Social Issues which Influence and Impact the Maldivian Society

Social Issues which Influence and Impact  the Maldivian Society   (Compiled based on fb/social media interactions/news headlines;2014 December)by Dr.Aishath Ali Naaz
1	Child Abuse/Incest and Rape
2	Issues related to bullying at school and work environment
3	Violence, aggression, gangs
4	Drug abuse
5	High Divorce rates and broken families
6	Urbanization and its impact; Male’ being the central island where all basic services are located
7	Inflation and how it is influencing the life style of the common man
8	Unattractive salaries and benefits to locals  employed in the private sector
9	Over crowding of Male’; congested living space, crowded  unsafe roads
10	Unemployed and unemployable youth
11	Politicians taking advantage of naïve and misinformed citizens
12	Difficulty in getting appointments with medical practitioners in hospitals in Male’ both in public and private hospitals and the difficulty in staying in queue for long hours for appointments
13	Loss of faith and trust in the judiciary
14	Religious scholars meddling with national politics creating confusion and chaos in the minds of citizens.
15	Inequality of income; in equal distribution of wealth and poverty
16	Neglecting of the aged and old parents; unresolved dilemmas of the aging population in the Maldives
17	Initiation of smoking by very young people
18	High level of sexual promiscuity and sexual deviations among the youth
19	Corruption at  all levels
20	Character assassinations of prominent persons, particularly those who enter politics
21	Disruption of religious unity; one section in extremist thought, others with secular thought etc
22	Lack of awareness of judicial rights and independence
23	Lack of awareness of gender equality
24	Increasing domestic violence, lack of awareness of spousal rights
25	Lack of awareness among youth that minor selling of drugs is the pathway to drug trafficking and organized crime
26	Lack of adequate extra curricular activities for school going child and out of school youth
27	Lack of awareness on deserved social welfare from the state to its deserving citizens
28	Loss of trust with public institutions
29	Corruptions linked to politicians
30	Developing racist attitude in Maldives for foreign laborers of South Asian Origin

It is left for us to do more social research in the above areas. Definitely we require more research, policy and plans to address these dilemmas which directly influence our society. This perhaps is not the most comprehensive list of social problems we face, neither is it presented in a hierarchy which can demonstrate which problem is more predominant over the other. For that, young people of Maldives, studying acorss the world, need to put their thinking caps on and begin to work. Your nation needs you , to address these and more challenges which has made our beautiful paradise one of the most horrendous places to live in. It is up to us to selflessly sacrifice and contribute to nation building. Happy new year....gift from me to all concerned citizens. In sha Allah in 2015 you will see me addressing these issues, either through write ups, research or other programs which I hope to bring to your attention.

Experience Says............

Some times it is the person whom you trust the most who lets you down. Often one exposes the vulnerabilities with the thought that these would never be used to hurt you, as it is your hurt and hopes you share with the trusted. Yet, time and time again, you feel stabbed from the back, your hopes, your intellectual properties are stolen, and you are left wondering, what the heck happened. Do not worry, surrender to Allah, those who are intelligent and good are blessed sooner than later. Keep going, keep sharing, keep giving hope to others and keep your own hopes afloat. I have come to believe, if one person betrays the trust , a dozen others are still worth your trust

Back to blogging..........!

I have decided to resume writing in my blog again. Hope to be regular with this and will write as many articles as time allows me to write. 

Naazu-ge.blogspot.com..

I did not realize that people were still visiting and reading this!

Naazu-ge is ranked 7,412,465 in the United States. 'Dr.Aishath ali Naaz 's blog.'

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Prison Rehabilitation and Reintergration

Since I came back from the UK, I have wanted to do something significant. I was lucky to have got the opportunity to be the local consultant for this project. The end result is this report. I hope the general public gets to read it, the policy makers make sure the recommendations are implemented. If, not this would be such a wasted effort.

I thank all the people who helped with this research. Please read and comment. Make a noise about the findings.

A Message From FB Which Touched Me.....

The following is a letter I got as a fb message, after she went
through one of my fb albums. This is what I wrote under the attached photo.

"the struggle to survive...for once there was nothing to smile
about...but pain, hunger....poverty....finally the
loss......october 2001......a death and the divorce which followed....."
I am happy that ... my pain..and how I coped with the losses
helped you to deal with your own.

