodrigo Cubero, was “a crucial opportunity for the government to implement the austerity measures much needed. At the moment, the current policy stance is not sustainable.”

The government has not yet revealed how the 2011 budget intends to reduce the deficit by such a margin as stated by the President.

Last year, parliament’s Finance Committee, headed by the opposition-aligned People’s Alliance MP Ahmed Nazim, amended the budget to include an additional Rf 800 million (US$62 million) in order to aid the restoration of civil servant salaries following a 15 percent pay cut, and subsidies for sectors ranging from fishing and agriculture to private media.

Finance Minister Ali Hashim had not responded to Minivan News at time of press.

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Miss France pageant a Maldivian tolerance test for tourism, says MATI chief

While perhaps cliché to suggest that visually-immaculate beauty pageant participants can help change the world, Secretary General of the Maldives Association of Tourism Industry (MATI) ‘Sim’ Mohamed Ibrahim believes hosting the Miss France 2011 competition is at the very least a positive development for travel in the country.

Speaking to Minivan News, Sim said that beyond providing a touch of glamour to the Maldives, hosting such a high-profile international event highlights the wider aim of expanding the country’s appeal to guests of varying religions, politics and attractiveness.

Part of this year’s Miss France event, thought to be one of the European nation’s biggest annual televised spectacles, will be held at the Coco Palm Bodu Hithi resort in the North Malé Atoll before moving on to Caen, Normandy for a crowning ceremony to be held on December 4.

Having originally started back in the 1920s, this year’s contest sees 33 participants from across France staying at the resort between November 11 to 18 to partake in a number of photogenic activities such as water sports, Maldivian cooking, exploring local natural curiosities and even filming a music video.

Although the concept of women parading around in haute couture and swim wear is seemingly at odds with the more conservative day-to-day values expected of women living in the Maldives, concerns over cultural sensitivity appear to be missing the point for the industry. Sim says he hopes Miss France 2011 will be the the first of many events that will reshape perceptions of tourism in the Maldives by encouraging greater acceptance of the industry among local people.

Sim claimed that amidst concerns over growing religious fanaticism in the maldives, displaying greater tolerance towards a large number of events and guests welcomed to the country was vital to the overall survival of the country’s lucrative holiday business.

Unless a sufficient replacement source of income can be located, Sim said, the country is likely to continue looking to similar high profile events to boost its image as a secluded desert island escape for global travellers.

“It [Miss France] has found its way to the Maldives, there are likely to be many more [high profile] events to come,” he said.

Although still a moderate Islamic nation, beyond the potential credence of hosting a bevy of French beauties at one of the country’s resorts, Sim suggests that trying overcome the intolerance creeping into some sections of Maldivian society remains a key aim for both the travel industry and government.

Having been a Muslim nation for hundreds of years, fears of growing extremism in the Maldives are, according to Sim, a more recent development for a nation that has generally tried to peacefully coexist with neighbours and foreigners.

Whether to the benefit or detriment of the Maldives, Sim says that the Miss France event also highlights the need to diversify the country’s appeal beyond hotel stays to meetings, incentives, conferencing and exhibitions – collectively termed ‘MICE’.

As a striking counterpoint to the country’s hosting of Miss France 2011, the Maldives garnered a different sort of global attention earlier this year after holding peace talks between members of Afghanistan’s parliament and various other political and armed groups linked to the nation’s ongoing insurgency.

President’s Office Press Secretary, Mohamed Zuhair, confirmed back in May that that all in involved the peace talks had valid passports and visas. The talks, which did not directly involve the Maldivian government, were reported to have taken place at the country’s Paradise Island Resort.

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President lays foundation stones for 1350 housing units

President Mohamed Nasheed has laid the foundation stone of 1000 housing units to be built in Hulhumale’ under an agreement between the Maldives and the Chinese government.

The 1000 housing units will be built across 40,000 square metres on the reclaimed island 1.3 kilometres north of Male’ to relieve housing pressure on the densely population city, one of the most congested in the world.

