maldives – Page 1009 – Minivan News

Principal accused of physical abuse at Lale Youth International School

Police and the education ministry are investigating reports that pupils at Lale Youth International school in Hulhumale are being subjected to physical abuse, including by the school’s principal.

A concerned parent spoke to Minivan News about the abuse her 13 year old son was suffering.

“He would come home and tell me about the beatings. He told me it depended how angry the principal was – sometimes a leather belt was used.

“To discipline a child is one thing. I totally agree with that. But using physical force is not acceptable,” she said.

Another source linked with the school claimed the allegations were true.

” The principal and assistant principal of the school have been physically violent with boys in grades six, seven and eight,” the source said.

“[The violence] has only been towards the boys, but they have done it in front of the girls as well. Just recently a pupil was held by the neck and put up against the wall. Many pupils went home and told their parents they were so scared they nearly wet themselves.”

The principal of Lale Youth International School told Minivan News “there is no need to comment on this right now.”

The assistant principal has since gone home to Turkmenistan.

Deputy minister of education Abdulla Nazeer was unable to confirm the reports “as we have no solid evidence”, but said the ministry has “sent a supervision team and we have now submitted their report to the police.”

“We have been getting complaints and the ministry is concerned about the children. But it is important not to assume anything. Both sides have rights, and we must wait for the police to investigate,” he said.

Police spokesperson Ahmed Shiyam confirmed police were conducting an investigation at the school.

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Abortion in the Maldives: the untold story

When the strip on the pregnancy test turned pink, 23-year-old Mustafa asked his girlfriend to marry him. Not because he wanted to, but because he believed it was the right thing to do.

She said no.

Aminath, who was 19, replied she was too young to have a child. And so, he told her he would “fix it”.

A few days later, Mustafa learned of a man who charged Rf2,000 (US$155) to perform an abortion. Reassured by two friends who had used him, he set up an appointment in Male’.

“The man gave her three injections and said that within one to four hours, she would start to bleed and it would be very painful and it would be like giving birth,” says Mustafa, his frail voice quivering.

“At this point I was having serious doubts about this guy. He wasn’t a doctor… he was boasting about his abortion activities and the number of girls he had done this to. He said at one point it was almost one every night. The way he said it was without a trace of compassion.”

Mustafa’s description of what followed is harrowing: Aminath was carried back and forth to the toilet, she threw up twice and was writhing in agony. Four hours later, she began to bleed.

As a Muslim country, abortion is illegal in the Maldives except to save a mother’s life, or if a child suffers from a congenital defect such as thalassemia. But anecdotal evidence points overwhelmingly to a high rate of abortion.

“I can count seven of my friends, three girls and four boys. The story was the same,” says Mustafa.

Statistical vacuum

There is scant information available on abortion in the Maldives. No research on the subject has ever been commissioned. But, says Fathimath, 40, a social researcher on youth and women, other statistics indicated that abortion was prevalent.

She points to the discrepancy between the decline in the fertility rate and the low rate of contraceptive use – an estimated 39 per cent – which raised important questions that remained unanswered.

Halfway through the conversation, Fathimath says she herself has terminated two pregnancies. The first time she was 20 and a newlywed. She had been given the opportunity to study in the UK and felt her pregnancy was ill-timed. Her second abortion was more recent: her husband had been cheating on her when she found out she was pregnant.

“At that time, I wasn’t emotionally capable of having a child,” says Fathimath, who had both of her abortions abroad.

The only tidbit of official information that exists comes from the Reproductive Health Survey conducted in 2004. The survey found that despite the absence of reliable data, it was likely that unsafe abortions could be a cause for concern. Three years later, an unofficial report by the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) reached a similar conclusion.

Interviews with four demographically-diverse focus groups revealed that induced abortions were common among women and girls in Male’ with most ostensibly taking place in unsafe circumstances.

But, the IPPF never obtained government permission to carry out the study and because of the qualitative nature of its research, its findings were never acknowledged or made public, says Fathimath.

The report found that the stigma of having a child out of wedlock compels women and girls to opt for abortions. Two focus groups of unmarried boys and girls asserted that abortion was widespread. Some said they knew of girls as young as 12 who had undergone abortions and each knew at least one person who had terminated a pregnancy.

The discussions further revealed that while abortion was more common among unmarried youth, it was still widespread among married couples. Even within marriage, an optimal family size, economic hardship, infidelity, domestic violence, contraceptive failures and unexpected pregnancy in older women were factors that contributed to the decision.

In one interview, the IPPF spoke to a 37-year-old woman from a poor socio-economic background whose husband suggested she have an abortion. He procured and administered the injections but soon after, the woman fell sick and began to bleed profusely. She consulted a doctor and discovered the baby was still alive; she had to travel to India for a safe abortion.

Honour killings

For those who can afford it, travelling to India or Sri Lanka is an option. But in neighbouring Sri Lanka, where abortion is illegal, the operation is performed by unskilled individuals in unhygienic settings.

One unmarried woman interviewed by the IPPF travelled to an abortion clinic in Sri Lanka when she was 31.

She said she remembered hearing the sound of women crying and the stench of blood. The abortion was carried out on a soiled bed and she was not anaesthetised.

