Random Reflexions

Ah, President Nasir. Isn't there anything that honorable man has not done? Fateful and fabricated events from history and today is beginning to create the image of a man of mythical qualities.

When he left Dhivehi Raaje, his personal residence "Velaanaage", was the tallest building in the country. As fate would have it, on his return after 30 odd years, it is still the tallest building. Amazing coincidence or divine intervention? From what has been said about him lately, it appears he may have had a helping hand from the man above.

According to historians, Nasir was as perfect as a leader can be. He should be up there alongside other great leaders of the world. He was absolutely always punctual. His appointment schedule is a work of art. Clocks stopped working in fear of being late and invoking the 'wrath' of Nasir.

He was decisive, never unsure. He had far superior intelligence compared to regular citizens - solving problems in the blink of an eye. He got the job done, always. He was feared. And even when he was being kind, people feared him. Yes, fear emanated around him like an aura. Perhaps visions of torture in jail was at the back of everyone's mind. But let's not get too realistic.

He was a man of great wisdom, way ahead of his time, solving great puzzles - some of which are to be found in popular puzzle books - with sublime ease and speed. For instance, once he ordered the tyres of a lorry carrying some item to his residence be deflated slightly when the lorry, along with the said item, could not fit through the main entrance. Bystanders were in utter awe. Such magnificence, such wit.

Another time he ordered a fundie-religious school dismantled, cleared of rubble, the land divided off to people, the students sent to various schools and the teachers dismissed - all before the sun set beyond the horizon that very day. Yes, a man of action he was. If he developed a disliking towards anyone in his administration he made the entire department disappear - sometimes along with the disliked person. Awesome raw power was his character.

And these are just a few days after his death. If historians rewrite history, as they always do, president Nasir could easily be made responsible for the invention of the pencil, the drafting of the declaration of independence, man's voyage into space, discovery of vaccines and formulation of law of gravity. Or he could go into history as a figure of mythical powers: composing entire concertos in seconds, stopping bullets in mid-air, having ability to time-travel or tell the future, or splitting the atom simply by staring at them with raging eyes and so on.

Yes, we Dhivehin like to sensationalize and idolize our heroes to a ridiculously absurd level.

November 30, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (21)

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Shock and awe. That's the only way one can describe what has transpired in Mumbai in the past 48 hours. The mayhem unfolding before the world's eyes there in Mumbai and other places like Palestine and Congo just goes to show that humans, driven by some form of ideology, can destroy lives and bring the world to a standstill in a matter of seconds.

There are only two popular movements behind the attacks in Mumbai: politics and religion. The effectiveness of the kind of lunacy, both in the greed and corruption of politics and the harebrained ideologies of religion (any religion), has been proven over the centuries. Among these, religion alone, by way of its deeply rooted interest in politics that span continents and transcend race, sex and age, is by far the most destructive and evil psychological tool in the world.

Want a little oil from that country? Add a bit of religion. Want that piece of land to yourself? Add a pinch of religion to spice things up.

George W. Bush has described his war on the Iraqi people's sovereignty as a holy crusade and killed more Iraqis than the total number of people killed in Sadam's two decades of rule. Shia and Sunnis go at each others throats, decapitating and slaying, as if it is Eid and Ashura everyday. Israeli snipers target practice on innocent Palestinian children and women. Hamas militiamen kill Fatah supporters as if there isn't enough killing already going on in the struggle against occupation by Israel. Pockets of self-described Muslim terrorists everywhere go about senselessly killing innocent people using bombs or, as we are seeing today in Mumbai, indiscriminately using firearms and hand grenades. Hindu extremists butcher Muslim neighbours with rage burning in their eyes. Muslims return the favor.

In all these situations, when you extricate the mundane diplomacy and the political rhetoric what are we left with? Yes, religion. It has the power to fuel racial tensions. It has the power to inject pure raging hatred towards others of differing faiths. It has the power and all the features required for it to be exploited as a social tool to control the masses to the advantage of a few.

But religion alone could not bring out the killer in otherwise normal people. For people to become really violent religion works best with other social dividers. Hardship, poverty, social class systems, modern day slavery and discrimination based on social hierarchy, all these contribute to the global problem. And behind the scenes in all this injustice is the monetary system, the money supply and the so-called economy that ensures the poor remain poor, in debt, ignorant and uneducated forever while the rich few become insanely rich. Globalization exploits religion and religion exploits globalization. They make for strange bedfellows.

