Day: June 29, 2011

MDP takes to the pitch for sixth anniversary celebrations

The Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has celebrated its sixth anniversary of forming as a political movement with a football match between two opposing teams captained by President Mohamed Nasheed and Parliamentary Group Leader Ibrahim Mohamed Salih.

The two teams were set up to pit government executives within the party against a parliamentary group of representatives. The game, held at Male’s National Stadium, was eventually won 4-2 by Salih and his fellow players.

According to the Haveeru newspaper, it was former Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) MP Ali Waheed, who only joined the party last month that proved to be the most valuable player of the day, scoring two goals to secure a Man of the Match accolade.

A spokesperson for the MDP was unable to comment on event or the party’s key parliamentary aims for the next few years.  However, a spectator and MDP supporter present at yesterday’s match exclusively told Minivan News that they were not hugely enamored with the standard of the football on display.

“It was not exactly the World Cup,” the spectator said.

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Four children dead in two days from dengue fever complications

A fourth dengue fever fatality in just two days has prompted meetings between Male’ City Council and the Ministry of Health to discuss “immediate steps” to reduce the number of mosquito breeding grounds in the capital.

The President’s Press Secretary Mohamed Zuhair said cabinet had also launched a program to counter the dengue outbreak and appointed a committee to oversee mosquito reduction efforts.

Haveeru reported that a four year old child from Muraidhoo in Haa Alif Atoll became the fourth death in two days, dying this morning while in transit to Kulhudhuffushi Regional Hospital.

The cause of the death was dengue hemorrhagic fever, the newspaper reported.

A two year old infant died at 3:00am this morning while being treated in Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital in Male’. Haveeru reported a relative as claiming that the infant had to be transferred from ADK due to lack of availability of a blood transfusion machine.

A six year-old girl and a nine month-old baby died yesterday after being transferred to Male’ from Meemu Atoll.

Health Minister Dr Aminath Jameel, replying to a question from MDP MP Ali Waheed during yesterday’s parliament session, said the ministry was providing information to islands through teleconferencing and stressed that controlling mosquito breeding grounds was key to combating the rise in dengue fever across the country.

“Mosquitoes don’t travel very far,” she explained. “Therefore, it’s mosquitoes from nearby areas that are spreading it. Controlling mosquito [breeding] is needed from the public and individuals as well. We are working together with island councils and the Male’ city council.”

She added that the Addu City council had taken initiative and organised activities to combat the spread of the disease.

“An additional problem that we encounter is the quick turnover of doctors in the country’s hospitals and health centres,” she said. “So they are not very familiar with the protocol here. We are facing that problem as well. But as I’ve said, this can’t solved without controlling mosquito [breeding].”

When People’s Alliance (PA) MP Abdul Raheem Abdulla asked if she was considering resignation “since based on what is being said here your sector has very much failed,” Dr Jameel replied that she did not believe that was the case.

The Maldives has been battling a growing epidemic of dengue fever this year, with 300 cases and five deaths reported in just the first two months of the year.

There has been a spike in the number of cases reported in Male’, however most of the fatalities have been islanders who died in transit to regional hospitals. Many of the most serious cases have affected children.

Early symptoms of virus include fever, joint paint and a distinctive rash and headache, although it can be difficult to distinguish from the milder Chikungunya disease which can last for up to five days. Even healthy adults can be left immobile by dengue for several weeks while the disease runs its course.

The government and health authorities have expressed concern about mosquito breeding grounds developing in stagnant water in the city’s many construction sites.

“The boom in the construction industry has created a huge number of mosquito breeding grounds,” former head of the Community Health and Disease Control (CCHDC), Dr Ahmed Jamsheed, told Minivan News in April.

“In Male’ when the Council gives planning permission it requires management of mosquito breeding grounds, but have so far failed to enforce it or conduct inspections. My experience in Male’ was that when our teams visited construction sites there was often nobody at the site to communicate with in Dhivehi or English.”

While the teams might be contact with the construction company responsible for the building, often those working at the site were employed under layers of subcontracting which made it difficult to place responsibility, he added.

Zuhair told Minivan News today that the problem was exacerbated by the large number of unfinished buildings where construction had ceased.