“I felt like a piece of meat; I couldn’t help crying throughout [the process],” she said. Once the abortion was over, she was ordered out of the room despite not being able to physically move.

For those like Mustafa who cannot pay to go abroad, the alternatives are bleak. Abortion-inducing pills and injections administered by amateur abortionists are one recourse while others turn to harmful vaginal preparations, containing chemicals such as bleach or kerosene. Although infrequent, some insert objects into their uterus or induce abdominal trauma.

“It’s difficult to name names but I know prominent women who have had multiple abortions,” says Aishath Velazinee, a well-known campaigner for human rights.

“If a daughter gets pregnant, parents would rather have an abortion,” she says, referring to the shame of pregnancy outside of marriage. “I think it’s appropriate to call these abortions honour killings.”

Taboo

Using the information gleaned from the focus groups, IPPF concluded that widespread premarital and extramarital sex, high rates of divorce and remarriage (including sex between marriages), and poor access and practice of contraception could lead to a high number of unwanted pregnancies.

All four groups said that despite being illegal, sex outside of marriage was commonplace, especially among young people. Nor was it uncommon for married men to have affairs with unmarried girls.

But disturbingly, the focus groups said that couples preferred not to use contraception. Among the reasons offered included a reluctance to use condoms.

For some, the IPPF discovered, having an abortion was itself a form of contraception. One girl said: “When abortions can be obtained without much difficulty, young people do not want to use contraceptives as those take away the pleasure.”

Under the form of sharia law practiced in the Maldives, both sex before marriage and adultery are offences punishable by flogging. But attitudes towards sex reveal a discrepancy. While it is acknowledged in private that both take place, social norms and cultural attitudes restrict public discussions on the subject. As a result, students are not taught about contraception at school as for many this would be tantamount to condoning sex outside of marriage.

Government policy

Nazeera Najeeb, head of the population division in the health ministry, stressed that it was difficult to grasp the extent of the problem in the absence of official statistics.

“Without that it’s difficult to say exactly what’s happening,” she says.

The health ministry has plans to conduct research into abortion in the Maldives and educate the public about the health risks involved, she says.

“We are trying to create awareness on the disadvantages. At present we are trying to develop some mass media programmes.”

The list of potential health complications associated with unsafe abortion rolled off by Nazeera makes for grim reading: reproductive health infections, infertility, septicaemia, shock and even death.

While students could not be taught about contraception at school, they could be alerted to the dangers of unsafe abortion, she said. In addition, the health ministry could redouble its efforts to promote contraception among married couples.

For Velazinee, however, as long as the government continues to shy away from the sensitive issues that surround abortion, couples will continue to find themselves in the same quandary.

As with the drug epidemic, only government policies that addressed the real picture would help break the taboo, and thus, move the country towards finding a solution, she says. Until a shift in policy-making occurred, she adds, society will continue to be marked by a dualism: a public facade that does not reflect the private sphere.

“We gear policy to the normative standards of being a 100 per cent Muslim country rather than the reality. The government doesn’t want to publicise the availability of contraception for fear the move will be misinterpreted. They don’t want to acknowledge these issues, but the reality is that these things happen.”

The names of all those who have spoken about their personal experiences involving abortion have been changed.

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Lease to conserve?

Blessed with an abundance of natural beauty, Gnaviyani atoll Fuvamulah is also geographically unique; an atoll and an island at the same time.

One of the major attractions of the island are the two kulhi (freshwater lakes). The smaller Dhandigamu Kulhi is often used by the locals to go swimming, but Bandara Kulhi has fared worse, degrading to such an extent that few now venture near it.

“It’s almost a garbage site now, a dump site. There’s is no one to look after the place,” says Hassan Saeed, the atoll councillor.

Nevertheless Bandara Kulhi remains one of the most serene and beautiful locations on the island. Stretching across 274 meters, access to it is via marshlands and narrow paths near taro fields.

Islanders used a built a jetty off the main road seven years ago to gain access to it, however neglect has caused it to crumble to the point of being unsafe.

A novel idea

In order to reverse the damage and reopen the kulhi, a novel but controversial idea has been floated.

“We recently had [a visit from] a survey team from the ministry of fisheries and agriculture, and the report they submitted advised us that a way to generate the budget to take care of the kulhi could be to commercially commodify it,” Saeed says.

Details are sketchy: “We are just sending out feelers right now, we will consult with the agricultural ministry as well as the environmental ministry, find out which criteria we have to set, and then invite proposals,” he says.

Leasing out the land for farming or a restaurant are some of the ideas. The party who winning the lease would be entrusted the task of making sure no waste is dumped in the wetland in the area, while the money would be used to protect and maintain the kulhi.

Some are apprehensive about the idea.

“We heard about this but I’m not sure how far they have gone with the idea,” says Abdul Azeez Ismail, chairman of NGO Fuvamulah Association of Developing Infrastructure (FADI) and a member of the society for environmental awareness.

Ismail is of the opinion that leasing the land to just anybody will lead to further destruction of the place. He has reservations about opening the area to just local tourism and believes a resort should be involved

“South province state minister Mohamed Naseer once mentioned it. There are resorts in Addu and Huvadhoo Atoll, so opening it to international tourists shouldn’t be a problem,” he says, adding that mostly it is only resorts that have the capacity to care and protect the environment.

