Tag: thaa atoll

House burns to ground in Gaaf dhaal Vaadhoo

A house in Gaaf Dhaal Atoll Vaadhoo was consumed by fire last evening while its owner was out fishing.

Island Council President Mohamed Waheed told local media that all that remained of the two-room house after neighbors extinguished the fire were the walls.

The cause of the fire is yet to be determined, however police are investigating the incident.

The incident is the fifth case of possible arson to be reported in the last three weeks.

Early on the morning of December 26 a car belonging to a group of American scientists was set on fire in Addu. Locals observed that it was the first time such an event had taken place in the area, while council officials wondered whether the act was a result of rising religious tensions in the days since the December 23 protests for Islam.

Two days later, Noonu Atoll Miladhoo island council office was burned to the ground in what police suspected was an arson attack. Speaking to Minivan News at the time of the incident, Council President Hussain Ghassan said the council had received “several threats” from some people unhappy with the council, of which a majority sides with opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP).

On January 2, 2012, police arrested one suspect but did not provide details.

On the evening of January 3, a furnished but uninhabited house in Thaa Atoll Thimarafushi caught fire. Police said they suspected arson as there was evidence of an attempted break-in.

On January 4, the engine of a boat en route to Male’ from Kulhudhufushi carrying 175 passengers caught fire near Aarah in Male’ Atoll. Two passengers were injured.

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Mass resignation of expatriate staff at Thaa Atoll Hospital

All expatriate staff working in Thaa Atoll Hospital on the island of Veymandoo in Thaa Atoll have resigned following a strike over visa and financial issues with the Health Corporation.

Assistant Manager and spokesperson for Thaa Atoll Hospital, Midhath Naseer, told Minivan News that the hospital’s doctors had submitted their resignations, which were accepted on Sunday.

“On Sunday there was no doctor at the hospital, but the next day at 12:00pm we replaced all the doctors by bringing them in from Laamu Atoll and nearby islands. They have started working and the hospital is fully functioning,’’ Midhath said. “We arranged it so that any patient with a critical condition could receive services.”

Midhath said the major issue was that the expat doctors’ visas were not renewed before they expired, which made it difficult for them to return to their home countries in urgent cases.

‘’One of the doctors apologised to us and withdrew the resignation,’’ he said, adding that the doctor had now rejoined Thaa Atoll Hospital.

He said the expat doctors and nurses who resigned had also complained about being included in the pension scheme, which lowered their wages.

Atoll Councilor Abdulla Shareef told Minvan News that the resigned doctors and nurses were still on the island and that he did not know when they would depart.

‘’They met us recently, but since the Health Corporation has accused the Atoll Council of politicising this issue after we met with them, we are not involved in this anymore,’’ Shareef said. ‘’But the council thinks that we being the Atoll Councilors have the authority to meet with them anytime they request.’’

Shareef said that he did not have any official information about the resignations.

The doctors and nursing staff working at the hospital – which is almost entirely staffed by expatriates – declared themselves on strike on Sunday, and met with the atoll council to discuss their issues.

Haveeru reported that head of the Atoll Council, Shareef, had told the paper that the Health Corporation was counting staff as having used their vacation days despite staff waiting in the Maldives for their visas to be renewed.

Doctors and nurses told the council that in some cases their vacation days were all but spent by the time they actually reached their home country.

Shareef also told the paper that the hospital was using expired medicines imported during 2004 tsunami, and that doctors were being blamed for not having enough medicine in the hospital.

Meanwhile, an Indian gynecologist working at the Hoarafushi Health Centre in Haa Alifu Atoll has declared that she will “never come back to the Maldives” after two masked islanders attacked and gagged her on Monday night.

“They broke in to my room with their faces covered, holding knives, and they tried to attack me,” the doctor told Minivan News yesterday. “I could only see their eyes. It was like the worst nightmare I have ever seen.”

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Thaa Atoll Hospital’s doctors on strike

Foreign doctors and nurses working at Thaa Atoll Hospital on Veymandoo in Thaa Atoll have declared themselves on strike over visa issues they say are preventing them from leaving the country.

Head of Thaa Atoll Hospital, Midhath Nasir, told Minivan News that expat doctors and nurses have complained that their visas have not been renewed accordingly and that they have had difficulties in leaving the country in emergency situations.

“All the expat doctors and nurses have stopped work and all the patients that came today had to go home without receiving any services,” Nasir said, but added that there were no patients currently admitted to the hospital in a critical condition.

A technician working in the laboratory of the hospital recently needed to urgently return to his home country, Nasir said, but was unable to do so because of the visa renewal issue.

“His visa was not renewed and because he had an expired visa, he could not make there on time,” Nasir said.

Nasir said that he had requested the doctors and nurses make a list of issues and hand it over to him so that he could forward it to the Health Corporation.

“I do not know what other issues they have, after I get the list I will know,” he said. “All the nurses and doctors currently working in the hospital are expats.”

Minivan News requested a contact number for one of the striking staff, but Nasir said he did not have the contact number of any doctor or nurse working at the hospital.

Meanwhile local newspaper Haveeru reported that more than 25 expats working at the hospital had met with the atoll council and complained about their issues.

The paper reported that head of the Atoll Council, Abdulla Shareef, had told the paper that the Health Corporation was counting staff vacation days in contradiction to how their contracts required the days to be counted, as the days staff had spend in the Maldives waiting for their visas to be renewed were being deducted from their vacation allowance.