Chinese news agency Xinhua reported that Vice President of CMEC Li Chaoyang, the Chinese contractor building the project, said the firm would would abide by Maldivian laws and respect the and customs of the Maldivian people in the process of carrying out the project.

“We will strictly implement the contract, elaborately organise the construction works, and ensure the quality of the project. We will deliver an eco-friendly, enjoyable and high quality residential area for the Maldivian people,” Li said.

Xinhua reported Chinese Ambassador Yang Xiuping as saying that she was “very glad that the Chinese company, CMEC, won the bid for the project in Hulhumale. I wish it every success.”

According to the government’s Isles project, the units are expected to be completed in two years.

Earlier last week President Nasheed laid the foundation stone for another 350 housing units in Male’, which will be build by Indian developers Kargwal 18 SG.

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Maldives elected Co-Chair of World Bank’s Strategic Climate Fund Committee

The Maldives has been elected Co-Chair of the World Bank´s Strategic Climate Fund Committee, part of the US$6.4 billion Climate Investment Fund (CIF).

CIF consists of two funds: the Clean Technology Fund (CTF) and the Strategic Climate Fund (SCF), which will channel funding through the African Development Bank, Asian Development Bank, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, Inter-American Development Bank, and the World Bank Group.

The funds are intended to help developing countries trial low-emission development projects, including clean technology, renewable energy and sustainable forest management.

The Maldives was represented at the committee meeting by the President’s Envoy for Science and Technology, Ahmed Shafeeq ‘Sappe’ Moosa.

Moosa said he encouraged the private sector in the Maldives “to take a lead in benefiting from global financing mechanism which are now increasing targeted at clean technology and renewable energy to build more climate resilient communities.”

“This is an opportunity for Maldives to learn about and benefit from the wide range of climate change finance mechanisms that are available now. It also provides an excellent platform to interact and associate with leading professionals in the area.”

The Maldives was selected together with Ethiopia, Honduras, Kenya, Mali and Nepal as a pilot country under the Scaling-up Renewable Energy Program (SREP) in July 2010, with grant financing of up to US$30 million.

“Going forward, it is my hope that further funding can be channelled to the Maldives through the CIF program,” Moosa said.

Donors to CIF include the United States ($2 billion), United Kingdom ($1.212 billion), Japan ($1.190 billion), Germany ($741 million), France ($274 million), Norway ($177 million), Australia ($137 million), and Spain (US$108 million).

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President welcomes the release of Aung San Suu Kyi

President Nasheed has hailed the release from house arrest of democratically-elected leader of Burma Aung San Suu Kyi as a “historic step forward for freedom and democracy in Burma.”

Suu Kyi has been detained in her home in Rangoon for 15 of the last 21 years.

“Many people, myself included, have drawn strength from her courageous and tireless work for human rights and democracy,” Nasheed said. “Aung San Suu Kyi shines as a beacon of hope across Burma and the world. The Maldives will continue to work for Ms Suu Kyi´s complete freedom and we look forward to her being able to play a full and active role in Burmese politics,” the President stated.

Recent elections held by the Burmese military junta have been dismissed as fraudulent by international observers.

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Tolerance guards against the politics of polarisation: UN Secretary General

Tolerance is “especially necessary to guard against the politics of polarisation,” UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has said in a statement to mark the International Day of Tolerance.

“Tolerance is the foundation for mutual respect among people and communities, and is vital for building a single global society around shared values. It is a virtue and a quality, but above all, tolerance is an act – the act of reaching out to others and seeing differences not as barriers, but as invitations for dialogue and understanding,” Ki-Moon stated.

“Tolerance does not mean accepting all practices and views as equal. On the contrary, its value lies in instilling greater awareness of and respect for universal human rights and fundamental freedoms.

“Tolerance cannot be taken for granted. It has to be taught, nurtured and communicated. Education, inside and outside the classroom, is essential for strengthening tolerance and for combating hatred and discrimination.

“On this International Day of Tolerance, let us recommit to dialogue and understanding among all peoples and communities, and let us focus our minds and hearts on those who face discrimination and marginalisation. A single humanity means living together and working together on the basis of mutual respect for the great wealth of human diversity.”

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