A 20-year-old male stabbed on the island of Hithadhoo yesterday evening is not thought to be in a serious condition, according to local media reports.
Sun Online reported that the man, identified as Hussain Shafeeg, received a two-inch stab wound in his left shoulder after allegedly being attacked by a group of eight people.
Police have said that no arrests had been made in connection to the alleged attack, according to the report.
(0)Dislikes
(0)An ongoing legal dispute between the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) and Malaysian mobile security solutions provider Nexbis escalated this week, after the High Court ordered police to investigate claims made to the ACC that Chief Judge of the High Court Ahmed Shareef met officials from the company in Bangkok.
The dispute concerns the deployment of a border control system, specifically the installation of an electronic border gate system in Male’s Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (INIA), bringing technological upgrades such as facial recognition, fingerprint identification and e-gates to the Maldives.
The project stalled after the ACC alleged corruption in the bidding process, leading to a ongoing series of high-profile court battles.
In May 2012 the project was brought to a standstill by a High Court injunction and a raid on immigration offices by ACC staff. At the time the Rf 10 million (US$650,000) first phase of the border control project had been completed, according to local media reports.
Nexbis has threatened legal action against the Maldivian government should it incur losses for the work already done on the project, and earlier this month filed a case with against the ACC accusing it of breaching article 141 of the constitution, stipulating non-interference in judicial matters by public officials, and article 42, entitling the company to a fair trial.
The Supreme Court in late June meanwhile dismissed the High Court’s injunction against the continuation of the project, on the basis that the bench overseeing the case had been unlawfully reconstituted. Immigration Controller Dr Mohamed Ali told local media at the time that the department was trying to interpret the order, which he contended “doesn’t make sense”,
In the most recent development Nexbis denied allegations – submitted to the ACC and published in Haveeru – that Chief Judge Ahmed Shareef had returned home from a conference in Singapore after spending a week in Bangkok, where he was alleged to have met Nexbis representatives.
Nexbis denied that any such meeting took place, and this week filed a case in a bid to stop the ACC from publicly sharing information on the investigation while the matter was in court, and seeking an apology for the damage to its reputation.
Asking police to investigate the allegations made to the ACC, the High Court meanwhile stressed in a statement this week that “no individual Judge can simply influence a decision of the Court, as all cases at the High Court are presided by a minimum three Judges bench and a ruling is only made by the majority of a particular bench.”
The accusations sent to the ACC were an “extremely irresponsible act with intentions to deceive and manipulate the truth,” the Court’s statement read.
The Court contended that the ACC’s investigation of the judge would amount to a conflict of interest, as the ACC was investigating a case it had itself filed in court.
(0)Dislikes(0)The debate surrounding the implementation of capital punishment is quite pertinent and poignant at this time in the Maldives’ history.
The violent crimes, including gang violence, burglary, mugging, sexual abuse of children and murders are increasing to an alarming level in our society. For many, the reintroducing of state-endorsed death, otherwise known as capital punishment or the death penalty, seems to be best solution to address the surge in crime.
The last person to be executed in the Maldives after receiving a death sentence was in 1953 during the first republic of President Mohamed Ameen. Hakim Didi was charged with attempting to assassinate President Ameen using black magic.
Since then, the Maldives has retained the practice of the death penalty, although Islamic Shari’ah tenets give the courts the power to pronounce capital punishment for offences such as murder, sodomy, fornication, apostasy and other crimes against community.
Statistics show that from January 2001 to December 2010, a total of 14 people were sentenced to death by the courts and none were below 18 years of age. These sentences were never enforced and were commuted to life imprisonment under the power vested to the President in Clemency Act.
However, MP Ahmed Mahloof and several other MPs are of the view that if death penalty or capital punishment is re-introduced in the Maldives, it would bring down crime in Maldives, and have decided to propose the amendment in consultation with several people including fellow parliamentarians.
Last April, Mahloof, parliamentary group member government-aligned Progressive Party of the Maldives (PPM), forwarded a bill proposing that the enforcement of death penalty be mandatory in the event it was upheld by the Supreme Court. This would halt the current practice of the President commuting such sentences to life imprisonment.
Mahloof based his argument for the proposal of the bill on the fact that 29 people had been killed in the past three years in gang related crimes.
