Month: June 2011

Letter on freedom and the Maldives

Dear Maldives,

I would like to share my story with you guys, to reflect on the prospect of freedom in the Malsdives.

In July 2001, as a student of Humanities at Curtin University in Western Australia, I met, fell in love with and married a Maldivian woman, an ‘overseas student’ from my Political Sciences class.

Due to certain painful complications, although pregnant with my first ever child, the Australian government was threatening to send my wife back to the Maldives.

Preparing myself to live and work in the Maldives to be with my wife and baby, I looked up the Maldives on the net. I wanted to learn something about the ‘culture’ of the Maldives so that I had an idea of how to go about fitting in.

Guess what came up.

The Maldives Culture website and its terrifying tales of a nation run by a murderous dictator who brutally imposed a rigid, mental strait jacket on his people through the control of the religious thought of his people enraged me.

Images of murder and torture imposed on any who dared to think with their own minds, or exercise an ounce of independent thought, religious free thinking or existential creativity caused me to tremble with indignation that a people could be so repressed. I felt this with a particularly fierce intensity seems I have always deeply cherished creative religious thought. My own background involved personal rebellion against the church I had been brought up in, so I was an individualistic oddball even by post-modern western standards, you might say.

Yet, still believing that for love, the sacrifice of self was noble, I decided I would be conformed to whatever I had to be to make sure I could be with my wife and child-to-be. I would allow this Maumoon to control my mind if it meant I was given a visa to be with my family in the Maldives, as it seemed at that stage they had to go back to Maldives. I felt I had no choice.

The next set of complications started when it became difficult to get our marriage registered in the Maldives. Although one particularly kind Maldivian gentleman tried hard to submit our marriage registration papers to Maldivian authorities and get our marriage validated so that I could get a visa, we kept on getting feedback such as, how can I prove my conversion to Islam was not just for marriage purposes? I received letters from the Imam to verify my revert status, certificates, yet the Maldivian Government still was not satisfied that I was genuine.

I began to panic.

I had nightmares of my wife being whipped for adultery and my son being brought up as a half-caste, illegitimate, ostracised nobody in the Maldives, a “bastard’ to use the term in its technical sense. I was told that this was a particularly grave shame in the Maldives. My hatred of Maumoon, who I believed would do this to my family, my fear of him became so intense, that I nearly had a nervous breakdown.

For the sake of my wife’s health, I put on a brave face as though nothing was wrong. When my son was finally born, my wife fell unconscious. I held my newborn baby son in my arms, loving him, so protective. Not knowing if I would keep him or lose him, I clung to him like a desperate madman. In front of everyone, I broke down and wept all over him, I loved him so much; I could not hold my pain inside me any longer. He was so beautiful, and here was I, his Daddy, who loved him so much, yet felt so completely helpless and afraid, so utterly powerless, and the grief was tearing my soul apart.

It took another six difficult years to have this issue resolved. I was in hell, not knowing whether Australian immigration or Maldivian immigration were going to come through. These were years of panic and immense stress. In that time, we had another child, and my interest in Maldivian politics became deep and personal.

The problem became harder when Abdullah Yameen Abdul-Gayoom came to Perth for a week to settle his son into studies. Trying all I could to get things done in the Maldives, I met up with him and tried to patronise him to use him to get some help for me. Sadly, that plan backfired on me viciously.

During these years, I found myself inspired and encouraged by reading about one particularly brave hero, Mohammed ‘Anni’ Nasheed, and the sufferings and the torture he went through fighting a non-violent struggle against this ruthless dictator Maumoon. This Nasheed character was embedded into my imagination as the archetype of courage, freedom, strength, justice, compassion and liberty.

Though I had never met him, he became something like a cult figure to me. I believed that he was suffering so that all oppressed Maldivians could be free. I believed that he was suffering for me. In my confused, anxious, distressed mind, I felt a deep spiritual bond with this guy, although, at that time he would not have known that I even existed.