But beyond all this there still remains, standing fervently, the seemingly superior ideologies of religion. For when men go on a killing rampage or blow themselves up to bits, beyond the thoughts of suffering brothers and sisters there is the promise of a life in Heaven. The promise of this Heaven awaiting those who fight and die for their ideology is a powerful one. Heaven is hell on earth.

My thoughts are today are not just with the victims of terrorism in Mumbai but all those innocent men, women and especially children caught in the line of fire the world over. Every one of them is a victim of the conflict between competing ideologies and global greed.

Over the centuries humanity has plunged deeper into this madness.

November 29, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (4)

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Let me ask you a very simple question. Have you read the translation of the Quran from start to finish? The chances are very slim that you have. In fact, chances are very slim that it even occurred to you to pick up a translation to read.

One of the most ridiculous things we force upon our children is the recitation of the entire Quran from cover to cover without having to understand one single word. Counter to popular belief, we do not actually read the Quran. Reading means to examine and grasp the meaning of what is written. Instead, at a very tender age we learn how to "sound" the Arabic words - parroting would be another way of putting it. And we remain like this until death - reciting something in complete ignorance and darkness.

On top of this, as kids - to make us recite what to us is a collection of symbols whose sounds we are able to reproduce, we are told that reciting the Quran earns us sawaab.

"Sawaab". The divine equivalent of brownie points can be accrued by performing such acts as reciting the Quran without understanding anything whatsoever. Sawaab can be earned in bulk by performing certain religious and virtuous social deeds. And just like phone-to-phone credit transfers, sawaab can be transferred to dead people by praying or reciting Quran on their behalf. The dead are very lucky in that sense. And remember, one does not have to understand any of it.

Such features of religious beliefs are very common. As in, if common sense fails miserably, then it is probably some dimwitted religious belief and therefore it automatically achieves unquestionable status. Why? Because if logic and reason fails to apply then it is probably God's handiwork.

Now, one might argue that reciting Quran without understanding what each verse says and means will not earn him or her any sawaab. In this case, the efforts of more than 99% of all Dhivehin (and possibly the entire Muslim population) that have ever lived and alive today have been in vain. So I doubt this is the case.

Why God encourages ignorance this way is a mystery of divine proportions and as such ridiculous.

November 28, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (12)

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My grandmother. At close to 80 years one cannot ask her to change old habits and expect anything to change. Among other ailments that befall the aged, her short-term memory is failing but memories of her younger days have been somehow revived. These days she would continuously reel out chapter after chapter of her past life.

One of the most painful of these memories still remain very strong: the Thinadhoo genocide.

So there she was today, watching TV as the body of the former president Nasir was brought to Male' for burial. I asked her, over the voices of some people talking endlessly about the achievements and greatness of Nasir, whether she would forgive him now that he has passed on.

She said, quite firmly, no.

The Thinadhoo genocide, orchestrated by the Nasir regime of the time, was the single most brutal act ever perpetrated on a people by the nation itself. This was the first and only incident of its kind in the history of Dhivehi Raaje that its own army opened gunfire on its own free people. People who have lived through those days of systematic and barbaric plundering of their homes and destruction of their lives are still alive and well today. People like my grandmother.

Children were separated from their parents and banished to different islands. Families were broken up and members banished to different islands in different atolls. A daughter to that island, a son to another atoll, another island, the father to jail, the mother to some other corner. If it wasn't the loneliness caused by these separations, it was the lack of food that caused the loss of life. Some of those who found themselves suddenly living amongst strangers in faraway islands died slowly of distress and starvation. Some died in jail. Little babies and children died first as hunger and starvation set in.

Their island, with their homes and what was left after everything was pillaged, was abandoned to rot. How these things affect those who suffered cannot be fathomed.

This really happened. Many Dhivehin from the island of Thinadhoo in Gaaf Dhaal atoll, lost their lives as they were forced to abandon their homes. This happened under the direct watch and command of then-president Ibrahim Nasir.