The young MP contended: “I believe nobody would want to die. So if the death penalty is enforced, a person who is to commit a murder would clearly know that if he carries out the act, his punishment would be his life. I believe this will deter him from committing such acts,” Mahloof said.
Mahloof’s remarks echo the classic argument used by politicians and pro-death penalty advocates around the globe: Capital punishment deters crimes.
But, does it actually? Let’s ask the experts from America.
A survey of the most leading criminologists in the country found that the overwhelming majority “did not believe” that the death penalty is a “proven deterrent to homicide”.
Eighty-eight percent of the country’s top criminologists do not believe the death penalty acts as a deterrent to homicide, according to the study, Do Executions Lower Homicide Rates? The Views of Leading Criminologists published in the Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology.
Similarly, 87 percent of the expert criminologists believe that abolition of the death penalty would not have any significant effect on murder rates.
The survey relied on questionnaires completed by the most pre-eminent criminologists in the country, including Fellows in the American Society of Criminology; winners of the American Society of Criminology’s prestigious Southerland Award; and recent presidents of the American Society of Criminology. Respondents were not asked for their personal opinion about the death penalty, but instead to answer on the basis of their understandings of the empirical research.
On a separate note, 75 percent of the experts agreed that “debates about the death penalty distract Congress and state legislatures from focusing on real solutions to crime problems”- a familiar trait observed in the Maldivian context, where members of the People’s Majlis spend hours arguing, often engrossed in prevarications.
Prior to Mahloof’s motion, two members had forwarded similar bills to enforce death penalty. But after lengthy debates in multiple parliament sessions, both withdrew it.
Meanwhile reading the aforementioned conclusion of the research, I was reminded of a recent conversation with a friend about the death penalty on Facebook.
“I don’t understand why everyone is so eager talking about punishment, before anything else,” said Hammad Hassan, 26. He continued, “Criminals are a product of our society I guess. Someone needs to go in deep and see what the hell is going wrong.”
“Capital punishment has its age-old arguments and jousting between liberals and conservatives. We like to get into debates about stuff. But I guess it’s the wrong debate that’s going on here,” the Tourism and Hospitality graduate pointed out.
He added: “We fixate on issues like this, without even thinking, and the media, and politicians do their job of sensationalising crime.”
“The current rise in crime is pure economics I would say. Too many are out of jobs, many youth are on drugs and everyone wants to have a good time (coffee, a bottle of alcohol or a joint, etc etc),” he typed into the chat window.
So much truth in what he said.
In the Initial Report of Maldives under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights prepared by Human Rights Commission (HRCM) last month, the commission acknowledged there are a number of direct and indirect factors attributing to the increasing fatal criminal activity.
“High numbers of unemployed youth, and the persistent substance abuse and drug addiction among youth in the country are indirect factors catalysing the increase in crime,” HRCM emphasized.
According to the authorities, the Maldives has a staggering unemployment rate of 29 percent, of which half belong to youth age brackets. Meanwhile, the country faces a spiralling drug epidemic, with an estimated 40 percent of youth using hard drugs -a well known trigger of violent and high risk behavior.
A comment on Minivan News read: “In the Maldives we have enough people who turned to psychopaths due to drugs who are well capable of committing any heinous crime.”
Most death penalty advocates call for reinstating death penalty, saying “It shouldn’t be seen as retribution. It is to ensure the safety of society”.
But Amnesty International counters this argument. According to the group, “The threat of execution at some future date is unlikely to enter the minds of those acting under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol, those who are in the grip of fear or rage, those who are panicking while committing another crime (such as a robbery), or those who suffer from mental illness or mental retardation and do not fully understand the gravity of their crime.”
The couple facing murder charges in the most recent homicide of Lawyer Ahmed Najeeb, confessed in court that they were under the influence of drug and intoxicated from heavy alcohol use while they committed the crime.
But, will the politicians and lawmakers give the necessary attention to these real issues, instead of divulging into the endless debate over the death penalty?
According to Aishath Velezinee, formerly the President’s appointee to the Judicial Services Commission (JSC), Mahloof’s death penalty amendment is another attempt by the MPs to avoid “the real issue” and to “deceive the public”.