Just as the endurance, the non-violence and the suffering of Mohammed Nasheed became the hope of oppressed Maldivians, he became my hope as well.

When my issue was finally resolved, I went to the Maldives for three months. The first thing I did was march into the MDP office wishing to offer my support. Anni and a host of other high profile MDP characters were there as there was some important MDP conference coming up. It was about a year before Anni became President. So I met Anni, and the most embarrassing thing happened. All my stress and anger at Maumoon and Yameen flew out of my mouth in that second. I exploded with rage, sadness, I was trembling. Years of pent up pressure, fear, confusion and anger was released onto Anni. I have no doubt he thought I was a total mad man, and he would have been right. Before I could explain myself to him calmly and plainly, I was whisked out of that MDP office as I had a sea plane to catch. Though I tried desperately hard to meet with Anni again to explain myself clearly, it was never meant to be.

Although my hero ‘Anni’ no doubt remembers me as a mad man, to this day, I still revere him for the sacrifices he made to oust a dictator.

This is why it is so hard for me to mentally digest it if it seems that Anni may have been involved in shady deals (bribing MP’s for example) even if they were deals done in desperation to secure the common good of the Maldives. My education and rational mind tells me, Ben, you know what politics is, don’t be so damned naïve. My rational mind is screaming, you know the way that reality works Ben, get the hell over it, power corrupts, and the path to power is corrupt.

My rational mind knows that the MDP is not entirely a bunch of humanitarian martyrs. I know that MDP has the support of both the liberal thinkers and the previously disgruntled businessmen whose motives may not be national interest. Yet my imagination, my creative mind says NO, not Anni, not he, my hero. It hurts me to digest the truth, but, I am a man, so I am digesting the truth, as unsettling as it is. I went through this same painful loss of faith when I left my church, and I am doing it again. I will be less naïve with my comments from now on.

However, if ever I met Anni again, I would like to remind him, that he is still the hope of many Maldivians for freedom and justice.

President Mohammed Anni Nasheed, I would like to remind you, that for many painful years, you were the hope of the freedom of the people of the Maldives. Your people were lead to believe, through Sandhaanu, through the Maldives Culture website, through Dhivehi Observer website and through Minivan Daily and later through Minivan News, that you would free the people of the Maldives from fear.

This includes the freedom from the fear of being used by corrupt politicians, freedom from the fear of gangsters, freedom from the fear of homelessness, freedom from the fear of hunger and want, freedom from the fear of mind control, and freedom from the fear of the loss of freedom of speech.

For the liberties that you have already given, I am deeply grateful, thank you very much. I am appreciative for all that you have done, and I am sure many of your people are as well.

Again, thank you.

But please keep in mind dear President, that many Maldivians still live in a state of fear, and that it seems that when you made the people believe there would be no more fear of the type they experience, you still have a lot of work to do to fulfill what you have allowed people to believe you would do.

It is less painful to have not hoped, than to have hoped and to have been disappointed, dear President. It seems you have been the source of that hope, you will also be targeted as the source of the pain should the people’s hopes remain unfulfilled. I am sure that you are aware of what that means. You will be punished by the electorate, and in how you will go down in memory, if the hopes of the people are betrayed.

So please, from now on, do everything in your power, to realise your people’s hope, dear President. Put all unnecessary things aside; waste no money on non-essentials, and just GO FOR IT!

Despite the recent disappointments, we still believe in you. Our love and our prayers will help you.

Your Sincerely,

Ben Plewright

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, please submit it to [email protected]

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Sacked Conrad Rangali staff protest outside President’s Office

Staff dismissed from Conrad Rangali Island resort today gathered outside the President’s Office, demanding to meet President Mohamed Nasheed.

One of the 29 staff members protesting outside the President’s Office said he was “shocked” to have been dismissed after working for the resort for eight years.

”There were times when the situation of the resort was very poor, but I worked there because I loved working in the island,” he said. ”The management did not even consider all that when they dismissed me all of a sudden,” he added.

He said everyone dismissed had families and people to look after.