“Fuvamulah is different to other islands. So much can be done here, and the kulhi is a gift to us from nature so we have to conserve it,” he says.

Bandara Kulhi (freshwater lake): a rare sight in the tiny islands of the Maldives

Beneficial or destructive?

Islander Hassan Mohamed, 68, says “better to lease out if it could be beneficial to the islanders.”

He recalls that in the past during the governments of Mohamed Amin and Ibrahim Nasir, the kulhi was leased out: “It was well maintained at that time. There were banana plantations nearby, weeds were cut, and surroundings were kept clean.”

During Amin Didi’s time coconut husks were lowered into the kulhi, after which it was used to make choir ropes that were sold. In Nasir’s time the leasee cultivated milkfish and whenever fish was scarce they sold it to the general populace.

“In recent years nothing has been done and the place is being destroyed,” Hassan says.

Most islanders seem to agree with him.

“If done properly leasing out the kulhi area would be good,” says 32 year-old Masitha Ahmed.

Executive director of NGO Blue Peace, Ali Rilwan, says everything depends on how much the place will be altered if it were leased.

“How much mangrove will be cut? Will it be only the bank of the kulhi that is going to be leased?” he asks.

Internationally Rilwan claims it is the norm to conserve some areas as strict nature reserves, while others are regulated to ensure nature and human activities can co-exist.

“There are nature parks that are leased to private parties to protect,” he explains. However he reserves his final judgment for “when we see an environmental assessment report. Then we can talk about the merits or demerits.”

Saeed sums the argument for leasing the area. “Is it better to let the area get destroyed? Or commodify the place in order to look after it responsibly?”

Photos by Ahmed Thaumeen.

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The 1915 disaster at Kudarikilu

In 1915 World War I was in full swing, but the people of the Maldives were continuing simple lives in relative peace and security.

But, the peace of Kudarikilu, a small island in Baa Atoll, was shattered when local fishermen found an unusual object floating in the sea.

Abu Bakuru Mohamed, a judge at Baa atoll Kendhoo, recalls the stories his old friend Mohamed Manik had told him about the incident.

“Mohamed Manik was alive in 1915, and he saw the events that unfolded on Kudarikilu,” recalls Abu Bakuru.

According to Manik, it was a clear Thursday and fishing vessels from Kudarikilu and Kendhoo were out on a nearby channel.

“The Kendhoo dhoni got a call from the Kudarikilu people, they said ‘we found something, come help us.'”

The round object with the “silver skin” was in fact a drifting contact mine. During World War I, many countries protected their shores by dumping a plethora of naval mines. These were cheap and deadly. Often, floating mines would break away from their moorings and drift with the currents: a disaster waiting to happen, as many of these mines could stay active for years.

Normally, foreign objects would have been taken to the atoll office, but since the weekend was Thursday and Friday and the atoll office was closed, the fishermen decided to tow it back to Kudarikilu.

The crew brought the mine ashore near the eastern side of the island, where all the vessels were moored. Rolling it onto the beach, they left it there.

The next morning, the people of Kudarikilu went about their usual routine and in the afternoon went to Friday prayers.

Manik recalled that in the afternoon, the people went down to move one of the dry docked dhonis back into the water.

In many Maldivian islands, people gather to witness and lend a hand in this process. While down at the beach people also gathered to investigate the strange metal device.

“A young man, started playing with the screws and prodded it with a stick,” says Abu Bakuru.

All of a sudden there was a massive commotion as the mine started to smoke, he said, and it then started spinning and partially dug itself into the sand.

People moved in closer to investigate when it exploded with an almighty bang, sending a massive shock wave through the island.

“There was a massive explosion, it was terrible, there was bits of body everywhere, skin was plastered onto the coconut palms, people even found fingers all the way across the other side of the island.”

Abu Bakkuru recalls people on Kendhoo telling him about the loud bang. Even the island of Kendhoo, which lies four miles off Kudarikilu, felt the explosion.

“People told me of a huge plume of smoke that followed the explosion,” recalls Abu Bakuru.

Over the years the story has had many different versions, while the death toll varies with every telling.

According to Manik, 60 people lost their lives in the incident. Naval mines from that period carried up to 80 kilograms of explosives, and were designed to rip the hulls off massive iron clad ships.

However, Kudarikilu Councilor Hassan Firaaj says according to reports only seven to nine people died.

Immediately after the explosion, fishermen from Kendhoo instantly knew it must have been something to do with the object they found on Thursday.

“That silver ball they found exploded, I am sure of it!” one of the Kendhoo fisherman immediately claimed.

After some deliberation, the islanders of Kendhoo sent a dhoni to investigate the scene.

Manik said that the explosion had caused the whole lagoon to turn into a slight yellow colour.

“It must have been the explosive chemicals inside the mine.”

The Kudarikilu people quickly sent a message to the atoll office who came and investigated.

Abu Bakuru said that since all dhonis were still running on sails, the news of the incident did not reach Male’ for quite some time.

Today, there is a harbour on the site of the mine explosion.

Abu Bakuru recalls, “Sixty years ago I visited the site, the crater was still there, just as if it had happened yesterday. It was massive.”