While, as a human, I am saddened at the loss of a human life, I cannot help but feel a sense of detachment from the events of the day. Perhaps it is because I do not have memories of Nasir as I was too young when he left the country. And perhaps because after he left, for the past 30 years, we have heard naught from him. Not even a peep.

And today, as if they've crawled out of some historian's dusty books cellar, Nasir-experts appear on TV to praise his work as the president. And every word was carefully uttered so as to avoid the elephant in the room that is the Thinadhoo incident. History was being erased right before our eyes and ears. Then some religious scholar put the cap on any talk of the atrocities committed by Nasir on the people of Thinadhoo by saying that Muslims should never talk ill of dead people.

But people's memories cannot be simply erased, sir. The lives lost cannot be undone. The families broken cannot be mended. History needs to be rewritten with those unspoken chapters of the Thinadhoo genocide included. A proper study of the loss of life and property has to be conducted for history's sake before it completely disappears into the fog that is already the history of Dhivehi Raaje.

Today's government, after giving the highest honor and exaltation to the departed president Nasir, must then proceed to acknowledge the Thinadhoo genocide and issue a formal apology to the surviving victims and their families on behalf of the state and president Nasir. Let the book be finally closed.

Justice has to be served equally, balanced. Then, maybe, just maybe, my grandmother will find it in her heart to finally forgive.

November 24, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (23)

"That is the biggest animal that has ever lived on earth. Even bigger than the biggest dinosaur you see in your dinosaur books!", I repeat to him as he watched the TV from the edge of the seat with eyes wide open in complete astonishment.

"Its tongue weights as much as an elephant. Its heart is the size of a car. And some of its blood vessels are so wide that you could swim down them.", Sir David Attenborough was narrating in his usual style.

"Its tail alone is the width of a small aircraft's wings.", he added.

And just then as the enormous blue whale completed its dive, its magnificent tail was lifted out of the sea and the background music reached a crescendo. I get goosebumps every time I watch this.

My son's jaws dropped and as the whale disappeared beneath the surface he slumped backwards into the sofa almost breathless and asked me for a replay.

And then I thought to myself, this is just completely wrong. I shouldn't be showing this stuff or making books of this nature available to my children.

What we really need is an Islamic centre in each inhabited island and in it a library full of enlightening Islamic literature such as those that talk about stoning women and staying away from pigs, dogs and Jews.

That should keep kids like my son enlightened and away from mind corrupting science and real knowledge. Yes, that's what this country really needs to emerge from the darkness.

What a fecking joke!

November 23, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (9)

Dear Honorable Members of the Parliament,

I stand here today to express my disgust at having to see, you, our elected representatives squabbling over the bill on Immunity and Privileges to ex-presidents. I am appalled at the very thought of giving immunities and privileges to ex-president Gayoom. As a Dhivehi citizen I demand to know why we should provide all these privileges to this man. A man from whose corrupt clutches, plundering ways and tyranny we have emerged after 3 long decades.

People have died under his watch, honorable members. Dhivehi blood has been spilled under his command. A human life, no matter when, where and how it was lost, must be more precious and important. Do not forget that. To even consider such luxuries as immunity and privileges for this man, before the deaths and the countless lives ruined under his command are investigated and due reconciliation is reached, is an insult on all Dhivehin. It will be an affront to justice and an appalling mutiny to the higher purpose for which you, honorable members, have been put into those seats.

It will be an insult to the constitution that allowed me to vote this man out. I and thousands like me voted him out because we do not want anything to do with him. 30 years is a long time, honorable members. We are at this very moment in time, past those 30 years, because we wanted to see changes. We wanted to see those lives that I mentioned, the ones that were lost, the likes of Evan Naseem and other compatriots, we want to see you question Mr. Gayoom about those lives before you consider his life of luxury. Please do not waste our money and our time on insulting us any further.

Honorable members. Do not be fooled by the gray hair and meek demeanor. Do not succumb to the wide-eyed look of evil disguised as innocence. Do not be fooled into thinking that there is even a molecule of virtue and compassion towards Dhivehin in that man.

If he was such a man of character we would not be at the moment in time and he would oppose this bill and let justice prevail. Right now, he needs to face the music, honorable members. He is not some divine messiah. Those days are gone. 