”I got the message that I was terminated from my job after playing football in the evening,” another staff member said. ”When I came back there were 15 missed calls and a text message from the management asking me to be present at the Human Resources Department.”

He said he went there and was told that he had been dismissed.

”They said they had to dismiss us due to low occupancy, but I work in a department that operates even if there were no guests at all,” he said. ”So I asked the management why they didn’t dismiss persons from the departments that have no work during the low season.”

He claimed the dismissal was due to a strike they held at the resort on March 23.

”We went on a strike over some issues regarding the service charge, but a whole force of police  arrived in full riot gear, with pepper spray and tear gas, and ended our strike,” he said .”But we strike because it is a right. We were terminated for demanding our rights, and now we have to beg on the streets.”

He called on the parliament to “pave the way” for the rights and freedoms guaranteed in the constitution.

”All the MPs do is go to parliament, shout at each other, climb up their desks and go home,” he said. ”Little children in our house have seen them do that and have started behaving like them.”

He noted that the resort’s management had paid the dismissed staff all the allowances as required in their employment agreement.

Conrad Rangali meanwhile confirmed that the management had decided to make 29 positions in the island redundant.

”Conrad Maldives Rangali Island confirms that due to the partial closure of its guest rooms for renovation and lower occupancies during the traditional low season in the Maldives, it has made 29 positions redundant,” the resort said in a statement.

”The redundancies affect only a small number of staff and the resort has offered generous redundancy payments to provide affected team members with financial support while they search for alternative employment.”

The resort also said it ”will not affect service levels at the resort in any way and the ratio of staff-to-guests will remain at a minimum of two members of staff to each guest room.”

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‘How Blue Is My Ocean’ art exhibition to mark World Environment Day

The Maldives Marketing & Public Relations Corporation (MPRC) and the National Centre for the Arts are organising an art exhibition for World Environment Day.

The exhibition will feature works by Indian artist and environmentalist, Bipasha Sen Gupta.

The exhibition will be opened to public on June 6 from 10.00 to 16.00 and from 19.00 to 21.00.

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MDP’s ”surprise” postponed due to bad weather

The Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has said the party’s ”surprise” for the public was postponed due to bad weather and because some “important person”s were currently not present in the Maldives.

The MDP last week declared that it would “surprise” the public with further high profile defections to the party.

The party said its Activities Committee would decide when the special rally was to be held.

Last Thursday MDP’s former Spokesperson Ahmed Haleem told Minivan News that some well-known politicians were to join the party during the rally.  Rumours circulated in local media included that Speaker of the Parliament Abdulla Shahid would be joining the party. Shahid is reportedly currently in Malaysia.

Former Legal Reform Minister Mohamed Nasheed, currently an independent MP, was also reported to have been considering joining the MDP, however Nasheed dismissed the speculation.

MDP supporters have meanwhile suggested that Jumhoory Party (JP) Leader ‘Buruma’ Gasim Ibrahim was also to join MDP because he was intent on becoming the Speaker of the Parliament once again, which he could achieve by joining MDP if the party wins a majority in parliament.

Gasim was present at a press conference given by President Mohamed Nasheed last Thursday at the President’s Office.

The opposition has heavily criticised the MDP for postponing the rally saying that it rally was cancelled because the person supposedly joining the party had changed their mind.

DRP MP Ahmed Nihan and MP Ahmed Mahlouf did not respond to Minivan News at time of press.

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Comment: UN Message for World Environment Day

Nearly 20 years after the 1992 Earth Summit, the world is once again on the road to Rio – the site of the June 2012 UN Conference on Sustainable Development.

Much has changed in the past two decades, geopolitically and environmentally.  Hundreds of millions of people in Asia, Latin America – and, increasingly, in Africa – have risen from poverty.

Yet, evidence is also accumulating of profound and potentially irreversible changes in the ability of the planet to sustain our progress.

Rapid economic growth has come with costs that traditionally rarely feature in national accounting. These range from atmospheric and water pollution to degraded fisheries and forests, all of which impact prosperity and human well-being.