The people of Kudarikilu still tell the story of the unfortunate events of that Friday afternoon, passing it on from generation to generation.

Although drifting naval mines were banned after World War I, some countries continued to use them.

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Comment: Why some people like DRP and hate the MDP

My first assignment at university, back in 1997, asked me to look into why people voted the way they do.

I remember feeling quite ill-prepared to answer this question because I had never experienced voting in its true democratic form. After all I grew up in the Maldives.

However, I came to realise that it boils down to a combination of personal characteristics, particular circumstances and the choice of leaders, as well as the image of these leaders put across to the public.

In 2008, faced with a choice between the DRP and the MDP, it is not difficult to see who someone such as I would pick.

I am (relatively) young, and as such I am prone to taking risks. I feel comfortable with a changing world. I have a tertiary education from a western institution. I am starting off in life, have no family who relies on me to provide for them, have no business that I have poured my heart and soul into, and feel confident that I have the skills to make it in life. My philosophy to change is summed up by the other iconic saying of our time: “Yes we can!”.

You don’t have to be Don Draper to realize which product I’m buying.

But what continues to fascinate me is the support that the opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party still holds among the people. It also fascinates me just how much hatred some people have for the MDP.

I refuse to believe that these people are all crazy. After all, some of these people are intelligent, educated and perfectly reasonable people.

So let me try and outline some categories of people who may find it ‘logical’ to support DRP and what you may feel if you belonged to any of these categories:

Direct beneficiary of DRP in power:

You are someone (or are a family member of someone) who was a direct recipient of benefits under the DRP.

This does not mean that these benefits were through corruption – but just run-of-the-mill influence or power that came to you because you believed in the vision and message of the party and supported it since its inception. And let’s face it, this is the same reason why a generation of people who are in places of influence because of the MDP now may support MDP in the future.

Democracy ain’t so hot after all:

You simply prefer the harmony that existed when democracy was not around. You are not necessarily taken in by all this talk of democracy and human rights because it has meant the disintegration of the social harmony and fabric that existed under Gayyoom. Now, every other day, there are demonstrations, strikes, and some kind of nuisance on the street.

These days people are just so angry at each other. Families, friendships, sports-clubs, marriages, relationships have all been affected quite adversely by the rise of democracy in the country.

I mean things were just so much better when people didn’t talk politics and talked about the movies or joked about their families or something equally harmless. Life was hard enough without all these politics on the street.

Worse of all, democracy has not delivered the instant benefits that it promised. You just want things back the way they were, and to go on with your life leaving the government to do what it did, even if it was doing it badly.

However, now that democracy (in all its messiness) is around, who do you blame for this? Why, the people who started doing these demonstration on the streets after all – the MDP.

After all, if it wasn’t for the MDP we wouldn’t have protests on the street. We would have a serene parliament that never debates. In fact we wouldn’t have parliament at all, especially on our TV screens. We would have songs and movies and entertainment, interrupted occasionally by a ‘riddle’ we can answer by SMS.

MDP are incompetent:

You do not believe the capabilities of the existing government are sufficient for leadership. You question the leadership ability of President Nasheed and his team. You regard them as those, who even with good intentions, simply do not have the intellectual firepower to pull all this off.

Your worst have suspicions come true because the MDP have rewarded positions of power to cronies and activists. For every qualified person in the administration, you see two hacks who had more talent at throwing stones than conducting policy. You secretly feel that the leader of our country and the majority of his cabinet should at least have a PhD, but may not quite say this out loud for the sake of being accused of elitism.

MDP are liars selling false hope for the sake of power:

You think that the MDP are peddlers of populist dreams who have promised things that they (or anyone without divine help) cannot actually deliver, simply for the sake of coming to power.

Inter-island transport network? This has never been done in the Maldives so why should it work now?

A modern real-estate market in the outer islands of the Maldives? These seem like wishful thinking to many people – even to reasonable people.

A carbon-neutral Maldives when 100% of our existing power-plants are diesel?

US$1 billion in aid in 2010? That’s seem like a little too much – especially if you fall into the category above.

The MDP leadership is dictatorial and undemocratic themselves:

Deep down you are a democrat at heart and feel strongly about the ideals of representative government. You feel that President Nasheed is pushing things in the wrong direction and acting in direct conflict with the constitution of the country.

This is a completely reasonable opinion to have, but you cannot also hold this and support DRP. That would be a tad bit hypocritical and downright silly. This however is completely justifiable if you are an ‘independent’ follower of democracy in its true forms espoused by the great political philosophers of time.

The MDP philosophy is wrong:

You oppose the center-right philosophy of the government. Rather than a free-market state that makes you responsible for your own well-being, you feel (deep-down) that the government should take care of its people – it should provide jobs in a protected public sector so that everyone has a decent guaranteed salary. You don’t care, nor do you want to care, about how the state gets its money. It should just provide us with healthcare, schooling, housing, jobs, TVs… the whole shebang if possible.

If probed a little deeper, you would say that the economic vision of the country should be that the tourism sector of the economy – just like the oil and gas sector is in Saudi Arabia – and the state should play the role in distributing the benefits of that tourism sector to the public.