“The real issue for thriving crime is corruption. The constitution has recognised this and required the judiciary be checked and cleansed. The JSC breached the constitution, and those MPs are proposing this to cover up the JSC,” Velezinee said in a previous interview.
“Islam upholds justice, and not only has death penalty; it has very clear qualifications for judges too. Neither MP Mahloof, nor any of the Sheikhs, has expressed alarm that the judges are far below standard and some of them are convicted criminals themselves. This is pure politics and abuse of Islam,” she added.
Although the pro-capital punishment sentiments are growing stronger with the symbolic support from country’s top officials including the Chief of Justice, Home Minister and the Attorney General, enforcing the capital punishment is far from happening any time soon while several pertinent legislations are stalled in the parliament, with no indication of when they will be passed.
These legislations, which Human Rights Commission says “could make an impact on the death penalty” include, the Revised Penal Code, Criminal Procedures Code, Evidence Bill and Witness Act.
It also adds: “Maldives is yet to establish an independent forensic institution to provide accurate information to support the judiciary to make an impartial decision on matters concerning the administration of the death penalty.”
The existing Penal Code which was enforced in 1981 and its last amendment made in 200 has many parts which are not relevant to the present context and does not reflect the spirit of the present Constitution.
Moreover, the commission identifies the inadequate legislation pertaining to evidence and witnesses, dismissal of forensic evidence by courts, absence of a witness protection program and inadequate correctional and rehabilitation system for convicted offenders as key factors for rising crimes.
Several members of the public and commentators meanwhile have a another pressing concern. What will happen when an “incapacitated” judiciary is given the power to take some one’s life?
“If there is death penalty without a good system, it will be subjected to political abuse to settle scores,” a person predicted in a comment to Minivan News. “Besides, such crimes results from bad system and bad policies,” he added.
As the debate over the reintroduction of death penalty continues, it would be foolish to assume it will only remain a domestic matter.
The Maldives has affirmed the UN Resolution of Moratorium on death penalty on 18 December 2007, which emphasises all states that still provision capital punishment “progressively restrict the use of the death penalty and reduce the number of offences for which it may be imposed.”
This resolution still needs to be passed by the parliament.
But, abolition of capital punishment in all states is a call publicly endorsed by UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon himself. Therefore, in the face of international pressures to the states to abolish death penalty, the Maldives will likely be scrutinised to its core, and sooner or later, if it intends to reintroduce the practice of capital punishment.
One of the serious concerns would of course be the fact that child offenders may be sentenced to death in the Maldives if the mandatory death penalty motion passes.
According to the Human Rights Commission, however, minors are liable to bear criminal responsibility for some offences such as the unlawful intentional killing of human beings, and other offences relating to homicide and participation in such offences.
Several minors are currently facing such charges in court.
But, without a Penal Code which encompasses provisions on penalties for offences committed by minors and a Juvenile Justice Bill explicitly proscribing the death penalty, these minors will be executed once the law makes it mandatory.
Such a move will spark unprecedented international criticism towards the island nation, already facing scrutiny over its human rights violations, growing fundamentalism and troubled democracy.
These factors must not stand in way if the judicially-sanctioned killings are the only answer to Maldives high crime rate. But before we draw to the conclusion with purely basing the religious argument, authorities need to provide clear evidence that the death penalty is a deterrent to serious crime. That it will, in fact rekindle public safety and security.
The Human Rights Commission observes: “Murders were committed in public places during the daytime. Victims of gang violence either end up with permanent injuries or death. It is to be noted that most of the people who are involved in cases of extreme violence, and murders are repeat offenders (sometimes juveniles).”
“This shows failure on the part of law enforcement authorities and criminal justice system in the country.” the commission contends. Members have further added that the lack of a “comprehensive integrated crime prevention mechanism remains the greatest weakness in addressing the issue of increase in crime.
Therefore, for now, the greatest deterrent to crime is the likelihood that offenders will be apprehended, convicted and punished. It is that which is presently lacking in our criminal justice system; and it is at this level and through adressing the causes of crime that the state must seek to combat lawlessness.
(0)Dislikes(0)Raaje TV expects to resume satellite broadcasts to the Maldives’ outer islands by mid-July after alleging the government was behind delays in issuing a temporary permit needed to provide its services to a national audience.
