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May 5, 2015

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#EkehFaheh15; The Rising of the People

Ibra's tweet when the protests began on 1.5.15. Moving!

Ibra’s tweet when the protests began on 1.5.15. Moving!

Vote in a government. Give them a year or two. Take to the streets. Mount the pressure. Topple the elected leader. Change government. Rinse and repeat as needed. This is a formula that Maldivians seem to have taken to like a duck to water, and it has got to stop. This is exactly what President Nasheed warned us about when he was toppled from power through a coup d’état on the 7th of February of 2012.

Government MPs threaten the public via social media

Government MPs threaten the public via social media

Believe it or not, pose your various excuses or not, it was indeed a coup, brought about with the aid of the mutinying police and military officials. This sentiment becomes fact when you take into account the recent MayDay rally or #EkehFaheh15 as it was referred to in social media circles. Government vehemently denied that there existed any pressure, but press conferences and tweets from government aligned MPs and bots attested to fact that government was indeed jittery.

Government MP Nihan threatens boat owners who ferried people to MLE for the protest.

Government MP Nihan threatens boat owners who ferried people to Male’ for the protest.

Yet, after brutal crackdowns on protestors, the rally ended with the state marking its victory with fireworks the very next night. The government remained unchanged unlike the culmination of events of 7th February 2012.  MP Nihan called out to terminate those that are sympathetic to the oppositions cause from their government jobs & for the boats that carried people to the protests from the islands to Male’ be cancelled of their permits to travel. But there definitely was no pressure.

The art of changing governments via coups is not something that is new to the Maldivian history. This has happened many times before and is set to continue unless the elected governments are ready to listen to its people and work with them to ensure harmony and development that is beneficial for the people, not just to a couple of ‘loyalists’ to the leader in power. The blatant disregard to the people is shown more so when the opposition continues to talk about Tourism Minister Ahmed Adeeb’s corruption and stronghold on the government & the President telling the opposition that Adeeb would be the one who would represent him in any negotiations or meetings that would take place with the opposition movement.

Prior to 2008, Maldives has weathered through tough 30 years of torture and fear where if your family member even expresses a desire to see a different leader take over was jailed & tortured, coming out from the experience a shell of the person he or she was before. Oh how well the people have forgotten. I weep over the many accounts that remain untold even today, of the many ways in which President Maumoon’s regime ruined the lives of families by rendering a person unfit to even take care of personal needs after being taken in for reprogramming at the infamous jails in Dhoonidhoo.

All that changed through nonviolent political movements that wasn’t easy, and yet Maldivians persevered. Yet again today we are sliding rapidly into the same rut, unless the government acts to rectify their mistakes & the people raise the collective voices to end this tyranny. President Nasheed calls for perseverance from his jail cell where he is set to spend the next 13 years of his life, all because he wants a life of dignity and equal rights for the people of the Maldives.

President Nasheed's message to the people.

President Nasheed’s message to the people.

It was quite obvious that during the MayDay rally, the police targeted the vocal on social media and otherwise, the ones who dare criticize the government and its actions or lack of without fear. A prime example would be Hamid Shafeeu, a staunch supporter of democracy and its values, whose wife was snatched first which ultimately led to his arrest during the next couple of minutes. Arrests numbered in the 100’s before the night was through and none of it was easy to watch.

Sentiments of a government supporter; their government doesn't have to warn protestors before pepper spraying!

Sentiments of a government supporter; their government doesn’t have to warn protestors before pepper spraying!

The fear and intimidation that we thought ourselves rid of is back, and if I have to put my money’s worth on it, I would say it is back to stay. Accounts of civil servants and other government employees being threatened with dismissal or worse if they took part in the protests continue to pour in and I for one have this foreboding we are headed towards the era where we would have to huddle in fear every second of the day.

Coup of 07.02.2012; still afresh in our minds

Coup of 07.02.2012; still afresh in our minds

I can never be a supporter of a coup d’état that topples a government. But just like the CoNI report that actually legalized this form of government change if there exists the weight of a couple of hundreds of citizens behind the movement, then I guess there’s no reason that a government cannot be changed legally in the said manner.