Our tourism market has functioned well enough even with a few people getting very rich – and the ‘benefits’ this country has seen in the last 30 years are because of this economic model. Sure you would like change, but that change should be gradual and planned – like on a roadmap. Evolution, not revolution, is what you would have preferred.

In a sense, it is the strangely soothing tale of the state playing a truly paternalistic role in its most literal sense – acting like a benevolent father.

He/it rewards those who accept his/its wisdom and vision, while punishing those who misbehave and question its/his authority.

While this is old-fashioned, we must admit that like all fathers, there is a genuine appeal in having someone to look over us. This I believe is the reason why (in some mass pseudo-oedipal complex) the support of DRP is stronger among women of a certain generation.

My point in conducting this analysis is primarily to take the level of discussion in our political sphere to a more intelligent and hopefully beneficial level.

Firstly, I hope it gives those on the yellow-side (MDP) of the political divide something to think about on how to successfully challenge those who oppose them. No doubt, those in the first category cannot really be converted because they are the unwinnable masses, but the concerns of those in the other categories can and should be addressed.

The MDP must show these people that they are capable, that their ideology of self-help center-right compassionate economic conservatism (borrowed from their friends at the ‘New’ UK Conservative party) is a winning philosophy. They must turn their dreams into a reality.

However, for those on the blue-side (opposition and DRP side) of the divide, I hope it gives you a moment of reflection to see quite why it is that you hate the MDP so. If you fall into the first category – perhaps its time you looked into ways in which you fashion your life around having a beneficial outcome irrespective of whoever is in power.

However, for those of you who fall into the other categories – I hope it sheds light on quite why you hate the MDP so, and ask yourself how you can help your party (the DRP) to outline a better vision for our country.

The MDP claim they are center-right – so what is the philosophy of the DRP? Surely it cannot be that of a paternalistic state, which is outdated and unsustainable.

I say this because before you know it, we will once again be asked to choose our leaders. And when you do, I hope you will at least take a minute to ask yourself why it is that you are inclined to vote in a certain way. You will do this country a world of good by that small act.

All comment pieces are the sole view of the author and do not reflect the editorial policy. If you would like to write an opinion piece, please send proposals to minivan.news@gmail.com

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Future of Maldives tourism: exclusive or mid-market?

The Maldives is known for its high end world class resorts. Popular among the rich and famous, it seems the right amount of money can buy you some tropical privacy in the modern hectic world.

This privacy and seclusion of many Maldivian resorts is what makes them unique. This is what differentiates the Maldives from its competitors, and over the last few years many new exclusive resorts have sprung up.

These high end resorts, and the tourism sector as a whole, are an important part of the Maldivian economy: in 2008, the sector contributed 27.2% of the Maldivian GDP.

However several recent surveys suggest a vast majority of people are finding the price of a Maldivian getaway too expensive. Discussions on well-known travel forums such as Tripadvisor.com show that many guests and potential tourists are off put by the high prices.

Feelings on the issue are mixed. Many visitors, especially families, look for a cheaper option, while honeymooners are more willing to pay the extra dollars for a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

There is demand from the high end markets for exclusive resorts. Ahmed Solih, permanent secretary for the tourism ministry noted that “expensive is a term dictated by demand & supply”.

Yet according to Solih, the development of a mid-market tourism sector in the Maldives catering to the huge global middle class has always been on the government’s agenda.

“We lease the land to the developer, but it’s the private sector that makes the decision on who they will cater for,” said Solih.

The many tour operators and resort developers opt to cater for the high end market due to the proven profitable returns.

Solih continued: “In the Maldives, each resort has its own power and water generation, each resort is self sufficient, and for every head staying, there are two staff and they also live on site. This makes resorts a very expensive operation to maintain,” he said.

However the recent regulations allowing guest houses on inhabited islands and the introduction of a national transportation system (the Maldivian Dhoni Services, or MDS) has the potential to open the country to the mid-market tourist sector.

Former Minister of Tourism Abdulla Mausoom said ” it is vital to maintain the exclusive image that we have created for the Maldives, but with careful management, a venture into the mid-market sector is important.”

Both Solih and Mausoom said that it was not just a matter of accommodation, and that the infrastructure had to be in place for this new market.

Currently, guests are whisked off to their destinations on expensive seaplanes or fast boats to their destinations. If the mid-market sector is to gain a foothold in the country, a proper transportation system needs to be in place.

Another potential market for the Maldives is the Indian and Chinese middle class. India currently has the largest middle class in the world consisting of nearly 300 million people, contributing US$380 billion to the consumer market.

With such a large market at such a close proximity, it is surprising that only 2.4 per cent of the country’s tourists arrive from India.

Speaking on this issue, Solih noted that ” it is true that the Indian market has huge potential. According to World Trade Organisation (WTO), one in five tourists are now Indian. The reason that Indians do not come here is because our current packages are not desirable for them.

“Most Indians would come for a couple of days, at the most, and they look for duty free shopping complexes,” Solih claimed.

Indians like many Maldivians, love to go shopping when they are overseas. If we are to cater for these new emerging markets, we must plan on what it is they are looking for.

“The success of the tourism industry in the Maldives has been due to carefully planned expansion,” Mausoom.

