I read a newspaper article in which the president has said some very forceful statements in reference to the current issues related to the release of prisoners on parole/family visits. The messages that I get from his words are that he considers that those in the prison and those released for family visits are 'our own people', and that he is determined to see them as rehabilitated and responsible individuals of the society, before the end of five years.
I think , this stand he has taken, so explicitly stated amidst criticism of the release of these prisoners from various authorities , reflects great courage and determination to see to the rehabilitation of these individuals. The task he has taken is very challenging, full of great obstacles and cannot be met with ease.
When we quote that more than 80% of our prison population are drug addicts, who probably are young male adults, we are talking about a huge group of people who are in need of treatment and rehabilitation and causing a huge burden on the country. While we must acknowledge that there is a lack of proper prison based rehabilitation , or community based rehabilitation in the country, and that our human resources to deal appropriately with this situation is grossly inadequate, can we afford to turn a blind eye and allow the prisons to bursts at its hem with people who have the chance of becoming better , who can with the support of appropriate resources, become good and great citizens of the country?
I think all Maldivians want to see this happen, but somewhere cannot really believe that these people can become better. And we are afraid that these people will cause more chaos in our lives and in our society once again.
To allow a paradigm shift in the minds of all of us, in relation to this is one of the greatest challenges ahead of us, this is about thinking out of the matrix, this is about bringing about a change in our belief system, this is about hope that those on whom we have given up hope, may still find light at the end of the tunnel. This is about seing beyond the labels stamped on their forehead..' addict...criminal...prisoner...bad person...threat....etc' and allowing them to feel ' they are our own' and giving them atleast this one last chance.
If my son (and they are all our sons...) was in the prison, at this moment I will thank god that he may get a second chance for a normal life and offer him all the support I can to make him a better person. And that will be the greatest contribution I, as an individual can make to participate in the process of change. Just imagine the magnitude of difference we can make, if we as a community unite and offer what ever support we can to make an impact on the lives of these people. At the moment , for many of us, it is perhaps difficult to even imagine this possibility.
However, it appears to me that we are in the midst of a sort of reconciliation process, we have never seen before in this country. This is something in which we can all play a positive role to make a difference.
I admit, this entire effort requires careful strategising , because this will not be a goal that will be easy to achieve but it is also ' not something impossible'. It is left for us to rise above the level of positive criticism we have indulged in so far and do something constructive by making the difficult and different decision, however challenging it may be.
8 comments:
You are right on there. Thank you Naz for this great post.
The one great thing about Anni is that, most of the time (except in the unusual case of nominating Dr. Aminath Jaleel as his running mate), he would do things that go against mainstream belief because he believes that it will ultimately be good for us.
As a media person, I accept that the local media has to be largely blamed for not diseminating enough information to enlighten our people. Hence, most Maldivians still view addicts akin to something like sub-humans or even animals because the media has failed to make people aware how large a population of our youth are suffering from many psychological issues, due to sudden urbanisation and globalisation resulting in the loss of personal identity.
If Maldives has enough psychiatrists and pscyhologists to counsel the affected youth, most of them will not go into addiction. Likewise if such professionals are made available even now, we can reform many addicts as well and bring them into mainstream society.
If the state of Queensland found that a large percent of its children, adolescent, teenagers and youth (particularly from the age group 18-24) is suffering from psychological troubles related to a modern and stressful life, we can only imagine how much psychological woes our own youth must be suffering (from due to lack of space and privacy in Male' to lack of opportunity in rural islands, to name just a FEW key issues).
If only the media would highlight these, most Maldivians will start empathising with the unfortunate young people who go into addiction because they DON'T KNOW there are alternative ways to deal with psychological woes (without taking the easy way out of getting that elusive mental relief from substances), and start seeing them as "our sons and daughters" rather than some foreign, "other", alien creatures devoid of human intelligence and consciousness.
Dear Naz,
I agree with you totally on the sad condition and the illtreatment for addicts in the Maldives.
But unfortunately I do not agree with the way Anni is doing it as rule of law must come first. They are in jail only because the previous regime did not give a damn about rule of law either.
For me two wrongs odesn't make a right. Although I sympathize with the situation I think first a clearly law on parole must be passed from the parliament (as stipulated in the constitution)before parole can be granted
Hi Naz. Just wanted to correct my earlier comment because the word 'NOT' was missing.
What I meant was the unusual case of NOT nominating Dr. Aminath Jameel as Anni's running mate. It was tragic that Anni in that particular case succumbed to fundamentalist elements in his own party and blocked the chances of Dr. Aminath Jameel, a great person, of becoming the Vice President. In that respect, I have more admiration for Ibra who defied extremist views and chose Nahid as his running mate. Though he lost, we have cause to believe that as more Maldivians get enlightened, one day we will have our own women serving as President, Vice President, Parliament Speaker, etc.
Cheers.
We need two proper rehabs in Maldives. One for addicts. The other for relatives of addicts.
Why relatives of addicts? Our society almost has a whole has an issue of co-dependency. They all have a hard time accepting addicts, as who they are. In a society so closely bound, I guess it would be hard to break out of the cycle we addicts go through without the proper support of family and friends. Counselors are barely aware of this issue, while our families are oblivious to the fact that they too may have a role in changing our lives.
I do agree with you on the need for second chances and rehabilitation especially given that I believe, given current research, some people maybe biologically more prone to certain behavior than others. That is ofcourse not to say people shouldn't be held accountable for their actions and, as the anonymous commenter above said, the rule of law must come first.
Anyway, I hope some good for the society comes out of this course of action...
its good that we r talking about this.
@ Maldiveshealth: I woudlnt call this talking! this is a concerned citizem's personal blog. Talking for such issues will be talking at a more formal level.. enough and more gatherings are held to talk of wrong doings of politicians.. rarely is an event held to talk about how the society is doing!
Dear rxs
the truth and the reality and the question is that even if i go out on the streets with a banner defending and asking for the rights and better treatment of addicts... would you all join?
have you attended any meetings held by care society? Have you visited anyone who has a disability and volunteered to help?
So .. yes .. whether it is talk in blogs .. in newspapers ... or a concerned citizens feelings views.. it becomes TAlk to me.
Stop bulshiting and lets talk the talk until we reach a day where we will act the talk as well.
Post a Comment