The private media group’s chairman Akram Kamaaluddin earlier this week claimed that political influence was behind a delay in obtaining a satellite uplink permit. Without such a permit, Raaje TV has claimed its signal is limited to an estimated 20 percent of homes in the country.
The broadcaster said that although it had now been given a temporary license to establish its own satellite uplink – it remained concerned about the present government’s overall commitment to media freedom.
A President’s Office spokesperson responded today that the government had no involvement in the reported delay in issuing the license. The spokesperson also questioned the validity of the broadcaster’s accusations considering a temporary permit had now been approved by the independent Communications Authority of the Maldives (CAM).
The comments were made as media NGO, the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), called for greater clarity by Maldivian broadcast authorities such as the CAM over the regulations it employed for supplying licenses to national media organisations.
“As this statement is issued, the MJA informs us that Raajje TV has been granted temporary uplink permission for six months,” said the IFJ Asia-Pacific in a statement released yesterday.
“We welcome this development, even if it is provisional, and call for a clear statement on the norms that will govern the use of the broadcast spectrum, in a manner that will provide ample room for multiple voices and opinions.”
Despite the temporary resolution of the satellite link issue that had affected Raaje TV’s services this week, the IFJ said it had was concerned that “guidelines for permitting plural sources of news and opinions for the people” may have been breached in the Maldives.
“Multiple sources”
“We urge the authorities in the Maldives to make the grant of uplinking permissions the norm, subject only to a list, preferably small and clearly defined, of ineligible entities. Rather than control information flows, the priority should be to ensure that multiple sources of news are available to the people of the republic in this time of political transition,” the NGO stated
“A review of broadcast policy cannot be the basis for denial of such permission, since such a review in today’s world can only move towards allowing greater diversity and competition on the air-waves and not towards restricting access”.
In outlining the current status of broadcast media in the country, the IFJ – which represents 600,000 journalists in 131 countries – claimed that Raajje TV was known for providing alternative news and opinions in the country compared to other private broadcasters .
However, the NGO claimed Raaje TV’s ability to fulfil this mandate had been restricted after it failed to receive a satellite uplink permit needed to ensure its services were available to a majority of islands in the country’s outer atolls.
“Of the four TV broadcasters operating in the Maldives, one is controlled by the Maldives National Broadcasting Corporation (MNBC), an autonomous body established under law. Though mandated to function independently, the MNBC is believed by opposition parties and independent journalists, to be highly biased towards the government that came to power on February 7, after a police revolt toppled the elected president,” the NGO added. “Of the private channels, two are owned by businessmen with known links to the current regime, according to sources in the Maldives.”
“Hurdles”
Speaking to Minivan News today, Raaje TV Chairman Akram Kamaaluddin said he expected the government would continue to try and create “hurdles” in an attempt to restrict Raaje TV’s broadcasts even after the group obtained a temporary license this week.
Akram alleged that the channel had already been forced to establish its own independent satellite uplink as the government had been influencing major national telecom operators into not providing technical assistance or services to the broadcaster.
“They have given us this temporary license, but there is no guarantee that they won’t try to interfere with our services in other ways,” he claimed. Akram added that the establishment of Raaje TV’s independent satellite uplink was designed to try and ensure more stability for its services in the future.
Raaje TV’s management have alleged that the CAM had guaranteed that a license would be awarded to the broadcaster on Sunday (July 1) in relation to an application sent two weeks previous.
Akram maintained that the Ministry of Transport and Communication had acted outside of its jurisdiction and influenced the CAM into not issuing a license on the grounds that its existing policy was under review and an uplink could not therefore be provided until this was complete.
Communications Minister Dr Ahmed Shamheed told Minivan News earlier in the week that the allegations of his ministry acting in a politically motivated manner against the broadcaster were a result of Akram “making his own judgement” about the matter.
He therefore maintained that Raaje TV would be given the uplink permit, though was unable to set a date for when it would be made available.
“I spoke with Raaje TV [on July 2] and told them they would be given the license as soon as possible” he said at the time. “I don’t have a time limit for when this will be.”
Shamheed stressed that the process did take time and that the CAM’s Chief Executive, Ilyas Ahmed, had been away until this week, delaying response to the matter.