“For example, one proposed seven storey-building has [ceased construction] at four storeys, and has pools of stagnant water on top,” he said, adding that it was sometimes difficult to pinpoint who was responsible for the building site due to the layers of subcontractors involved.

Many islands had sought to combat the problem by borrowing fogging equipment and expertise from nearby resorts to kill their mosquito populations, but this also killed beneficial insects, he said.

“It is common for resorts to loan fogging equipment and technical assistance to local islands, but this has negative side effects: it kills all the other insects, which prevents pollination and impacts agricultural activity,” Zuhair explained, adding that human intervention and the elimination of breeding sites was the main priority.

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Gaza flotilla begins controversial journey despite sabotage allegations and UN concerns

A flotilla of ships hoping to breach an Israeli naval blockade to deliver cargo they claim contains vital aid and support for Palestinian territories has begun its journey from the Mediterranean Sea this week.

The commencement of the flotilla’s journey comes just over a year after several members of a similar fleet of vessels were killed and injured after clashes with Israel’s military last year.

The Al Jazeera news agency reported yesterday that despite Israeli claims that latest the ten vessel “Freedom Flotilla II” was a “dangerous provocation” by organisers that would be intercepted accordingly, ships were now making their journey to the city of Gaza amidst alleged attempts to apparently sabotage individual vessels such as the Swedish ship Juliano in Greek waters.

Israel’s attempts to block the flotilla, which military officials have told media reflects fears that the ships could be used to smuggle weapons into Palestine, has proved to be increasingly controversial topic in international diplomacy.

While Israel was condemned by numerous states over its suppression of a similar fleet in 2010, the UN has called on flotilla organisers to cancel their plans, requesting for a focus instead on using legitimate channels to supply aid to the country. The organisation has additionally called for more direct action from Israel to cut restrictions it has imposed on Gaza.

The Maldives was amongst the nations that were openly critical of the Israeli military response last year to the original “Freedom Flotilla” that reportedly led to nine people being killed aboard the MV Mavi Marmara vessel during an assault in international waters. An estimated 60 activists and 10 Israeli soldiers were also injured in the scuffles that the Maldives’ Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned “in the strongest possible terms”.

Israeli fears

Reporting today for the Washington Post, Joel Greenberg wrote that Israeli officials were believed to have stepped up the intensity of their attempts to discredit the organisers of the latest flotilla with claims that the ships’ crews were openly waiting to attack any troops working to intercept their vessels.

“On Tuesday, Israeli newspapers were filled with reports from unnamed military officials, charging that sacks of chemicals, including sulfur, had been loaded onto flotilla vessels with the aim of using the materials against Israeli soldiers,” Greenberg wrote in the paper.

The report claimed that some sections of local media were using headlines such as “Coming to Kill” alongside pictures of some of the vessels in the Flotilla in their coverage.

To counteract these fears, military officials have pledged to prevent the flotilla’s vessels from reaching Gaza and not ruled out the use of unspecified “force” in their aims.

Certain high profile figures believed to be aboard the flotilla have continued to stress that they are planning the trip as a non-violent protest against foreign policy pursued by Israeli forces.  Last week, the UK-based Guardian newspaper published an interview with American writer Alice Walker, who claimed that she would be taking part in the flotilla as a passenger on the vessel, the Audacity of Hope, to deliver letters of goodwill to the people of Gaza. Israeli opposition to the ships, which Walker claimed was effectively the equivalent of attacking a mailman, would be an act that would be recorded “hilariously” in history.

“Why am I going on the Freedom Flotilla II to Gaza? I ask myself this, even though the answer is: what else would I do? I am in my 67th year, having lived already a long and fruitful life, one with which I am content,” she wrote. “It seems to me that during this period of eldering it is good to reap the harvest of one’s understanding of what is important, and to share this, especially with the young. How are they to learn, otherwise?”

However, in the realms of international diplomacy, support for the flotilla has proved to be much more of a dilemma.

Diplomatic dilemmas

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon last month raised concerns about plans for a second “Freedom Flotilla” to sail to Gaza asking numerous governments based around the Mediterranean Sea to avoid encouraging the provision of aid through the flotilla. Ban claimed that Israel was being urged to end its closure of Gaza, with legitimate crossings to the country needed to ensure civilians in the strip were adequately supplied.