Honorable members. Show us some guts. It is time to throw this bill out and let us get on with more important things. We've already wasted a lot of time on this man and his family.

To end my message, I'd like to play you a song. One of my favorites from Pink Floyd.

The Fletcher Memorial Home (video here)

Take all your overgrown infants away somewhere 
And build them a home a little place of their own
The fletcher memorial Home for incurable tyrants and kings
And they can appear to themselves every day
On closed circuit t.v.
To make sure they're still real
It's the only connection they feel

"Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome reagan and haig
Mr. Begin and friend Mrs. Thatcher and paisley
Mr. Brezhnev and party
The ghost of McCarthy
The memories of Nixon
And now adding colour
A group of anonymous latin American meat packing glitterati" 

Did they expect us to treat them with any respect
They can polish their medals and sharpen their Smiles,
and amuse themselves playing games for a while
Boom boom, bang bang, lie down you're dead

Safe in the permanent gaze of a cold glass eye
With their favourite toys
They'll be good girls and boys
In the fletcher memorial home
for colonial Wasters of life and limb
Is everyone in?
Are you having a nice time?
Now the final solution can be applied

Thank you for your time.

November 18, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (17)

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You know, there is absolutely no excuse to be so utterly gullible. My friend noted that ever since the election, Mr. Pass, the omnipresent messenger from the unknown of the mobile phone world has been missing in action. During the run-up to the election Mr. Pass made several appearances on my mobile phone as well.

"Maumoon has chartered a flight to Singapore leaving tonight!", Mr. Pass informed.

"Maumoon meeting with 2/2 to bring martial law", Mr. Pass warned.

Was anyone expected to seriously believe any of these concoctions? They served a purpose of novelty and as such each message was meant to be taken with a bag of salt. At least, that's how many took them. But the same cannot be said for many others.

But enter the realm of word-of-mouth gossip and you'd have some entirely more potent. This is something to stand in awe of. The sheer power of word-of-mouth gossip to make our logical faculties malfunction is incredible. Especially in a post-election atmosphere.

In the past few days several people have told me that Gayoom left the then presidential palace at Theemuge with much of the furniture and electrical appliances such as air-conditioners. One even went as far as suggesting that Gayoom had wiped the palace clean of the expensive goodies. Another was very angry when he said that before Gayoom left the presidential office he had wiped some shit on the walls of the building.

Yes, there I was. Standing in awe, shocked at the power of stupidity.

People are demanding from the current administration inventories of previous presidential residence, retreat and office. Some people are losing sleep over it. This is a matter of national import. We need Gayoom's underpants accounted for before he strikes again. What if he steals the walls and concrete work of the palace next time? These things belong to the people who have not thought about where Gayoom is stuffing all the goodies yet. (Psst. They were especially designed by Ikea to collapse and fit into a briefcase. What? Yes, all of them.)

I tried to imagine all this. I really did. And it occurred to me that Gayoom has invited these accusations upon himself. Three decades of plundering and robbing the people of this country has labeled him an ordinary, bank-robbing, striped-bodysuit wearing criminal. Now that he's powerless we imagine him being involved in other mundane acts of depravity - stealing air-conditioners (they were really big ones, I was told). Criminal behaviour is in his blood. People have no doubt that Gayoom could sink low enough to remove appliances and spray shit in the office. Yes, Gayoom is capable of any sordid act we can think.

Just ask Mr. Pass. He seems to know everything.

November 15, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (8)

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This blog has essentially survived the Asian tsunami, seen the wording of a brand new constitution and witnessed the fall of Gayoom and his 30 years reign of absolute power.

Yes, this blog has been through all that and today it marks the 4th anniversary.

Even if it is not immediately apparent, the arrival of the Internet and the world-wide web has been and will be essential to the reform movement and activism here. How blogs such as Dhivehi Observer has had tremendous influence on politics and political opinion is anyone's guess. It was reported on Al-Jazeera news network that blogger influence on the media, keeping a check on facts and in shaping the polls in the recent US election was as undeniable as it was important. In other words, bloggers represent an essential segment, an uncensored voice if you will, in the cross-section of opinion-formers as more and more people tune into and rely on them to provide free and unbiased commentary and news on current affairs.