When contacted today about the concerns raised by the IFJ, President’s Office Media Secretary Masood Imad said that he welcomed the license being awarded to Raaje TV and stressed the government had no involvement in the issue.
“I am glad that the broadcaster got what they were after,” he said.
With the permit having been awarded, Masood questioned the validity of Raaje TV’s bias allegations.
In addressing these allegations, Masood added that the government had “no involvement” concerning the work of the CAM, which he said was established to operate as an independent body free of government control.
“I don’t know the composition of the CAM is, it is appointed by the parliament,” he said.
Masood added that he was not able to speculate on the possible political affiliations of individuals within an organisation like the CAM.
(0)Dislikes(0)The final report of the Commission of National Inquiry (CNI) into the controversial transfer of power on February 7 will be delayed, after hundreds of people have come forward offering new information.
The CNI held a press conference on Thursday morning to update the media on its progress. The next update will be in a fortnight, July 19.
CNI Co-Chair – retired Singaporean Judge G P Selvam – stated that the new date for the report’s completion would be the end of August, which would be discussed with the government. The original deadline was July 31.
Former President Mohamed Nasheed’s member on the Commission, Ahmed ‘Gahaa’ Saeed, said that 244 people had registered to provide information to the commission following the reforming of the CNI.
“There has been a lot of interest. We will speak to each and every single one,” he said.
The new names will join the 87 spoken to by the government’s original three member panel, taking the total number of contributors to 331.
“That’s one contributor for every 1000 of population,” Saeed remarked.
The commission has so far spent 103 hours conducting interviews with 139 people, working from 9:00am to 7:00pm every day. The new commission started work on June 17, 16 days behind schedule.
“Ramadan may upset the apple cart a bit,” Saeed acknowledged, suggesting that the CNI would need to take into consideration that people would be tired and drained during the day: “We intend to make [the hours] more flexible,” he said.
The first three-member CNI was appointed by President Mohamed Waheed, following a police and military mutiny and Nasheed’s resignation, in what he and his party have described as a coup d’état.
Facing pressure from the Commonwealth and civil society NGOs, the government eventually agreed to reform the commission to include a retired Singaporean judge and a representative for Nasheed.
The former CNI subsequently released a ‘timeline’ into events that took place between January 16 to February 7. The MDP accused the commission of trying to prejudice the work of new commission, and then released its own version of events in response – the ‘Ameen- Aslam’ report based on interviews with the security services. The government described the publication of this report as a “terrorist act”.
(0)Dislikes(0)A fall in GST revenue and tourism land rents is to blame for lower than expected revenues in June, the Maldives Inland Revenue Authority (MIRA) has said.
Revenues for June 2012 still increased 11 percent on the corresponding period for 2011, however this was 10 percent lower than projected, MIRA stated, partly due to a shift in payment deadline to July 1 for the land rents.
Total revenue collected for 2012 so far is Rf 3.5 billion (US$227 million), MIRA said in its June report, a 59.1 percent increase for the same period in 2011.
31.5 percent of the total revenue was received from Tourism Land Rent, whilst 15.2 percent, 12.5 percent and 12.5 percent represents revenue collected from GST (Tourism Sector), Bank Profit Tax and GST (Non-tourism Sector) respectively.
MIRA’s collection accounts for most of the government’s revenue, aside from the import duties that were not phased out with the introduction of the Tourism Goods and Services Tax (TGST).
(0)Dislikes(0)President’s Office Spokesperson Masood Imad has written the Financial Times in response to a recent article in which former President Mohamed Nasheed called for a tourism boycott.
“It is hugely irresponsible and deeply concerning that a former head of state and current presidential candidate for the elections taking place in 2013 is attempting to destroy the heart of the Maldivian economy – tourism,” writes Imad. “The Maldivian people make their living through the success of the tourism industry and Mr Nasheed is seeking to devastate their livelihood.”
“The article incorrectly refers to a ‘military coup’. Mr Nasheed resigned on February 7, 2012 of his own free will. As per the Constitution of the Maldives, President Mohamed Waheed (vice president at the time) assumed responsibility. President Waheed, committed to providing factual and legal clarity around the events that led to the resignation of Mr Nasheed, established the Commission of National Inquiry to conduct an independent and impartial investigation into the developments that culminated in the resignation of former president Nasheed. The findings will be published at the end of July.”