“The Secretary-General reiterated that, while he believed that flotillas were not helpful in resolving the basic economic problems in Gaza, the situation there remains unsustainable,” the UN said in a statement.

The international organisation has itself established a separate panel of inquiry that it has said was designed to look at the conduct of Israel’€™s military in response to the flotilla sailing to Gaza last year. The working period for the group was extended earlier this year after its four members decided more time was needed to reach an outcome.

Isreal’s blockade of Palestinian territories was imposed back in 2007 over security fears at the democratic election of a government consisting of members of the Hamas group, which do not recognize the country’s right to exist. Both Hamas and the Fatah movement it ousted are now said to have agreed to form a unified government ahead of fresh elections, according to the UN.

Last year, the UN secretary general openly criticized the legality of Israel’s blockade of Palestinian borders asking for a cessation to the policy, despite the country making amendments allowing foodstuffs and certain other civilian goods to pass. Ban reportedly lambasted the Israeli policy of closure as “wrong” as well as being unsustainable whilst talking to international media during a visit to Palestinian territory last March.

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President asks for compassion towards heroin addicts

Translated extract of President Mohamed Nasheed’s speech on the International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking.

“Two or three days ago, police seized a large amount of hard drugs; heroin or brown sugar. It happened, as you know, while 800 packets were being sealed in a house called Henveiru Fashan. Today and tomorrow, a lot of young people will become sick.

These 800 packets, according to our information, were the drugs meant to be used by at least 50 percent of hard drug users in Male’. What we are trying to do with the police operation is seize these drugs. [But] when the drugs are seized, the youth addicted to these hard drugs leave their normal state. When that happens, they don’t have any sense of the wrong they do; they don’t have any sense, any inkling or knowledge of anything they do.

I am glad today and pleased by the fact that they can call the 1410 number. I would say that a lot of youngsters should keep the 1410 in mind. […] I urge very strongly that everyone, all who use drugs, keep the 1410 in your memory, in your recollection, at all times.

We can seize the hard drugs that enter the country. We can find out how it enters, too. And as I envision it we can stop [the trafficking]. While undertaking these efforts, it is now becoming very much certain to me…for example, what happened the other day was the sort of thing I find quite shocking. 800 packets of heroin a night were getting sealed in the house of an honourable member of parliament. 800 packets of heroin were being distributed in the ground floor of this house. True, there might be no connection between the MP and his house to the people doing [the drug dealing]. But what I know is, in my home, in my own home…the laws of the country definitely say this. That I should know what happens in my own home, under my own shelter.

What the government will continue investigating now will be the money transactions. And to find out what A.J Enterprises is and who owns that enterprise; whether it was through this enterprise that all that money was transferred out of the country. What I am trying to reveal is that even if it turns out that the [trail] ends with my own parents I will not back down in the least. Whether it’s the People’s Majlis, the Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, any Majlis – God willing we will not leave a single stone unturned to discover who is involved in this.

Using hard drugs, running the existing network, involves large sums of money. The profit of Henveiru Fashan was at least Rf160,000. That is the profit of only one night. We do not doubt any more that on a good night Rf200,000 will be made as profit. A hardware store makes a profit of Rf150,000 a night. A normal general store, a big, big store in Male’ – the profit of one of those big stores would not reach Rf100,000. The business profit in this is not a truth that we will let slide from our minds.

It is not only drug dealing that occurs in this business. There are a number of other illegal businesses related to it. Now we are especially noting the business of selling humans from one country to another.  That is, bringing workers into the country illegally in the name of labour as well as bringing them to transit here before being sent to other countries – this has become big business in the Maldives.

The drug business is widespread in the whole international community. It is not just the Maldives that was shocked. We do get shocked when we get this kind of information; we would get shocked when we get it suddenly. It is not just the Maldives that is shocked by this. I have come here today after finding out how shocked the whole region is because of this. [We know] how many kilos we have found and that it is a small amount. With this network in the entire [South Asian] region and reaching the Middle East, it is no small shock. I would think all of us are very shocked.