Therefore, I am delighted to see the huge explosion of Dhivehi bloggers in the past years. It is an indicator of how many Dhivehin have continued to embrace technology more and more to shape our future. I believe the influence of bloggers on our country's future will gain strength in the years to come.

Understandably, there will always be people who oppose the idea of otherwise ordinary others expressing their opinions so freely and openly. I have had comments accusing me of trying to 'prove how clever and intelligent' I am hiding behind a blog and not being "out there" in the open. Such opinions are exactly what I am talking about: it is proof beyond doubt that blogs are far-reaching and far from being insignificant. If someone is bothered then we're obviously doing something to be bothered about.

Sadly, I've seen many great blogs and bloggers rise and disappear as they have succumbed to such criticism. Admittedly, the comment mafia can be nerve wracking and stressful. But all this can be overcome by wielding the sword of truth and wearing the armor of knowledge. And it is essential that where they are proven wrong, bloggers, as a matter of principle, must admit their mistake and move on. Where they are proven right, bloggers must be humble and still move on. Keeping the debate going either way is what this is all about.

I agree, keeping morale of bloggers high is difficult - especially in an atmosphere of ignorance. Ignorance arising from misunderstanding the concept behind blogs and bloggers, and what they do in the great spirit of upholding a basic human right and protecting the sanctity of that great democratic philosophy of Freedom of Expression. There will always be resistance to free speech. Understanding this is as important as understanding that different people have different opinions.

I do want to happily note that over the past few years commenters also seem to show great interest in blogs and take time to compose constructive comments. I think this is due to a rise in the number of a comparatively more intelligent audience in the blogosphere in recent times. And the comment mafia don't like that very much.

All the same, comments really are the magical mirrors of the blog - reading between the lines, exposing the flaws in our opinions, the loopholes in our ideas and in general testing the blogger to wits-end. If tackled properly they can be challenging as well as rewarding.

Remember, public opinion, blogs, the Internet are all powerful enemies of the establishment. Therefore, please do not shut up.

So. Coming back to the this blog, I must say, it has been a good ride. 4 years of furious typing at the keys hasn't gone up in smoke in vain. I admit it is time for some changes around on this blog. To that end, I am happy to announce that many new features to help readers / commenters will be implemented in the course of the rest of this year. I've already added a 'reply to a particular comment' facility.

Thank you for the few minutes you spend reading my thoughts. It has been a pleasure.

November 14, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (14)

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When I announced the news that Gayoom had been replaced by another man as the president of the country my grandmother of 78 years gave me a wide-eyed look of shock. She asked the most simple and yet the most complicated question to answer, "Why?"

For her, life would not make any difference whoever ruled the country. I explained that now the "Raeesul Jumhooriyyaa" is "Alfaalil Mohamed Nasheed". Now, she was mildly amused and wanted to know whether this fellow Nasheed was a good man.

That remains to be seen, I told her.

Democracy, in its finest glory so far, has arrived on our doorstep today. We have a new president, first lady and a vice president. Today Dhivehin, whether for or against the new administration, have turned a fresh leaf and created history so important that the story of how today was arrived at will make much of the past 30 years insignificant decades from now. Today marks the end of one era and the beginning of another.

This historic moment and the culmination of events and the hard work that lead to today has undoubtedly given Dhivehin reason to hope for a resplendent future. A future free from tyranny and, hopefully, a future filled with opportunity for all Dhivehin.

We are about to slowly shed the old skin of submission and fear towards our leaders. As I said before we need a new way of thinking and it requires a reprogramming of our very neurons. Starting with the simple task of saying "Raeesul Jumhooriyya" without following it with "Al-Uztaz" to getting used to not seeing the face of Gayoom in all public buildings and television to eradicating the culture of corruption.

President Nasheed brings with him new promises. I personally have other expectations from him. I want to see the rule of law prevail over everything else so that justice is fairly and equally served to all Dhivehin. I want to see a reformation of the education system so that future generations grow up to be forward thinking, open-minded and capable. I'd also like to see such events as Science Exhibition brought back into the school year. To help improve and stimulate innovation and productivity in manufacturing and the crafts I want to see the Handcrafts Exhibition again.