What we often forget is the strength within
us...put to the test,I know not just me but majority of us can deal with
the dissapointments, failures and losses we are confronted with. We have to resort to our strengths...ofcourse.

Thank you for sending me this
mail. I am posting only a part of your beautiful letter here...but there was a big lump in my throat for several minutes after reading your letter.
My hope is that you get the strength...to deal with lifes challenges. Believe in your self, like me you will be surprised with the amount of internal strength Allah has gifted us with.
The letter goes as such:
"....................Naz, i
may not know you very well and you may not remember me, but believe it (n i know many have already told you
this) you are one of the bravest people iv
known. I cant imagine the pain you wen thru. I know how it must have been to go thru a divorce and suffering and loosing everything, but i cant possible imagine you lost ur baby too, at the same time.

N got over all and carried on. I was afraid i will never be the same again. I was thinking i wouldnt ever smile again or trust anyone or maybe go insane. Bt i was holding on cos i had a daughter who
depended on me, n she was only ........... If i lost her, i dont know what cud
have happened. U truly are an inspiration. A very brave woman and im sure ur daughter wud b so proud of you. She's indeed very lucky to have you.

Ur life, that one album made me see life in a
different way. It gave me hope and reduced my problems to a small speck.
Im so glad and happy you are smiling again. May Allah bless you always and reward you for the struggle u put through to get to where u r now. :)
...............'

Thank you.....dear.

My answers on 'Friday with Masood' show last week

Here is a link to my interview on the DhiTV show 'Friday with Masood'. I speak on the topics of interest as stated in this blog.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HBjGxG5Avnw

!

Todays news is not good news!

How is it that things have come to this. Dhi TV staff attacked, blood drops of haveeru newspaper staff on our streets....whats going on!
http://minivannews.com/politics/2010/03/15/dhitv-and-haveeru-staff-attacked/
Is this the tip of an iceberg? What are we doing to unravel and dismantle the underworld....let not Maldives become a Monrovia, like this video shows....
We are already afflicted by drug addiction, do not let the gang lords take over our nation to chaos.
Let the colours unite to stop the violence and decide to do our part to unify this nation against all political, economic and social odds so that we get our right for peaceful existance.
Do not click the link below if you cannot handle the images...its not easy to watch these scenes of violence ...
Never should we allow things in our country reach this far. Prevention of such a state of affairs will happen with actions we implement today.

http://www.vbs.tv/watch/the-vice-guide-to-travel/the-vice-guide-to-liberia

Increasing Incidence of Crime in the Streets of Male’: What Can We Make Out of It?

Everyday, our newspapers are unfolding stories which demonstrate immense psychological trauma and physical injury caused to innocent people by those who had attempted to harm or kill them.

A father and son walking out of a mosque is stabbed, a couple going on a ride is stopped and the wife gang raped, a youth walking down the street is knifed to death, businessmen attacked right before your eyes and robbed of hundreds of thousands of Rufiyaa. …this list appears to be endless and growing.
So how can we explain what is really going on? Who knows!
It will be very easy for me or for any one else to point a finger at an individual, an institution or the government and say, well you all have failed, and miserably at that.
It will be very easy for me to say, a particular political party is responsible for our dissent into chaos and crime. Even easier would be to say, all the heroin addicts are to be blamed for what is going on.
However, I would rather say a combination of factors may be contributing towards the increased incidence of crime in our country.

Unfortunately, even though it is two years or more since MaldivesResearch (http://www.maldivesresearch.org/policy/research.html) proposed to do a research on the issue of gang violence in the Maldives, the importance of doing such a research as a priority has not been acknowledged (either due to lack of funds to invest in a research of this nature...or due to lack of will to investigate the issue). Had the research been carried out when it was proposed and discussed (in my presence with the past and the present presidents of the Maldives on two separate occasions) by now we would probably be better equipped to comment on what is really going on, and there fore be ready with a concrete and holistic plan of action to address this distressing issue.
Instead, we chose to run amok in the wild trying to find a solution to the issue based on subjective understandings and interpretations some individuals may have regarding the problem and on how we ought to deal with them.