“Mr Nasheed’s claims of “Talibanisation” are in their entirety completely false, inflammatory and offensive. Such accusations accentuate his misunderstanding of Islam, the Maldives and the Maldives people. The national unity government upholds the rule of law in the Maldives and is focusing on strengthening human rights, the independence of the judicial system and ensuring that the elections taking place in July 2013 (brought forward from November 2013) are fair, free and meaningful.
“In response to your correspondent’s comments that the Islamist Adhaalath Party have acquired more power, it is important to note that Mr Nasheed invited the Adhaalath Party to join the coalition during his presidency.
The government of Maldives is extremely disappointed that Mr Nasheed has decided to tour the US propounding these allegations. We will continue with the business of running the country and clearing up the serious mess he left in the Maldives.”
(0)Dislikes(0)President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan was among the attendees at the 2012 Enchanteur Maldives Film Awards ceremony held yesterday at the Dharubaage convention hall in Male’.
As well as presenting this year’s Lifetime Achievement Award to Arifa Ibrahim, the president also handed a special plaque to commemorate the film, Loodhifaa, which took the accolade for best feature, according to the President’s Office website.
Ismail Rasheed took home the best actor award for his role in Loodhifaa.
Niuma Mohamed won the best actress award for her as performance in film “Niuma”, based on a struggle of daughter who is sexually abused by her own father and brother. She also won the best director award for the movie.
(1)Dislikes(2)Waiting has never been a strong suit. But when it is for your best friend who has never left your side, you don’t complain.
Early on Monday evening I was with Inayath Shareef (Inoo), waiting eagerly to welcome her new baby brother into the world. Every time the person inside the delivery room called out her mother’s name, we all flocked to the door. I take out my camera and get ready to click. But every time it’s a false alarm. The contractions still have not reached their height. Disappointed, we walk back.
To kill time, we talk and teased two young pregnant relatives in their mid 20’s. One of the girls looks as if the baby is going to pop out of her at any minute. A relative of Inoo say it is time for us to get married and have kids. We retaliate – “C’mon, we are still kids ourselves.”
Silently, I feared for the pain my friend’s mother must be going through behind the closed door. Relatives are not allowed in and the family only knows anything about the delivery through the occasional feedback from nurses.
Meanwhile, I overhear a conversation between Inoo’s aunt and a young man sitting inside the room, waiting for his wife’s delivery. When he was a baby, his birth mother and father abandoned him on the island. The frail, old couple I had seen moments before in the room, had adopted and cared for him like a son. They were never able to have a child of their own so it was a special occasion. They are soon going to be grandparents of a lovely baby girl.
Evening news starts on TVM at 8:00pm sharp. All eyes and ears were on the flat screen on the wall. The top story of the night, as expected, was the death of lawyer Ahmed Najeeb. Listening to the news at the time was strange. I was sitting among his blood relatives. He is the great uncle of my best friend. The tragedy has left the family devastated. When the news finished, they all talked about death penalty as the only solution to stop the henious crimes in the society which had claimed their brother’s life.
“Mara Maru [Death for Death],” my best friend says.
It was 9:00pm. The conversation on the death penalty had ended and we were again sitting idle. Some, including me, had proposed the idea of calling it a night.
The sudden sound of the person inside the delivery room startled everyone. The nurse called out the name. Same drill. Everyone rushed. I had my doubts, so I walked slowly. We were about to leave when the crowd came running in.
“The baby is delivered! Where is the bag with baby’s stuff?” a relative asks.
Inoo puts the dress for the baby, olive oil, cottons and other necessary post-labor kit into the bag and hurries outside to hand it to the nurse. She was so happy. That moment I realised how long it has been since I have seen that beautiful smile on her face. Life has not been too easy for her, or me.
Outside the labor room, the old relatives were facing a bigger issue. No one has prepared the honey. “How can you forget something so important?” one of the aunt complains.
It is an Islamic tradition to give honey as the first thing when the baby is born. They discuss what to do and finaly sends someone off to buy a bottle of honey.