Doctors and nurses told the council that in some cases their vacation days were all but over by the time they reached their home country.

Shareef also told the paper that the hospital was using expired medicines imported during 2004 tsunami, and that doctors were being blamed for not having enough medicine in the hospital.

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Police arrest crocodile

Police have caught and detained a four foot-long crocodile in Thaa Atoll.

Sub-Inspector Ahmed Shiyam said that the animal was caught on a uninhabited island in Thaa Atoll, after it was discovered by a group of people picnicking on the island.

”It is now in police custody,” said Shiyam. ”Police had to catch it because it was a very dangerous species of animal.”

Shiyam said police had not yet decided what to do with the crocodile, and had informed the Environment Ministry about the crocodile. However State Environment Minister Ahmed Ali Manik said he had no information about the creature.

A nine foot-long crocodile, ‘Kimboo’, is kept in the Kudakudhinge Bageecha (children’s park) in Male’, after it was caught by Maldives National Defence Force cadets in 1998.

In July 2010, students at Billabong High School in Male’ launched a campaign to ‘Save Kimboo’, due to the small size of its enclosure and poor treatment.

Kimboo occasionally makes it into local media and even has his own Facebook page calling for his release, but so far nothing has eventuated.
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50 foot dead whale found near Thaa Atoll

A 50 foot long dead whale has been discovered by Maldives National Defence Force MNDF Coast Guard, near Thaa Atoll while it was drifting on the ocean inwards to the Atoll.

Major Abdul Raheem said the whale was first found by a fishing boat and reported to the MNDF.

”when we reached the area, the whale was drifting towards an island in Thaa Atoll,” said Abdul Raheem. ”if the whale was left drifting, there was the possibility that it reaches the island and that could be a very big trouble for the islanders.”

Raheem said the MNDF tied the whale and drifted it away from the atoll to an area that would not move towards any atoll.

”for health impacts that may rise when a dead whale drifts to an island, we moved it away,” he said. ”it cannot be moved away easily after it drifts to any island.”

The whale was drifted away from the Maldivian islands by a joint operation conducted with the Police, Maldives National Defence Force MNDF and a fishing boat.

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Murder of newborn baby sends mother and daughter to life in prison

The Criminal Court has sentenced a woman and her mother to life in prison for killing an illegitimate new born baby.

Aminath Hussain, 31, and her 64 year old mother Sakeena Ali, both of Omadhu, Thaa Atoll confessed to the crime in court.

According to the court, the baby was delivered in a toilet, after which the grandmother submerged the baby in a pool of water.

They then put the baby into a polythene bag and buried it near the beach.

The Criminal Court has acquitted the 21 year old father of the crime.

Omadhu Case

Police Sub Inspector Ahmed Shiyam said there were “some clues that [the father] had some involvement,” but added that the court had made its decision and the police respected it.

Shiyam said although these types of cases are “not [reported on] a lot” there is another similar case currently being processed where a new born baby was “thrown into the sea” in Laamu Atoll.

Island Councillor for Omadhu Ahmed Abdulla said the incident occurred last year.

He said an islander knocked on his door early one morning when he was preparing to attend the first school assembly of the year.

“He knocked and told me to come out quick,” Abdulla said, “and when I came out, he told me that a baby had been killed on the beach.”

Abdulla said he immediately went to the beach and saw the baby’s legs protruding from the polythene bag.

He said there was blood around the baby’s neck, which appeared to be broken.

Abdulla then informed the police, who told him to monitor the crime scene until they arrived.

Shiyam confirmed the police had received a call from the island office reporting the crime.

Illegitimate children under Sharia law

Because abortion is illegal in the Maldives (the exception being if an unborn child is diagnosed with Thalassaemia), some women travel overseas to perform the operation..

But many cannot afford to so.

Deputy Minister of Health and Family Mariya Ali said “we don’t know a lot about it but there have been other [similar] cases.”

“It’s something that should be considered under child mortality,” she said, adding that there had been no comprehensive studies on the subject.

“We don’t hear about it a lot,” Ali said, “and we don’t know the exact prevalence of these cases.”

She added that many cases are probably not reported.

Mariya said there could be many reasons behind a family choosing to kill a baby, the main reason probably being that “children born out of wedlock still face discrimination” in society.

She noted that other factors, like the mother’s mental state, should be considered when looking at the reasons why people resort to these crimes.

Because under Sharia law premarital sex is forbidden, young couples can find themselves looking for a solution to get rid of an unwanted, and illegitimate, child.

Mariya said the Ministry of Health and Family would “talk to the Islamic Ministry and see how we can deal with these issues and reduce the number of cases.”

She added that “under Maldivian law, this is considered murder.”

Mohamed Shihaab of Child Abuse Watch Maldives did not hesitate in saying a crime such as this one “is not child abuse, it is murder.”

He said “some people think children born out of wedlock do not have a right to life,” adding that it was a major concern for the country.

“We need to look at how justice is served,” Shihaab said. “In how many cases has it not been served?”

“People need to accept we live in a more complex society. The police, the Prosecutor General and the judiciary also need to be more advanced.”

Sheikh Abdulla Jameel said people were not afraid of committing these kind of crimes because the courts did not punish according to Sharia law.

He explained that the Qur’an says a person must be killed if the court finds them guilty of a murder.

“The judge decides how [the person] will be killed,” explained Sheikh Abdulla, adding that “people would be afraid to commit such crimes if the courts start punishing according to Islamic Sharia.”

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