Meanwhile, precious life is lost in the precious time spent on mismanaging the issue, bungling it up just as we did with the policies regarding substance abuse management in the country. It does not matter that several hundreds of Rufiyaa may be wasted on investigating single cases, while we fail to look at the whole picture.
When the police shows to the public, weapons they have confiscated in raids from houses in Male’ such as swords, releases persons with potential training in terrorist activities into the streets of Male’, re-arrest those who are serving life sentences from scenes of crime, one has to wonder, what is really going on here? Who is putting all the pieces of this together? Would it all be ever put together?

Are we just going to be mute observers when our fathers, mothers, sons, daughters, sisters and brothers are killed or injured right before our eyes?
Or are we as concerned citizens going to raise our level of responsibility and do something to protect our society?
Why should we tolerate such a level of violence and crime as we are observing today? Should not the policy makers be looking at the loopholes in the legislature that is making violent criminals escape the legal system? Should not the police be making great effort to unmask those who may be behind organized crime that may be occurring in the country? Should not the family members be doing something more at a preventive level to stop their children from chosing the path of crime? Should we not be looking at why we may be afraid of diving deeper into the evils in our society? Are we afraid to be knifed to death if we raise our voices against those who are slowly destroying our society?
Justice has to be done…I cannot but imagine at this moment what must have gone through the 15 year old boys mind and heart when he and his father were mercilessly knifed nor what that husband had gone through when his wife was gang raped...right before his eyes...............!

Would return to blogging......

This is to just say...I am off blogging for the next few months...as I am going to be very busy ....but I hope to return to writing as soon as I can and express my thoughts and feelings on topics of interest to me.....!!!
Thanks!

Changing Flavours of Maldivian Cuisine: A Blog and Book on Maldivian Recipes

Since cooking is my hobby, I thought it would be great to document all that I routinely cook at home and make it into a book of recipes. Therefore, myself and Soba(who also love cooking and have shared her recipes in this book) had gone ahead with the idea and put our heads together in putting these recipes together. Here is a link to our blog, where we hope to publish atleast 40 out of our 250 recipes presented in Dhumashi.

http://dhumashi.wordpress.com/

About our book;

'Dhumashi is a book of Maldivian recipes which we hope to publish soon.In this blog we will be publishing a number of selected recipes from our book, some of which represent some typical Maldivian food which we routinely cook at home. Some are easy to cook recipes which we have prepared keeping in mind the changing life style and emerging food habits of the young and busy Maldivians.

This book is authored by the two of us; Aishath Ali Naaz and Soba Ahmed and is a result of sharing a kitchen for seven months. We wish to bring the changing flavours of Maldivian cookery through our book which has over 250 recipes in it.

We have tested and tasted these recipes. We hope it will be accepted by young people especially by students who live abroad who has to cook up good meals, real fast which retain the flavours of home. We have also presented some of our favourite traditional dishes .
Our hope is you get to enjoy our Maldivian cuisine as much as we do!'

Happy cooking!

Ramalhan Mubarik!

Wishing all my readers Ramalhan Mubarik!

Say NO; Maldives Becoming an Indian Protectorate?

Words about Maldives becoming an Indian protectorate was uttered by some Indians in a restaurant in Rusholme, Manchester, UK just 2 days back. The Maldivian who heard the conversation could not believe it. Ofcourse something like that could not happen, will never be allowed to happen. This just cannot be true.

But the mvblogosphere was already posting blog articles about this issue with reference to an article published in the Indian Express. I refused to believe it, until I read enough to understand that this may be a possibility!

But, how could it happen?

Read the Gate Way to India; think about lakshwadeep; think about what goes through your mind as you listen to the dhivehi songs sung by Maliku people; think about November 3rd 1988; and the establishment of IGMH; the number of referals by IGMH for further treatment to India.......our health care system is dependent on Indian assistance; think of the number of people making India their home; read all that is written in this article http://www.mnasheed.com/2009/08/is-maldives-going-under-indian-protection/ ; think about how British East India company gradually took over Indian independence; think about the possibility of the 'Indian military arrangements as being dictated to us as a price we have to pay for getting Indian financial assistance to alleviate the economic and financial hardship faced by' the Maldives; think about our plight......dependent on India for health care?; dependent on India to alleviate our economic and financial hardship?; dependent on India for national security?; think of of your freedom now; think of what you may be about to become.

Why?
Somali pirates to be blamed?; links between Maldives and pockets of terrorism?; Maldivians involved in Mumbai blasts in some remote way?; islands or resorts under threat of terrorist attacks?; possibilities that some time in future there may be a misuse of our islands and oceans by terrorists?

