Tuesday 3 February 2009

Extracts from a train conversation; Whats the dream of an average Maldivian?

I thought the journey back to Manchester would be a boring one.
But soon I realised that it may not be so , as I realised that the person who was sitting next to me was an expert in human behaviour. Someone with whom I had the opportunity to interact just once or twice before.

As the train began to move, he asked me about Maldives. Ofcourse it is one of the most beautiful tourist destinations specially for those in Europe who are going through such cold winters, as is now.

I listened to him as he spoke of how beautiful my country was. Ofcourse, Maldives is a beautiful country... and mighty proud I am of it too.

It was then that he turned around to me and said that I was the first Maldivian he has met so far. But he knew of the changes which had taken place in the recent political climate of the country, he also knew about our presidents desire to buy another homeland for Maldivians if and when we go down under due to impending environmental disaster. He also had a particular interest on another topic. The issue of heroin addicts in our country.

Perhaps he had a deep desire to understand the psychosocial vulnerabilites of our people, or perhaps he wanted to know how we managed to mess up so bad . A few questions he asked me still lingers on my mind.

' Tell me, I understand all the reason why young people must not abuse drugs...it is common to everyone so it will stand true for Maldivians too, we all know, how it leads to addiction, how it ruins ones health, family ...everything like that, but let us take one Maldivian youth and tell me why he must stop abusing drugs?"

I was listening. Did I have the answer?

' Well...tell me about the average Maldivian youth.
For example lets take a bell shaped curve, you and I know that on either side of the bell shaped curve you have a few individuals who may be different, while one side may represent the people with special needs, on the other there may be people like you or those born to the elite families, resort owners, family members of people in power etc blessed by family support etc who may have had the opportunity to pursue your dreams , get higher education, make your dreams come true, but what I want to know is about the bulk of the society as represented by the larger portion of the bell shaped curve, you know what I mean? The common man, the average Maldivian?, tell me about his dreams!
Tell me about his aspirations? Tell me about why he should choose a better life? Tell me how he can choose a better life"
Perhaps I looked a bit shocked to be thrown such statements so unexpectedly on my face, I nodded but still sat quietly.

' What about his education? After school what happens to him? Can he go to college? Can he pursue his education to university level , earn a dignified life?...or...if he choose to work, can he get a job of his choice which can stimulate his mind? Will he have the scope for career development if he choose to work hard and honestly? Will he earn enough to start a family?Can he save enough money lets say while he is still in early twenties, to invest on a home...get married...live independently....with pride and dignity?'

Ah!!!!!!!!!!! Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. I wanted him to stop. I wanted to tell him the whole circumstance and situation was different....very different. He was talking about UK.
How could I tell him , we do not have a university, we do get jobs but ...but... but....enough to start a family? Ha ha....he does not know...we just need enough to buy a bike.first..on installments then may be ...build a room no ...no....not even that..where is the land....so.. may be rent a room.....what is he talking about..savings....ha ha!!
But he continued.
'You see it is essential for young people to have a dream. It is essential for young people to pursue a meaning in life. It is essential for young people to be motivated to want to live a life of dignity, self respect. You see these avenues have to be provided by the society for the young people. It is the responsibility of the society to open such opportunity and avenues for young people and guide them on that path...so that they know they have something much better to go to, live for...'
I was nodding my head again. ' yes. yes...I wanted to say....but he did not know...many people in our country thought that young poeple only needed hafthaa nimmun hafla, ..just recreational and sports club to live happily. Who spoke about giving them a dream??? Who did??eh??"

Then he asked me ...'who gave you your dream, who helped you to pursue your dream? the fact that you are here shows me there are remarkable people in your society too....but...may be they are limited...may be for some reason those in the prisons...rehabs ...could not be reached by such people...before it became too late for them?'
He asked me again..'who gave you your dream?'
' I said, my dad....he introduced me to the word, psychology when I was just a teenager, he also introduced me to someone called Dr. Waheed (our current vice president) , who at that time told me and my family members what was a phd, and that O'L and A'L was just the first two steps on the ladder of education, further my family has stood by me and held my hand...every time i stumbled....or failed guiding me to live a better a life......'

He asked me then..'And that better life is???'

I answered,' persevering at the face of adversity, facing my failures and turning them to success, keeping my faith in Allah strong and steadfast, holding on to my family and dreaming of a better life for myself and for the people I love and to be able to contribute .....to make the lives of the people I love better....and never letting go of my aspirations....my dreams....'

He smiled and told me, ' take that message back home....share your life...and ask the people who made their dreams come true to share their lives to motivate others...specially the young to want to dream again, give them a dream, and help build a society where the young person has the opportunity to make their dreams come true through honest and hard work'
The journey was over, we were already in Piccadilly train station....he patted on my back as he moved on, with a wink.