The current system is well established, and has reaped benefits for the Maldives. It is now up to the developers and tour operators to decide whether they are willing to cater for the new markets that are out there.

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Tepid response to Copenhagen accord, but a win for the Maldives

The Danish Prime Minister has called Maldives President Mohamed Nasheed “the real hero of Copenhagen” following a marathon 30 hour negotiation session, however global response to the final accord is proving underwhelming.

Prime Minister Lars Rasmussen told a press conference that intense pressure from the Maldives reignited the debate when it threatened to stall. When talks broke down, Nasheed appealed to argumentative nations “to leave pride aside and adopt this accord for the sake of our grandchildren.”

The Maldivian president joined world leaders including Barack Obama (US), Gordon Brown (UK), Nicholas Sarkozy (France) and Angela Merkel (Germany) in drawing up the Copenhagen Accord, which was then adopted by more than 150 countries following fiery debate.

The accord recognises that global temperatures should rise no higher than two degrees Celcius above pre-industrial levels, but does not commit developed countries to legally-binding emission reduction targets.

The flavour of the talks revealed that sovergnity and development remain a higher priority than climate change for many large growing economies. China was particularly irritable on the subject: Prime Minister Wen Jiabao stormed out of the conference after disagreements with the US over international monitoring.

“This was our sovereignty and our national interest [at stake],” said the head of China’s delegation, Xie Zhenhua, before sending a low-ranking protocol officer to resume negotiations with Obama.

China’s revised agreement, which was backed by many large developing nations including Brazil and India, commits to a two degree limit but does not force cuts on any country.

Meanwhile Sudanese delegate Lumumba Di-Aping caused carnage when he stood up and described the final accord as “a solution based on the same very values that piled six million people into furnaces in Europe”.

The most tangible success was an agreement to deliver US$30 billion in short-term funding to developing countries over a three year period, in an effort to help them adapt to climate change and adopt clean energy technologies.

“Small island developing states” were highlighted in the agreement as potential beneficiaries of this money, which included US$10.6 billion pledged by the European Union, US$11 billion from Japan, and US$3.6 billion from the United States.

It appeared there would also be more to come: the accord promised the developing world an annual US$100 billion by 2020 to aid ‘clean’ development, drawn from public and private sources.

“The world stood at the abyss last night but this morning we took a step back,” President Nasheed said, following yesterday’s negotiations.

“The Copenhagen Accord is a long way from perfect. But it is a step in the right direction. We did our best to accommodate all parties, we tried to bridge the wide gulf between different countries, and in the end we were able to reach a compromise,” he said.

However the two degree temperature limit fell short of his expectations: “To save our country from climate change, we need an agreement that limits temperature rises to 1.5 degrees and reduces atmospheric carbon concentrations to 350 parts per million,” Nasheed said.

“While this accord does not deliver these targets there is room within the agreement to migrate toward 1.5 degrees and 350 parts per million, pending scientific assessments.”

Response

Media response to the accord was rather tepid, while some campaigners have called it “a disaster.”

In the UK, the Guardian described the final two page agreement as “vaguely worded, short on detail and not legally binding,” while the Times blasted it as “lukewarm” and “meaningless”.

Al Jazeera reported that the deal had left “only bitterness and anger at the deal done between the US and the world’s emerging economies”, while the Wall Street Journal observed that the final wording of the accord and a lack of formal approval “means countries are left with the choice of associating with the agreement or not.”

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Review: Breakfast à la Maldivienne

The dozen or so little teashops beckon you when you step into the south-west harbour area of Male.

Located within easy walking distance of Villingilli ferry terminal, the teashops are squeezed together one alongside another, each painted in a vibrant colour with unique names like Fahari café (sister-in-law café), Lhiyanu Café (brother-in-law café) and Meal Deal.

Most of these cafés are famous for specific dishes. We head over to one gaining a reputation as serving one of the best local breakfasts in town.

X-Fresh 1 would be hard to find if you didn’t know its location – a canopy of leaves hides the name on the exterior. However it has the distinction of being one of the few cafes to have an outdoor area, complete with palm trees and coarse white sand.

Inside the café, the red colored walls give off a cheery feel. Even the table clothes are red and the fans follow the same theme with every other blade painted the same colour.

At nine in the morning the place is already starting to fill up. Half a dozen tables are occupied, including office workers in ties, people who’ve just stepped off the boats nearby and those who’ve wandered in off the street for chatter over coffee, tea and the variety of breakfasts on offer.

A classic Maldivian breakfast of mashuni roshi

A Classic Breakfast

We choose a table outside. The shade from the palm trees and white coarse sand under foot gives the place an island feel. This reverie is broken every now and again by a passing pick up truck laden with goods being carried to a nearby dhoni (local boat).

Within the space of seconds a waiter appears by our table, his manner brisk.

We order the classic combination of Huni roshi (flat bread with grated coconut, shaped like a disk) and Mashuni (a mixture of tuna and grated coconut).

With an efficiency that would be the envy of top class restaurants, a small bottle of mineral water is served immediately and the food arrives fast on its heels, piping hot.

The disk lives up to its name – it is perfectly round. Legend has it that in the 90s a hota (local teashop) by the name of ‘Disk’ started serving Huni roshi, rounded to perfection. The hota named the dish as a kind of thumbs down to the concept of only the rich owning vinyl disk. A successful case of branding, à la Maldivienne.