The theme of World Environment Day this year, “Forests: Nature at Your Service”, emphasizes the multi-trillion dollar value of these and other ecosystems to society – especially the poor.

Despite growing global awareness of the dangers of environmental decline – including climate change, biodiversity loss and desertification – progress since the Earth Summit has been too slow.  We will not build a just and equitable world unless we give equal weight to all three pillars of sustainable development – social, economic and environmental.

To sustainably reduce poverty, guarantee food and nutrition security and provide decent employment for growing populations, we must make the most intelligent use of our natural capital.

India, the global host of World Environment Day in 2011, is among a growing number of countries working to address the pressures of ecological change.

It is also helping to pioneer a better assessment of the economic value of nature-based services, with the assistance of the United Nations Environment Programme and the World Bank.

India’s Rural Employment Act and the country’s encouragement of renewable energy are significant examples of how to scale up green growth and accelerate the transition to a green economy.

No single day can transform development onto a sustainable path. But on the road to Rio +20, this year’s World Environment Day can send a message that those with influence in government and the private sector can – and must – take the necessary steps that will fulfil the promise of the Earth Summit.

The global public is watching, and expects nothing less.

Ban Ki-moon is the United Nations secretary general.

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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Champa Moosa “an environmental criminal”, claims EPA, while police interrogate authority’s former Director General

The Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) has labelled local business tycoon Mohamed ‘Champa’ Moosa an “environmental criminal” for irreversibly damaging the island of Thun’bafushi and the marine ecosystem of Thun’bafalhu.

The EPA on Thursday fined Moosa the maximum penalty of Rf100 million (US$6.5 million) for conducting dredging and reclamation works in the area without an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA).

Director-General of the EPA Mohamed Zuhair has reportedly resigned over the matter. Furthermore, Police Sub-Inspector Ahmed Shiyam confirmed to Minivan News that Zuhair had been taken in for questioning regarding an undisclosed investigation. Zuhair was not responding at time of press.

Director of the EPA Ibrahim Naeem told Minivan News the area had been irreversibly damaged and a large reef habitat destroyed.

Sharks left in a foot of tepid water

“This was originally a reef ecosystem with a small sand bank in the middle, but he has been dredging the island without any clearance and the changes are now irreversible,” Naeem said.

After three surveys of the area, the EPA had assessed the damage as amounting to Rf2,230,293,566 (US$144.6 million), not including the impact of sedimentation from the dredging which can smother coral kilometres from the site.

A foreign consultant who was involved in surveying the island told Minivan News that the area “seems to have been used as a dumping ground.”

“There were what looked like hundreds of used car batteries, waste metals and oil drums leeching into the marine environment,” the consultant said.

“We were looking at the effect of the dredging on sedimentation, and there were no water quality tests done. But you can just imagine what it would have been like with all the batteries and waste metals.”

Images of the island obtained by Minivan News showed discarded piles of rubbish and batteries, old earthmoving machinery rusting in the sun, and half a dozen reef sharks in a tank containing a foot of tepid water.

While the unauthorised reclamation works are several years old and have been a subject of EPA concern for some time, Naeem explained that the procedure and mechanism for calculating and issuing fines was only established in February this year.

The Environmental Protection Act already states the requirement for an EIA assessment and the illegality of conducting works without acquiring one, but does not outline how this should be penalised. Naeem noted that the EPA had lost court battles on the specifics prior to the introduction of the new framework in February.

“We now calculate environmental damage caused by [unauthorised] dredging at Rf65,000 (US$4200) per square metre,” Naeem said, “but Rf100,000 million is the maximum fine.”

Fines were open to appeal and negotiation, Naeem said, suggesting that “this is likely to happen in this case.”

Piles of rubble and old machinery

Moosa could also request the EPA resurvey the damaged area, Naeem  said, although he noted that the EPA had already surveyed the area three times, most recently in March.