There are truths we know while we attempt to stop this network and the trafficking of hard drugs into the country. That is the fact that we have to show compassion to the youth at this time. When we don’t provide care for them, they take off with the box cutter and steal money from the mother’s drawers. [They] need it. They need to use. They must use. We have to come to know and understand this. We shouldn’t try talking about this politically or with the intention of hiding behind a nice veil, without using the real terms and words. I won’t do it. I will talk about how thing stand from A to Z. That is, regardless of whatever anyone says about me – the bitterness involved in this, how much our society has been destroyed by this, the obstacles it places on our country’s development, how we cannot achieve our desired ‘Other Maldives’ because of this will become very much clear.

Closing the doors to hard drugs is a policy of this government, a pledge of this government. God willing, this government will do it. The government will find those who smuggle hard drugs into the country. They will be detained. We will ask the Prosecutor General to take them to trial. That is the extent of what the government can do. We are not trying to meddle with trials illegally even now. However, we will [send] all the cases with all the evidence to the Prosecutor General’s Office – that is along with everyone else involved in this business, this network. Among them include using cycles, cars and lorries; providing places for packing; private companies facilitating business transactions – no one should be doing any of this. God willing, this government will give those involved the just punishment.

A detox centre was opened in Male’ last year. And a detox centre was opened last year in Addu Atoll Meedhoo. This detox centre is not a rehabilitation centre. So when you go there and nothing but [detoxification] comes of it, don’t complain about that. The place is intended for a particular purpose. That is what the place can do. Additionally, God willing we will be able to open a new detox centre for women I think today or tomorrow. Helping girls with this is absolutely necessary.

It has become very clear to us that the gang violence in the country is also very much tied to drugs. I think the connection between Red Light City and their affiliated gangs to this business was seen beyond doubt the other day [at the police briefing]. In the past, “our peaceful protest was disrupted by this gang, the gang leader was this person, that person calls such and such a politician” – we heard of this a lot. However, we did not go into it back then. And we haven’t gone into it after taking over government even up to this day.

Based on the evidence gathered, the government is only requesting the Prosecutor General to take the case to trial. From judges we request that they deliver a verdict based on what was said and the evidence presented. We don’t ask for more than that from anyone. We will not ask for more.

Our goal is to assure for our youth a better, more prosperous, much happier tomorrow than today. My prayer is for us the blessings of both worlds.

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Masked men rob Marble Hotel of Rf100,000

Police are investigating the theft of Rf100,000 (US$$6485) from Marble Hotel, after a group of masked men broke into the building and threatened the receptionist with an axe early this morning.

Police Sub-Inspector Ahmed Shiyam said the men entered the hotel’s lobby around 4:00am this morning, threatened staff and took the money from a small safe in the hotel.

Shiyam said police were investigating the possibility than the men knew about the safe and its contents prior to the robbery.

A staff member at the hotel told newspaper Haveeru that the thieves broke the lock on the main door.

“One forced an axe to the neck of the receptionist while another person had his knife pressed against the other side of his neck. The group also robbed the receptionist’s wristwatch,” Haveeru reported the staff member as saying.

Police are currently investigating CCTV footage of the incident, but have yet to make any arrests.

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Comment: Spread of dengue fever should be alarming

Malaria still maintains its respect as the leading killer disease in sub-Saharan Africa, surpassing the 20th century wave of HIV infections that rocked the continent. Malaria is spread by a mosquito known as CULEX.

The Maldives and many other South East Asian countries are infested with a mosquito species known as AEDES AEGYPTI, the carrier of Dengue Fever and Chikungunya that have claimed lives of many young and old. In population comparison with neighboring countries, the deaths and spread of dengue in Maldives is and should be considered as alarming.

A visit to health centers or hospitals in islands and Male reveals panic among parents with infants or small kids. Four deaths in two days, the youngest being a nine month-old baby has sent shockwaves in many households and I hope the World Health Organisation (WHO) has intervened. It ultimately raises the suspicion and doubt on the management of public health in a country where health and health education is inadequate, and not an immediate priority in the eyes of the lawmakers.

I support the government health insurance policy which we have enrolled and I have seen benefits in the past year. But think of a person with similar insurance facility but lives in an island village 600 miles from Male’, which cannot provide urgent medical assistance. It’s not acceptable; it’s just immoral, and unfair.