Sorry, I refuse to buy the logic.

Please do not sign any agreement that will snatch away these feelings from our hearts. Please do not sell our nation; please do not take away our rights over our homeland from us. Please do not take away our right to exist as an independent nation. Please do not do anything that will compromise our sovereignity.

For if you do, our blood will rage, our souls would snap, our hearts will cry, our pride will crash and our nation would bleed in such pain.

I believe in our leaders to never do any thing that would hurt and harm our existance. I believe in people power that will rise like a tide to confront any threat that our nation may have to witness from any other power or nuclear power.

The sons , daughters , mothers , fathers, granmas and grandpas of Maldives who love their nation and its independence dearly will not sleep restful sleep until they get to know the facts about this gossip of handing over 25 islands, our seas and the sky to the Indian military for what ever purpose. Let us know what this is all about as soon as possible. Let us see the exact content of this agreement that is supposed to be signed by the defence minister of India when he visits Maldives later this week.

Maldives Towards a Future Without Drugs;My Thoughts for Discussion Board of Facebook

On Detoxification, Rehabilitation and Prevention of Drug abuse in Maldives

On Detoxification

1. Do we need new detox centers across the country ?
2.Can we have detox teams who can visit all atolls to conduct detoxification camps. Visiting teams to train primary health care physicians on detox methods and open the doors of health care centres and regional hospitals for detox purposes.
3. Detox team at a central location like villingili (detox centre?) can be the focal point to network with the detox work carried out thru out the country?
4. Detox teams to visit with senior NA and NARANON members to set up meetings and remain for longer duration till island communities becomes self sufficient. 5. Have a good referral system established to refer those who need further institutionalised care for further rehabilitation

On Treatment and Rehabalitation

1. Decentralise treatment( more than it is now). Difficult to run big centres and several disadvantages in having large centres such as DRC himmafushi, working on a single treatment method like TC.
2. Select more regions and have centres with few beds, encourage different models of treatment to take place, allow option for treatment methods within the country
3. Privatize rehabilitation, but have specific minimum standards to be practiced, with a focal point to monitor nation wide rehabilitation centres, may be NNCB
4. Allow ex addicts to play a major role in the treatment and rehabilitation process , allow professionals to be equally involved.
5. Begin treatment and rehab in the prison
6. Decentralise community based tr and reh.
7. Segregate those with criminial records and without, when offering treatment.
8. Important to clean up NNCB (keeping in view auditor generals report on NNCB)

Prevention and Awareness

1.INTRODUCE EVIDENCE BASED PARENTING PROGRAM NATIONWIDE.
2.Introduce school based awareness program that have been tested in neighbouring countries EX. The scout badge program followed in some of the Malaysian schools and life skills education 3. Expand mentoring among school children with behavioral problems
4. Increase the opportunities for employment and further education for those who complete education ( high school)
5. Increase spirituality and meaning in life.......religous/spiritual education
6. Increase community rehabilitation and develop the employment assistance program for recovering addicts.

I think the outcome of this major event would be to produce a plan of action that would steer the country towards a drug free country. So ( I am being deliberately critical here) , at the end some papers would be generated. So whats new? How many such papers, how many such conferences and workshops have been conducted in the country? What was the outcome? True, we have new and determined leadership, we have the National Drug Council....true..aye. BUT.

1) Would you all address in the paper (action plan) a mechanism to ensure that what is on paper would be definitely put in to action? Ensure that this is not just another bureaucratic stunt and that this paper would not end up collecting dust some where as has happened so many times in the past?

2) It is important thing to have a professional group to develop, monitor research and review the drug situation, quality and outcome of treatment, rehab and prevention programmes carried out across the country. They can be made responsible in facilitating a National Annual Conference related to substance abuse issues in the country. This can be the forum where the outcome of the programmes conducted in the country through out that year can be presented, yes with evidence and then review accordingly.

3) Understand why previous programmes failed or was forced to be stopped midway or whether they were discarded or shredded. This has to be understood to ensure that what you start today, will not meet the same end. To ensure that whatever programmes that are implemented ( either by the government or NGOS) will have a time line, a starting point, the process, an end point and opportunity for review and follow up. Unless this is done, some one will start a new program today, next day some one else will come, discredit it and put it in the bin (without ever knowing how useful or useless this was). We have to make sure this sort of thing does not disrupt the programs in the country. I think , this issue has to be addressed in a concrete way if whatever we may decide is to take real shape.