The fresh pan-baked disk is baked to perfection with just the right hint of crispness and slightly sweet coconuty flavor.

The accompanying Mashuni is the perfect blend of tropical flavours that comprise the essence of Maldivian food: onion, chilli, lime juice, smoked tuna and freshly grated coconut.

The dish is unpretentious, flavoursome and testimony to the fact that the chef obviously knows his ropes.

The accompanying kurumba (young coconut) drink brings just the right touch to complete the meal.

Well chilled, the balanced combination of fresh coconut juice and soft flesh is a good balance of textures and is a delight to the taste buds on a hot morning.

While we are eating a constant stream of people come and go; a couple ventures in with a baby, as well as numerous well- dressed men. Four waiters in white shirts and black pants do a good job of attending to the customers.

No menus are on display in the café, but it’s generally understood that cafes in harbour area are light on the wallet. Our breakfast is Rf 15, the same price as the kurumba.

Some customers opt to try out the hedhika (short eats) piled on a tray, which the waiter brings to the table. Laden to the brim with savories and few sweet items, a person points at the item he wants, and the waiter serves it with a pair of tongs.

For those looking for more subtle flavors in the morning, toast and eggs are also on offer.

The aroma of coffee proves too tempting, and we order the Italian Lavazza coffee. To our pleasant surprise, coffee was well frothed and though a bit hot and lacking in body, it proved to be one of the best coffees in town.

One breakfast there and it’s easy to understand why people stream there in the morning, with the tables filled even on Friday mornings. In fact, if you turn up for breakfast on a Friday you’ll will be in the company of well-known personalities and MPs.

The usual little tray of betel nuts and betel leaves arrive, and a hastily scribbled bill brings an end to our morning escapade. At Rf 80 for two people it’s a bargain.

X-fresh 1 is a bit out of the way, for a delicious local breakfast at great price in a place reminiscent of islands in Maldives, right here in the capital, X-fresh 1 is hard to beat.

X-Fresh 1

Food 7/10
Atmosphere 6/10
Service 6/10
Price 10/10
Overall 7/10

X-Fresh 1 is the nearest café to Villingili ferry terminal, located at the south west harbor. Breakfast is served until 11am. Its open from 6am to 12pm and serves a variety of local and international dishes.

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Comment: Silence is not always golden

Silence is not always golden, and never so under compulsion.

The Maldives is travelling on a road not just less travelled but abandoned by most other nations – the road of regression.

Reading the headlines of a Maldivian newspaper is like travelling back in time. Female genital mutilation (FGM), concubines, under-age brides, calls to bring back capital punishment, deportation of ‘suspect’ foreigners, increasing acceptance of man’s alleged superiority over women… concerned about this state of affairs?

The key, apparently, is to say nothing, because whatever you say is certain to be used against you as evidence of your apostasy.

This is the most common and invariably pejorative accusation against any critic of the current Maldivian condition. This emotive allegation is akin to Godwin’s Law, which states that the longer an Internet discussion grows, the higher the probability that a comparison involving Nazis or Hitler will arise, shutting off further discussion.

Similarly, criticise practices negating people’s human rights, obliterating traditions and marauding national identities in the name of ‘Islam’, and the probability of being called an apostate hits the roof, ending any further discourse.

Jürgen Habermas’ initial description of the public sphere may have been utopian, but a democracy cannot function without such a space for rational debate about subjects of societal concern.

Saying Maldivians are being robbed of their identity and culture by those importing a certain brand of Islam into the country is not a criticism of Islam itself. Nor is it a declaration of intent to follow in the footsteps of hate-mongering apostate Muslims who came pouring out of the woodworks following 11 September 2001 such as Dr Mark Gabriel, a doctoral graduate of Egypt’s Al-Azhar University, Brigitte Gabriel and Walid Shoebat (to name but a few).

Gender regression

To point out that it is wrong for Maldivian women to be pushed back from a position of relative equality with men to being nothing but obedient child-bearing vessels, and to single out such thinking for criticism represents neither the perusal of a hidden political agenda nor a criticism of Islam per se.

Indeed, Quran 3:195 states: ‘…be you male or female, you are equal to one another…’

It is those who ignore this spiritual equality between men and women that 3:195 makes so clear, and preach contrary messages, that are being put in the dock for thorough and thoroughly required cross-examinations.

When criticism is leveled against the practice of butchering the genitalia of young girls, again, it is not Islam that is being criticized but those who are forcing the Maldives to regress into ancient cruelties its people have virtually abandoned. There is absolutely no mention of ‘female circumcision’ (as some who prefer to package this cruelty refer to it as) made in the Quran either directly or indirectly.

Neither is there a Hadheeth stating the act is required in Islam. While Prophet Mohamed did not explicitly ban the practice neither did he condone it, advising that if it were to be practiced, it should not be needlessly cruel. Criticism of FGM is a criticism of those who, under the name of Islam, are taking the most vulnerable Maldivians back to the times before people knew better.