Finally, I would like to see the use of reason and and the promotion of reason alone as the guide to formulate policy - not religion and other "beliefs".

It should be said that I approach all the positivity with much caution. Into the winds of change have been thrown dangerous elements. Elements such as the new Ministry of Islamic Affairs headed by Dr. Majeed - a man who claims to have personally witnessed a beheading in Saudi Arabia and talks about it as if it is office gossip. I fear the slow and stealthy infection of conservative and radicalised religion more than I fear the economic challenges. President Nasheed must oppose all right-wing policies for no good can come out of them.

Getting back to my grandmother's question: "Why?". We all know why we are at this point in time.

I just hope that in a not too distant future I wouldn't have to answer the same question with regard to President Nasheed.

Congratulations to all Dhivehin, everywhere.

November 12, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (18)

And the "bad rubbish" really became pathetic rubbish in the last couple of days.

I'm sure this is not the end of the drama. The handing over the position of the top job of the country will surely be followed by more of the pathetic attempts to hijack people's sympathy. Gayoom is really like a parasitic growth that has been feeding off this nation and unfortunately this growth has acquired the capability to show emotion at the last moment and so is supposedly sad to leave the host.

Where were your tears when several Dhivehin, your own countrymen, died in that atrocious prison shooting, Mr. Gayoom?

I mean, what's with the crocodile tears? I am getting sick to the bone seeing the man making it look like he's parting with his grandmother's heirloom or something. Only Gayoom could harbour such delusions.

Gayoom can try for the "poor old man who loved his country is sacked by the people but he still love the country" line and win a few sympathies. But Gayoom will never be elected as the president of Dhivehi Raaje again. Never.

No matter what Gayoom says there is no changing the past. There is no changing the fact that he ruled like a tyrant and lived like a king for 30 long years. I have no sympathy for this man. Not one ounce, not one atom's worth. He's got tears when HE's about to lose everything. Can we weight those few drops to the amount of tears shed by the likes of Evan Naseem's mother and countless others? There is absolutely no way!

As far I am concerned it is good riddance to him, his family and all his deluded cronies and clowns. So feck off!

November 11, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (10)

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November 11th is approaching and so perhaps it is a most opportune moment to reflect on the run-up to the election and the result.

What was noticeable in this election was the vast numbers of young people, those who were 18 or little older, that turned out to vote. The important milestone that lead to this was the bill that allowed the change of voting age to become 18 and above. That was, in my opinion, one of the most devastating factors that got the numbers running against Gayoom.

For many this election was never about who could run the country best or who could offer the most promising vision of the future. Yes, that was there too. But it was almost entirely about a change and this was evident in the second round when the Vote for Change campaign really took off and gave momentum to the movement. No, this election wasn't about any particular person being better than the other. Everyone knew this, including the competing parties. Except perhaps DRP. As I said in a previous post, I would vote for a doormat but never Gayoom.

The DRP comedy show

Based on the election results I strongly believe Gayoom could have pulled this off had he played out his campaign cards professionally. The fact is, the DRP campaign bandwagon was increasingly become the spectacle of ridicule and shame even amongst their most faithful followers.

Enter the DRP media team headed by that most interesting character, Mr. Ali Waheed. Throughout the campaign I made a point to actually watch their press-briefings even as I carelessly ignored most MDP briefings. I could say I even looked forward to the DRP briefs. DRP press briefings were right there at the top of those really cringe-inducing episodes of The Office (UK). Gut-wrenching comedy, horrendous irony, terrible antics and manners and fluid, disgusting rhetoric. Ricky Gervais move aside for here comes Ali Waheed!

The DRP media team should seriously think about writing for and appearing on such a TV series. It could be a sellout.

Back to the point. I have not met anyone who did not think it was Ali Waheed and his team of cranky knobs that helped to lose the election for the poor codger Gayoom. I suppose they thought that Dhivehin would never vote-in anyone else, let along Anni, in a duel with Gayoom, whatever poppycock they cooked-up.