Any way, what happens , what is decided in this conference will surely play a major role in the policy decisions that are going to be implemented in the near future.The best of our brains , all stakeholders and our leaders are present in this gathering so good is bound to happen! I am sure.

Personal Musings; Revolution, Reform and Nation Building

It is difficult to pass through this period without recollecting the events which occurred on 12th/13th August 2004 in the Maldives.I believe that Evan’s death on 2003 , was the last straw that was needed for many people to actively decide on changing not only the destiny of a nation but end decades of silent suffering many people were enduring in the country.

I remember standing near the dead body of this boy, wondering why and how things had come to this, in a nation of such peace loving people. How could human cruelty stretch so far? The wounds on this boy’s body which have now become the symbols of prison torture for many of us were caused by men born to Maldivian parents. How did these people learn such cruelty....and how dare they inflict such suffering on a helpless person.

I watched frozen in a moment of silence as people moved silently past the body.

I stood close by, when the former president visited the cemetery.Amidst the chaos and confusion, I thought, “Here is a leader looking at the death of his legacy and lying on the parapet is not only the dead body of a young man but of a lad who was born during his rule and who grew up to represent the problems which malice the society he governed, to be killed by torture.. !”

I was amazed about our people who were so tolerant and so civilized....they just allowed him to come and witness first hand what his regime had done ..........'.Despite the pain we all felt, pain caused by the ruthless murder which happened under his leadership, no one harmed him, no one uttered a word.I was personally interested in watching his face when his glance fell on this murdered youth.

I wanted to know what he felt, perhaps some of his emotions would show…. or so I thought. It was then, that I realised how vain all this was. I thought I saw teary eyes, fear and pain similar to what we were feeling. This was a man who perhaps never wanted something like this to occur under his rule and in that cemetery on that day I saw an old man, coming to terms with the reality that things had gone so far... in fact too far.....

I felt so sorry, so sorry that this boy had to lose his life like this. Sorry that many often forget to think that all good things and even the bad ends. The world has seen the rise and fall of empires and kingdoms, and right before us we were witnessing a beginning of an end.

Little kids, women and men, old and young, went past the body in such eerie silence. No words could describe what was happening to our hearts and minds at that moment.A young addict came and wept near me saying....the person who was dead was his friend and he will fight to death........

Next the mobs happened like a logical progression of what was the next best thing.

Through the chaos of that day, new leaders were born. New hopes, new determinations were chalked out by ordinary people who decided to stand up for what was right. Some decided to support the waves of change in silence and some were confined to express their views due to reasons they just cannot ever share. The brave stood up and decided to do something about it, so that their sons and daughters will not have to lie so mercilessly killed right before their eyes.

At some point later, I felt that people were working hard to make amends to what went wrong. I believed that the hard work that began in wanting to change the system was really not stemming from a desire to remain in power. I believed there was remorse and determination to make significant changes to the lives of the common man. I believed that there was a genuine need and effort to remove the black stain caused by this event. But how difficult it was going to be to redefine the legacy of this leader! How challenging it would be to correct everything that had rotted within the system that had governed our nation for decades.

On the night the reform agenda was announced, I sat among the audience and felt that at last, this was proof that peoples’ voices for a need to change have been recognised. Whatever else people may say or think, here was a leader who had done a lot of good to our country but under his rule many changes occurred which made dignified people beg for basic health care, shelter, water and food. The moral and social fabric of the society was torn to bits, drug abuse had become rampant and crime rate was on the rise.

The rich just continued to become richer and the poor became poorer by the day, the gap between the two was too much to tolerate. Some of us were struggling for 2 decent meals a day, working day and night between jobs while others.....were bathing in mineral water, flying to neighbouring countries for personal pampering, shopping and relaxation sessions.

Often I felt I was living in a sort of kingdom, where some people were gifted with laurels and roles which was not based on the quality of the work they did nor the expertise they had in their profession but merely because they belonged or were affiliated to a certain blood line. There was a silent sort of discrimination which was demoralising decent people who wanted to serve their country in utter sincerity.

Then came 12/13th August 2004.
Things changed for Maldives that day and in the days and months which followed.