Ali Rilwan of Environmental NGO Bluepeace expressed concern that the EPA’s previous issuing of fines for environmental damage was sporadic, and those that were issued were often unpaid “or the day afterwards, pardon is given.”

The EPA’s lack of independence from the executive also “raised doubts” as to whether fines were politically motivated – Moosa’s business interests include private broadcaster DhiTV, which the ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has previously criticised for being heavily aligned to the opposition.

“The Environmental Act does not conflict with the Constitution, but the EPA should be an independent body like the Human Rights Commission,” Rilwan said.

“It should be an independent agency autonomous from the government staffed by academic professionals, rather than civil servants and ministers. Because of the current setup, we do have doubts [over its independence].”

A building on the island used for storage

Naeem responded that while he did not know if there was a political element to the decision to fine Moosa a week before the government was seeking to push through major economic reforms in parliament, “what we do know is that Champa has definitely done this without a license or any form of clearance.”

“I don’t know if there is a political element – but he has committed a crime, and we have to take our responsibility towards the environment seriously,” he said.

Minivan News contacted Champa Moosa for comment but he had not responded at time of press.

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Puducherry Blue: around South Asia in 32 artworks

A collection of works by artists from across SAARC’s nine member countries has gone on display at Male’s National Art Gallery, ahead of the 17th SAARC summit to be held in Addu City later this year.

The Puducherry Blue exhibition, which will run at the gallery until June 12 2011, aims to bring together various works from South Asian artists that were produced at an arts camp held in Puducherry, India, in 2010.

The collection presents a combination of various techniques; from more impressionist captures of national life such as Shwa in Tein Pagoda by Myanmar’s Kyaw Shein, to more contemporary takes on regional art – such as in the output of India’s R Balu, whose Timeproof exhibit does away with the conventional paint on canvas approach entirely.

The sole Maldivian work in the exhibition is provided by artist Mariyam Omar, whose work ‘Epiphany’ teases at traditional images of Maldivian dancing seemingly obscured by somewhat more contemporary artistic techniques – or liberal splashings of paint depending on one’s own viewpoint.

Speaking during the event’s Male’ opening, the Maldives’ Minister for Tourism, Arts and Culture, Dr Mariyam Zulfa said that it was an honour for the country to host the exhibition, which has already toured a number of other SAARC nations.

“I am very delighted to have some of the artists here today who have travelled all this way to take part in this exhibition,” she said. “I’m sure if we can get ourselves organised we can take some of your works that we see here tonight for the SAARC summit that is being held in Addu City later this year. It will be our pride and joy to display these works at the [summit].”

Beyond the aesthetic value of the exhibition itself, Zulfa said she hoped the regional collaboration behind the exhibition would lead to wider number of events taking place at the gallery in a bid to inspire and develop local artists in the country.

“Hopefully, we can get the art community here a little more organised and learn a lot from your own experiences in the field of art,” she told those in attendance.

The exhibition has been arranged in collaboration with the High Commission of India in Male’, which has backed a number of arts projects in the country, including an arts camp earlier this year that saw a number of local and Indian artists gathering in Gan, Addu Atoll.

Indian High Commissioner Dnyaneshwar Mulay said at the exhibition launch that he believed that bringing together artists from across the region served to highlight the importance of connectivity between the  SAARC nations as well as the role that art plays in it.

“[Art] makes you think about what is the true meaning of life. Why do we have this urge to connect with people? Why do we paint for example? That is its beauty,” he said.

The Puducherry Blue exhibition will remain on display at Male’ National Art Gallery until June 12. More information is available through the National Gallery on 331 0729.

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Tiny Hearts to hold fundraising campaign

Tiny Hearts, a local NGO helping children with Congenital Heart Disease (CHD), will launch the ‘11708’ campaign on Wednesday to raise money for surgery and other activities, reports Haveeru.

A charity football match organised by the charity last year raised Rf265,000 (US$20,500) for patients.

66 out of the the 200 patients registered with the NGO have to be sent abroad for surgery, organisers have said.

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