Anni, the very ordinary

So now we have our 4th president waiting in line to be sworn-in. I should add that Barack Obama will be the 44th president of the USA - another similarity of sorts. Anyway, so people say that president-elect Nasheed is a drunkard, dribbles from the corners of his mouth, etc, etc, - in other words, Nasheed has neither the character or personality nor does he have the charisma and appearance to be president. I would like to have those of you who say this know that it is utterly unconstitutional to say that. Nowhere in the constitution does it paint the caricature of Gayoom as the most preferred type of president.

I believe leaders are created. They are created from the fusion of circumstance and environment. Perhaps it is 30 years of Gayoom rule that is clouding our mind and memory. If we go back to when Gayoom was sworn-in we find that he was armed while taking oath. There is evidence in the form of Gayoom admitting in an interview that indeed he was armed and indeed it could be interpreted as being unconstitutional and therefore invalid.

Now, was Gayoom being a great leader or a regular terrorist when he was sworn-in? Was Gayoom being a great leader or an ego-maniacal nincompoop to admit in that interview that indeed he was armed? He was the latter in both cases for sure. Comedy has a way, no? Gayoom was never a great leader when he hijacked this country in a mockery of our intellect. So what circumstance and what environment was there that was conducive for creating a great leader out of Gayoom? Not much as he created everything out of the fear of those he served: the people of Dhivehi Raaje, Dhivehin.

President-elect Nasheed on other hand has the opportunity to show what a great, people's leader looks like. Unlike Gayoom who had a running start triggered by a hand-gun, Nasheed will have something more powerful: the undeniable acceptance of the majority.

The inevitable

Mark my words, Mohamed Nasheed "Anni", that ordinary guy who dribbles from the corners of his mouth, will, as time goes by, become a loved, respected and super-star personality the likes of who this country has never seen before. Why? The new, younger generation of Dhivehin know how to do that in style, they love their hero and they are sick of pasty-faced wrinkly geriatrics in high places. Gayoom and his supporters can shut up and eat your hearts out. The future belongs to the people!

November 9, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (21)

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I've always liked to see the parallels between the state of affairs of our Dhivehi Raaje and the United States and think of us as a tremendously scaled down version of the latter.

Think about it. Here are top ten reasons why I think so:

1. We've got big narcotics problems
2. We're highly religious with fundamentalist separatist groups here and there. God and country appear in the same sentence often
3. We've got presidential systems in place
4. We've had terrorist attacks on local soil
5. We're hooked to trash television
6. We're 300 thousand, they are 300 million
7. We've got a poor majority and a highly wealthy few
8. State is controlled by corporate interests
9. Level of education in grade schools low, increased unemployment, disillusioned youth, racist
10. A stringy, grinning younger man beat a senile, wrinkly codger in elections by an electorate driven by desire for change

Congratulations to Mohamed Nasheed "Anni", president-elect of the Maldives. Congratulations Barak Obama, president-elect of the USA.

November 6, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (30)

The winds of change are everywhere. New president, new cabinet of ministers, new policies, new laws, renewed hopes and looking forward to a new and better future as a nation of united people - in many ways, a new country.

Almost everyone is rejoicing the ousting of dictator Gayoom. Everyone, that is, except those that were direct beneficiaries of the corrupt regime. But I do not want to talk about them right now. I want to talk about those who feel the shackles of oppression and the weight of suppression of freedom of speech being destroyed and lifted as a result of having Gayoom ousted.

Yes, it is time to speak your mind.

I believe, freedom of expression, or freedom of speech, is the underlying foundation of great nations of the world. It is essential to the checks and balances system required for the transparent governance to be established. People speaking freely, without hindrance and without fear of persecution and punishment is necessary for truth, justice and the rule of law to prevail.

And it is for these reasons, that those who have been quiet and afraid all these years must come out and start expressing freely. One way, and by far the easiest way, is to start a blog. The Dhivehi blogging community is very strong and it continues to grow in numbers and strength. It has been a vocal participant in building the road towards reform and the transformation of this country that we're seeing today. When you think about it, even Dhivehi Observer is a blog.

So express yourself, create an account on Blogger.com or Wordpress.com. If you are uncomfortable revealing your real name you can sign up using an alias and remain anonymous. Why speak your mind to a few at meetings and coffee breaks when you can have the entire world listen to you and have your thoughts permanently etched into history?

The world is better when we replace silence with our thoughts.

November 5, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (10)

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