Finally, when the old guard gave to the new with the former president accepting defeat, I stood in a house in London with a community of Maldivians, who in their own ways had worked day and night to make their contributions towards the process of change that was sweeping through our beloved homeland. We watched the handshake and heard the leaders speak and honour each other. Once again, I saw a dozen or more intellects of our country slumber in a state of frozen silence. The tears this time was in celebrating and honouring those who decided to allow change to happen and in saluting those who decided to accept defeat in a honourable way.

This was the Maldivian way of bringing in a revolution.

It happened with the sacrifices and hard work of people who love our country, who dared to stand up and make the difference. But, our democracy is in its infancy still. The world economy and our economy are in recession. It is such a challenge to achieve the dreams, hopes and aspirations of the young and old, the weak and the strong who hummed the tones of the WATHAN edhey gothah to bring in this day.

It may be so easy to fall into the traps of power and forget why this revolution happened. In the face of frustration and fights between colours, we have to remember, the nation comes first and that include all its people. We have to ensure that we do not end up just building houses or flats alone, but homes for people who value people and relationships, who are proud of their culture and religion and whose daily life is governed by principles and morals that can build but not fragment our hearts and minds. Perhaps, the real revolution of building a just society, a safer and better society is all yet to happen.

Happy Independence Day!

Beyond Our Leaders and this Rivalry of Colours...

During the past year, images such as above have caught the attention and imagination of our nation.
Violence, justice, human rights, party politics.....accountability, corruption, commissions and parliament kasautis dominate the 'over the cup of tea/coffeee' discussions of Maldivians who are struggling to cope with the rivalry of colours brought about by this so called new dawn of democracy.

A divided parliament , a country increasingly divided by party politics, youth on drugs, violent gangs and knife crime, damning audit reports, organised crime and our leaders locked in a never ending struggle for power are just some of the new realities the country has got to wake up to.

Can the victory of either yellow or blue be more important than attending to the every day grievances of the average Maldivian? Or do we have to subject the nation and its people to such trials in order to achieve the true taste of democracy? What ever.................!

How many such trials ? At what cost? What more is to come? Would it divide our families, create more rifts in relationships , destroy our social harmony, create trauma and stress , cause chaos and distress instead of providing the ordinary person with the chance for peaceful and harmonious existance?

While we definitely need strength, patience and ability to discriminate what is right from wrong without the vested interests and influences of our leaders...as we pass through the current political climate, let us pray that our nation would not descend into a state of chaos.

From the distance, beyond the rivalry of yellow and blue , I can see the pride of red, green and white, silently pleading to all Maldivians to be united in honouring what it stands for, instead of any commitment they may have formed with these new found colours.

Dinner with John Tyrell; The Man Who Broke the Story of Maldivians Who Lived in St. Helena;1735

We were all eager to meet John Tyrell, the man who enlightened us about the fate of some 10 Maldivians who were picked up from the sea in 1735 by a passing ship and later lived in a place called Maldivia in St. Helena.

John wrote in his blog article on Thursday, 14 February 2008.

'It is in Maldivia, situated in the Upper Jamestown valley. The area is named after slaves from the Maldives who worked in the gardens, then a Government Plantation, after they arrived on the island in 1735'.

The article stimulated a lot of media interest back home. Many of us wanted to know more about the story.

I wrote to John. I was definitely very interested in finding out more about what happened to these people.

After my letter to John got published in his blog, a gentleman in foreign service in the Maldivian government phoned me and provided a headway to this developing story.

According to him , a British anthropologist had contacted him in 1985 and provided information about some Maldivians who had lived in St. Helena. Unfortunately according to him this information had been lost over the years and the story had so far never been followed. He had promised to document what ever he knew about the story. He also told me that these Maldivians were really not treated as slaves but they were 'dumped on the island' but as they lived side by side with other Asians who were regarded as slaves even the Maldivians probably got labelled as slaves. I thank this gentleman for making the effort to phone me and for explaining these details.
I wrote about this to John.

John was quick to find out the facts about which he wrote in his blog on 15 th July 2009.

'The bits on Maldivia I found there are as follows:[1735]March 17.—Capt. Polly of the Drake at the distance of 150 leagues from land took up a Boat with ten Blacks of the Maldive Islands who were drove out to Sea and near perishing—three died on board, 5 Men, 1 woman and 1 boy landed here.[Note.—The Maldivia Gardens, then a Government Plantation, derived their name from the employment of these men therein.]22nd March 1742 —Major Thomas Lambert arrived and proclaimed Governor.6th April—The property called " The Maldives" turned into a Hospital.