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

This has to be one of the most engaging and interesting piece of writing I've read on the Maldivian blogosphere in a long time!

Anonymous said...

Jaa, how can it be? She said "keeping my faith in Allah strong and steadfast" near the end. How can anyone who believes in God write an interesting article?

Khilath Rasheed - journalist and blogger from Maldives said...

Why not? Our artistry and creativity has nothing to do with our beliefs.

Anonymous said...

Hi, Naaz,

This article is excellent! It does inspire me a lot, and the message conveyed here is truly remarkable! kudos to u!

Anonymous said...

echoing jaa's comments, this article is indeed an inspirational read

Unknown said...

Excellent article. I wonder how many young people made their dreams come true without support ortried very hard achieve their dreams with lots of difficulties....

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

V interesting n inspirational..pass this on to others and hope Maldivians youth get a chance to fulfill their dreams..

nish said...

this article really touched my heart... i seriously had shivers all over me..lol
im glad atleast one person can put into writing the voice of so many youth who can only 'dream' of their dreams becux of so many obstacles and difficulties we have here ......

Anonymous said...

To dream and to pursue them huh? I wasted the past five years of my life because I was apprehensive about the potential of failure (partly due to mediocre higher secondary grades) but sometime last year, I just woke up one sunny day and decided that I'd at the very least, have the consolation of knowing that I tried. So I did just that and now I am UK-bound to pursue my dreams of becoming a scientist. Of course I still do have one last challenge, but I've jumped through a lot of hoops, I've invested time and energy on this, and I am more than confident that I shall leave around September this year.

In my personal experience, dreaming about a better life is quite easy but, as you pointed out in your post, pursuing them is not really supported by the socio-economic conditions of our country. This shouldn't hamper anyone as the world is full of opportunities, whether its academic or otherwise and all one needs to do is explore.

As for the bell curve your friend pointed out, I am sure we can all help to bring the bulk of the people who represent the normal person to achieve their goals and dreams in life. I am doing my part by preaching to all those who surround me about the benefits of higher education, and on being perseverant on its pursuit, as I truly believe that it is the vital key to success. That coupled with endurance.

Anonymous said...

My parents were divorced when I was 3 months old. My father left me on the road near my maternal grandparent's house and since that day neither myself nor my Mom receieved any assistance from him. I never spoke to my father until I was a teenager and I bellieve my Mom has never spoken to him since their separation.

This was 1986 and my mom was a young 22 year old lady with a 5th grade education (5th grade by 1980s standard). However, in order to support herself and her young son she had to find a job. She left to Male' to undertake a family healh worker's course. Therefore, I grew up through the formulative years of my life without the love and affection of either of my parents. When my Mom came back home I was ready to go to school. The same year she came back home, one of her cousins returned to the Maldives with his PhD. When he came to visit us, my Mom told me that she wanted me to be like him. She told me she wanted Dr. in front of my name. That was her dream and she was prepared to do anything to realize her dream.

The next 7 seven years flew by and i was finishing up seventh grade. My mom wanted me to go to Male' to join Majeediyyaa school even though we had upto grade 10 in our island. She believed the quality of the schooling in the island was not good enough for her son to achieve her dream.But there was one small problem. Family health workers did not get paid much. I remember when her salary was MRF1130 (US$88) per month. There was no way she could have afforded to send me to Male' but she somehow found a way. She supported me for 5 years of schooling in Male'; 3 in Majeediyyaa and 2 in CHSE. She paid MRF1000 every month to the house I was staying at and she gave me a monthly stipend of MRF500. Her monthly salary had risen to MRF1410 by then but that didnt leave her anything after spending on me. Later I found out that she went without buying anything for herself. She practically wore the same clothes she already had during that 5 years. That is the determination of a mother to keep her dream alive.

Right now I am an undergraduate environmental engineering student in the United States. I am very happy for my mom that I am on my way to make her dream come true.

You dont have to be born to an elite family or be a son of a resort owner or a family member of people in power to have a dream. And it takes only determination to realize your dream.

Anonymous said...

We need to have more solid parents and adults who can inspire their children to dream big. Our children ages 14-16 who study in secondary schools should be given the opportunity to learn all sciences, a combination of Arts and commerce or business studies with subjects along with languages and mathematics. Information technology and art cannot be ruled out too till their GCE mock exams. Only by doing so, our youngsters would really understand their strengths and interests to pursue their future dreams to university education. Now children were given just one choice only science, arts or commerce and business studies which limit their further studies. Majority of one generation is wasted, but that does not mean we should go on like that forever.It’s about time that we do everything we can to have a better youthful population than now.

Anonymous said...

If you haven't found a reason to die for... your life is not worth living.

Anonymous said...

my good friend said, recite kurusi and your dreams come true.