Intolerance

Nor is it a criticism of Islam to decry policies of intolerance against people of other faiths – the most recent example being the imminent deportation of an American family because they are ‘suspected’ of being missionaries. It is to point out that ‘Islam’ is being manipulated to achieve certain aims and to pursue particular agendas.

Quran 49:13 states: ‘O people, we created you from the same male and female, and rendered you distinct peoples and tribes, that you may recognize one another’ [own emphasis].

Recognition of differences, pluralism – not a false dichotomy between ‘us’ and ‘them’ – that is what Islam asks of its followers. For Muslims to do otherwise is ‘un-Islamic’ and for Maldivians to do so is, additionally, ‘un-Maldivian’.

Maldivians, until recently, were renowned for their openness and friendliness. The suspicions with which Maldivians now treat foreigners are consequences of this audacious robbery of Maldivian traditions and nature.

It is this loss that is being lamented by critics, the loss of the friendly Maldivian. The friendly Muslim Maldivian who welcomed foreigners with warmth and endearing curiosity. The Maldivians who have been indoctrinated into treating ‘the other’ with suspicion rather than with recognition as they once did – or as their religion tells them to do – it is they, and the practices that have made them so, that are the cause for concern and criticism.

No clash of civilisations

Islam is not monolithic. Nor is ‘the West’. Samuel Huntington’s clash of civilisations theory is a dangerous and vacuous idea based on Orientalism, colonialism and imaginary lines drawn across civilizations that he conjured up. Read the late Palestinian American intellectual and cultural critic Edward Said for a robust critique of the theory.

Unfortunately, it is a theory that many saw as proven with the 11 September 2001 attacks on the United States. Criticism of what is happening in the Maldives in the name of Islam does not mean the critics are in favour of the so-called ‘War on Terror’, or are swooning fans of George W Bush who initially used the word ‘crusade’ to describe this seemingly endless ‘war’.

Nor does it mean being in favour of the illegal invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq that turned international law on its head and established the so-called Bush Doctrine of preemptive strikes. Neither does it automatically imply these critics are cheering at the inhuman treatment of ‘enemy combatants’ in Guantanamo Bay and Abu Ghraib; the ‘extraordinary renditions’; or the continuing surveillance and monitoring of Muslim communities in the name of ‘counter-terrorism’ and prevention of ‘radicalisation’.

Interpretations of Islam

It means none of those things because it is possible to be a Muslim and disagree with regressive and draconian policies that are being implemented in the name of Islam; and because it is possible for a Muslim to agree with certain ‘Western’ ideas and practices without abandoning their own faith.

Just as it is possible to be from the West and/or be a non-Muslim and disagree with inhumane and illegal policies implemented in the name of the ‘War on Terror’, or those that create the undeniably unjust North/South divisions of today’s world.

Such agreement and disagreement are possible precisely because, as quoted from the Quran before, human beings are ‘distinct peoples and tribes’ that should ‘recognise one another’ as such. It is wrong to try and erase these distinctions through violence and/or other means in order to establish a false homogeneity or hegemony of one group/religion/region over another.

In this disturbed world, the Maldives – had it been allowed to be itself and practice Islam the way it had done for centuries – could have stood as an example to the rest of the world that Islam is indeed a religion of peace, that it is diverse, and among its many followers are people of distinctive cultures.

Sadly, that Maldives is being taken away, its people being cookie-cutter-molded to fit the appearance and behaviours of a particular sect of Islam. A vast majority have allowed themselves to be led down this path, like rats by Pied Piper. Those that refused to be lured have been forced into silence, gagged by the implicit threat of being branded apostates, non-believers, Infidels.

Loss of identity

There still is time, yet, to fight the complete loss of Maldivian identity, to stand against the enforcement of this imported alien uniformity. It cannot be done if the first response to rational criticism is irrational accusations of apostasy.

Differences are inevitable and should be not just tolerated, but welcomed. Muslims are not the same world over. It may surprise some of those re-making themselves, willingly or otherwise, in the image of a particular sect of Islam to learn that the biggest concentrations of Muslim populations can be found in non-Arabic countries.

Not every Muslim is an Arab or every Arab a Muslim; nor does every Arab Muslim practice their faith in the same way. Seven percent of the world’s Muslims (over 50 million) live in Europe; two percent (over 7 million) in North America. Muslims today do not live in a world divided between an ‘Islamic civilization’ and a ‘Western civilisation’ nor do they conform to one look, one appearance, one set of customs – just the one God.

To sit and say nothing while Maldivian identity is taken away, while individuals are systematically turned into copies of a non-existent ideal with the argument that the right to individuality and to individual rights is but a covert tactic of ‘Western neo-colonialism’ – all in the name of Islam – now that would be a sin.

Accusations – of having been rendered brain-dead by the seemingly all-powerful silver bullets of Western media; political bias; and, above all, apostasy – should not, and will not, be allowed to silence the voices of reasoned criticism.

In the words, not of a lowly mortal critic, but the Quran itself: ‘there shall be no compulsion in religion’ (2:256).

Munirah Moosa is a journalism and international relations graduate. She is currently engaged in research into the ‘radicalisation’ of Muslim communities and its impact on international security.

All comment pieces are the sole view of the author and do not reflect the editorial policy. If you would like to write an opinion piece, please send proposals to minivan.news@gmail.com

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