( http://johntyrrell.blogspot.com/2009_07_01_archive.html)

But before John wrote this piece on 15th July, 2009 we the Maldivian community in Manchester, UK decided that we must say a Thank you to this wonderful man who shed light about the lives of some of our own people who had drifted away from our country some 274 years ago. When I contacted the small Maldivian community in Manchester, everyone I spoke to wanted to meet John and felt a need to thank him.

Perhaps it was because John had already visited Maldives 3 times before his visit to St. Helena, that the word Maldivia caught his attention such that he wrote about Maldivia and how the place got the name in this blog article .

Over dinner on 14th July, 2009, I was eager to ask John whether there was any possibility of tracing back the descendents of these people.
He looked at me trying not to hurt my feelings, trying not to disappoint me but replied,
'the only way would be to do a DNA test of everyone who lives in St. Helena now'
He told me that there is no folk memories about these Maldivians.
I asked, ' what about from their food habits....may be some of the recipes....may be similar....'
I saw John looking at me. He told me it would be almost impossible to find out anything more about them. Searching for any Maldivians in St. Helena would be futile now.

It was difficult to accept this, but I understood. We all understood this from our conversation with John.

Ironically we were also 10 Maldivians (just like the 10 people who drifted away from the home country in 1735) who were currently living away from home...in Manchester UK. We all felt a need (cannot really describe why we felt the need but I guess its because we came to know about a bit of our own history through John) to say Thankyou to John and his lovely wife and we did so over dinner at Punjab Restaurant, Curry Mile, Rusholme.

I am sure I will still repeat the same questions next time I meet him. There may be many others in Maldives who may do the same....when John and his wife decide to visit Maldives again.

John, Thanks again.

Maldivian Drug Scenario; Arrest of Adam Naseer Aboobakuru

This is the man who was arrested in connection with drug dealing in Maldives on the night of July 2nd, 2009. He was apparently found along with possession of drugs and later over 5 million Rufiyaa and 43 thousand US dollars was found in his wifes room at H. Reendhooge.

He has in the past been implicated and arrested on drug related offences committed in 2001, 2004 and 2007 but was released due to lack of sufficient evidence to convict him. The police reports that they have been following this man for over 7 months and his arrest is a direct result of a successful police operation. Some have reported that he is one of the drug barons of Maldives, directly engaged with the sale of drugs concentrated in the Southern atolls of the country. We are yet to find our how his modus operandi has been.

Possession of the huge amount of money, does suggest that he may not be a peddler. However, we also know that due to the huge demand for drugs in the country,the sale of drugs such as heroin for just a few weeks can generate around this much of money or even more. While I congratulate our leaders and our police force for the high level of committment they are showing in dealing with the problem of substance abuse in the country, I still have numerous questions on my mind.

Is this man really a drug baron or is he a pawn in the hands of a bigger man connected with the drug industry of our country? How did this man get initiated into this work? Who helped him? Who was associated with him? How did he manage to escape being convicted despite being repeatedly implicated in drug related offenses? Did he have connection with drug lords and gang leaders in the country? Was his work facilitated by anyone else? Who are the people whom he have recruited as his foot soldiers to sell drugs on our streets? How many young people have he abused by selling them drugs? Can he be charged with abusing children if he has sold drugs to underage children? How much money does he have in his accounts? What is the value of the money of his acquired wealth through the sale of drugs to our sons and daughters? Will this wealth be confiscated by the state? Can he break the drug mafia by revealing who his agents are, from where he is importing drugs, his drug smuggling routes.

Definitely he alone could not have run such an operation. We have to see how the police operation continues and be on the watch out for more arrests and seizures as a result of the arrest of this man, probably a key figure in the illegal drug industry of Maldives.

We must at this moment hope that there would be further arrests of such people and ensure that those arrested will not be able to escape the criminal justice system. He may have connections outside which will work heavily to prove him innocent once again. However, it appears that there is enough evidence this time to convict him. Hopefully so!

Well done to the police officers who arrested this man.

Let us hope that all those people who are flourishing in crime against our innocent youth and children are bought under the long arm of law soon. Let us hope this is going to be a begining of an end to those who have been silently killing our sons and daughters for decades.