Each Maldivian citizen deserves the right to standard medical facilities, and I ask the Ministry of Health to explain why many atolls/islands still have inadequate facilities. Why a heart patient has to wait for two weeks to use a treadmill in IGMH, or cannot do ECG because the equipment is broken down, why desperate parents of sick children have to wait for days for an appointment, and why Maldivians have to depend on doctors who visit once every six weeks.

Ironically, Male’ is mushrooming with high tech clinics, specialty doctors, and a sequence of tests that leave you broke for a whole month. Most victims are from islands where basic medical facilities sometimes cease to exist.

In December of 2005, WHO Epidemiologist Dr Shalini Pooransingh and the Maldivian government had a fact finding, training and knowledge awareness program on Communicable Diseases, and dengue was well addressed.

Since then, many other workshops and programs followed partly sponsored by international organisations and the local health authorities. Looking at statistics (weekly dengue cases 2009-2011) published on line, it is appalling to see the magnitude of the spread especially in other islands all over the country. What happened to all the training and expertise?

It is nearly a year ago when an article by Aishath Shazra and A. R. Abdulla was published online: “Maldives hit by dengue fever in global epidemic”.

It is a simple straightforward report that is alarming to any parent who reads it, and at the same time it exposes loopholes which law makers and health ministry should look at.

Unbelievably, just 14 persons made comments, and as you can read them, most were abusive, political and out of context. Exactly at the same time of this dengue infestation last year, the streets of Male were crowded every night with demonstrations, ironically not concerned over the outbreak, but keen to unseat the then Education Minister [Dr Mustafa Luthfy] out of office… at which they succeeded.

These street scenarios were well documented and covered by most media outlets. The Maldives has not seen a meaningful demonstration against inadequate health services, deteriorating or lack of
equipment or lack of simple medicines. The Maldives has not demonstrated effectively against pedophiles, abuse of women and children, crime or the bleak and uncertain future of the youth.

But it’s a common thing to have live meetings, street demonstrations, and special TV and radio programs on topics that will not move the country one step forward but lead it to an uncivilised world. Why not use these funds to help the needy?

I do not need to bore you repeating facts and statistics on dengue that you can easily find from the Department of Public Health and WHO websites. My objective was to openly voice my personal concern based on day to day events and to answer the most disturbing simple question: “Who is to blame?”

In sequence, responsibility lies heavily with the Ministry of Health (in charge of public health), lawmakers (who decide laws), municipalities/councils (who manage day to day issues), politicians (who represent the people’s voices) and the public (for not focusing on life-threatening grievances).

I really hope that somewhere, a Good Samaritan in the authorities will seriously look at the four deaths in these two days, the daily grievances of desperate people far away in need of health facilities, and use it as a platform to start a campaign to try manage this outbreak.

The government alone cannot, we need a combined effort from everyone, or each day we would have a new headline of yet another death.

It is time the President, the Minister of Health, politicians and the media take time-off from the daily politics that have slowed our development and taken us nowhere. Better to concentrate on what is affecting the country right now. Public Health is at stake!

Not long ago Male’ had illicit drug problems which were visible on the streets. Boys and girls turned into zombies, but today I also salute the NGO Journey, the government (police, army, NGOs) for helping these kids off the street. It has been successful and many have been rehabilitated, and openly talked about it on TV. Why not temporarily close Majlis sessions, use all available resources and let MPs, health coordinators and doctors go out to the islands and help those in need? Thinaadhoo continues to suffer from a strange unexplainable fever, and sooner or later it will spread to other islands. By the time it reaches the concern of authorities, many will have buried their loved ones.

We had a great laugh last evening watching the match between MDP and the government. So much money was collected, some of it for charity. The night closed with a very tearful yet important program on MNBC (My Way). Hishko and her husband, my very good friends, have done so much in so short a time, for the health of many kids. 192 kids today who have had their Tiny Hearts examined, operated or diagnosed with heart cardio problems, will forever remember this couple for their entire lives. This is just an example of how simple people can make a change in the lives of many.

To MNBC: Congrats, My Way is the greatest program watched by over 80 percent of households and Maldivians abroad. Through such great ideas, I believe you could have similar programs on health, education, computer and drug addiction, career guidance, etc. Not to forget, you guys Minivan, continue publishing the truth. With information, we can partly control this outbreak that is claiming a child per day.

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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