Meanwhile, as I waited outside the labour room with camera ready, I saw a family rush into the emergency room, just a couple of feet away from labour room. A woman was carrying an unconscious child, about three years old. An accident perhaps, I thought.
However, I was not at the liberty to quench my curiosity because the labor room had just opened. Out came the nurse, carrying my best friend’s little baby brother, wrapped in a soft blue blanket. I switched on my camera and re-focused.
Inoo’s uncle walked in first. He was asked to recite the prayer call near the baby’s ears. Another Islamic tradition. Others followed in. It was such a special moment. Unlike other babies, he did not cry. Despite the bright light above, the baby boy managed to open his eyes wide. He scanned around and stretched out the hand and wrapped his little fingers around my best friend’s finger. He’s a healthy cute little fella weighing almost nine pounds.
The nurse took the baby back to the mother. We walk out discussing who he most resembles. Everyone agreed the boy looks like the father, who was unfortunately still on his way to Male’ from the resort where he worked. As I walked into the labor room showing the pictures from the camera, I accidently bumped into a woman who was crying. I apologised and entered the labour room lobby.
It was a joyous moment for all. As we ate chocolates and celebrated the birth, a relative came in looking worried: “I think a child has just died.”
We all walk out to see what had happened. Five women stood crying outside the ward next to the labour room. Another curious onlooker told me a child who was brought to the hospital just now had passed away. Immediately, I recall the family rushing into the emergency room and the crying woman I bumped into.
“Oh my God!” was my first response. I followed a relative into the ward.
On the hospital bed, lay a beautiful little girl. I walked closer. Underneath a white blanket covering up to her neck, the girl’s arms were folded. One of the woman standing next to the bed snakes her fingers through the straight locks of her short black hair. “Please wake up,” she cries.
I pat her shoulder, unable to take of my eyes from the lifeless body of the little girl who is no older than one of my nieces.
“How old is she?” I asked.
“Three”, the woman replies. She is the girl’s aunt who had arrived Male’ from the island the day before. “She’s actually a very fair skinned girl,” she continued, as the girl’s skin turns darker with every passing minute. She held the girl’s chin tight, keeping her lips closed. I did not know why at first, but when fluids started to escape out her nose and mouth, no explanation was needed.
“Only if she would open her eyes,” the woman says, between sobs. I touched the girl’s forehead. Near the bed stood a another little girl in tears, no older than 10. The girl on the bed is her younger sister. I notice my best friend had just walked in, so asked her to take the girl outside.
“Where is the father?” I ask, as there was no man to be seen, except for a teenage boy. The woman explained that the girl’s father had abandoned the family a long time ago. Her sister has been raising the two children on her own all these years, with not a penny from the husband who had left her before the girl’s birth.
I could only imagine the mother’s sorrow. She was speaking with two police officers outside the ward. They ask her what happened.
“She was born with a hole in her heart. The doctor said she needed surgery in three months. I could not get enough money to do the operation.” The mother burst into tears.
A policeman asks if she has any complaints with the hospital.
“Why would I have a complaint with the hospital?” The woman cried. “I don’t. I only have complaints with myself. I am the mother. It was my responsibility to keep my children safe and raise them. I failed. It is my fault she is dead.”
Though I am a stranger and have no right to interfere in that family’s matter, I could not stop myself from speaking out.
“Please don’t blame yourself sister. Life and death is beyond our control. It’s not your fault. You did everything you could.”
The grief-stricken mother smiles, and walks back into the room with her elder daughter to say her final goodbyes.
Though I had told her the death of her child was beyond her control, I could not help but think that the little girl would be alive today if she could have had that life-saving operation.
Outraged, I told the policeman to find the father. “He should be held responsible,” I contended.
Inoo later told me that she had taken the elder daughter out for a walk. The girl told her: “My father will be very happy my younger sister is dead.” We both were dumb-struck.
It was time for Inoo’s mother to be transferred to the maternity ward. I conveyed my condolences to the family and followed my best friend. She was finally able to hold her baby brother. Everyone looked so happy.
I remained confused. I caressed the baby’s soft cheeks and walked out, leaving the family to welcome the new member into their home, as another family outside were preparing for their little girl’s funeral.
In one night, I had touched life and death.
(0)Dislikes(0)