But deep in all of our hearts we know that ain’t right. We know that the power lies within the people who cast their votes to decide who their leader should be for the next FIVE years. Not ONE or TWO or even FOUR, but FIVE. Let us not forget that. Nor should the government ever forget that they are elected to do RIGHT by the PEOPLE. Not by those that work their own agenda, filling their pockets with the taxpayers money, making the best of it while their government thrives.

My wish for the Maldives and its people is a simple one. One that aligns with the vision that President Nasheed has for this country. That we be able to live a life of dignity regardless of our ideological differences. That we be a nation that prospers amongst a just and able society wherein which the government doesn’t serve its people based on their political color of choice. A government which listens to the concerns of the people who put them there, without openly challenging them and calling for war.

From the manner in which things have proceeded since the elected president was toppled from power back in 2012, little remains of the democratic changes that were brought about owing to the new Constitution. What remains or is in the process of happening is silencing the voice of dissent, the vocal who are not swayed by the threats this government, it’s MPs & associates seem to dole out on a daily basis. With the leaders of the opposition behind bars, perhaps to be prosecuted & doled out with equally horrific sentences as given to Nasheed, Maldives is on the verge of becoming the next Egypt. The government is adamant that its foreign policy reflect this tyranny and that is exactly what’s being conveyed through the diplomatic channels. The single flickering light of hope at the very end of the long winding tunnel remains on the international community, the actions that they would be willing to take to put this tyrannical government to bed.

Future of the country looks bleak, no matter in whichever direction you look at. The struggle that is currently ongoing, the people trying to let their voices be heard to a tyrannical government that not only actively challenges the people, but also celebrates with fireworks their “victories” over the people doesn’t seem promising. Inevitable seems the breakout of a civil war, rendering this country totally unlivable. On the surface, the scars left over by the coup might have scabbed over, but inside the wounds are deep, festering with hatred, resentment and a deep disillusionment over a country whose justice system continues to fail the public over and over again. And as every infamous quote tells us, only time alone will tell whether those fighting for rights, justice and democracy would emerge victorious or whether we’d all be browbeaten to embrace a culture of corruption, nepotism, injustice & abuse for years and years to come.

May God help us all.

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March 11, 2015

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‘Clash’ of the Titans; Judge Abdulla VS. President Nasheed

Judge Abdulla Mohamed (left), President Mohamed Nasheed (right)

 

Reading the news article on last night’s trial proceedings on Dhivehi Online, such elaborate romanticism was my gut reaction. Judge Abdulla Mohamed is made out to be as innocent as a new born baby’s bum, the poor victim, whose story bears telling over & over again, while President Nasheed’s actions have to be shown to be that of the preposterous ruler, who jailed him and severed a sitting judge of his rights. Oh the blasphemous nature of it all!

The allegations of misconduct whatsoever against the judge which the Judicial Services Commission (JSC), the commission entrusted with overseeing the affairs of the judicial sector, and other governing authorities, were unable to investigate, for the lack of a better term, don’t seem to deserve a mention. Responsible journalism, a concept Maldivian media would rather avoid altogether, requires that the countless allegations against Judge Abdulla Mohamed mentioned, & why it got to this point.

In the spirit of that, I’m going to highlight some of the wonderful ‘heroic’ acts that Judge Abdulla Mohamed has committed, in the name of serving justice for the people of the Maldive. I’ll say this time & yet again. The likes of Judge Abdulla Mohamed belongs behind bars for the rest of their natural life & in the deepest recesses of Hell in the Hereafter.

  1. One of the complaints against Judge Abdulla Mohamed stems from 2005, forwarded by the then Attorney General Dr. Hassan Saeed where it was said Abdulla Mohamed who presided over a case of child sexual abuse had ordered the victim to show the court what was done to her & this in front of the perpetrator. Copies of the letter exists, circulated over social media every now & then.
  2. Judge Abdulla Mohamed already had a criminal conviction when he was appointed a judge during President Maumoon’s tenure. The conviction was made during the time of Justice Minister Dr. Mohamed Jameel Ahmed who is currently the Vice President of Maldives.
  3. By April 2009, there were a number of pending misconduct allegations against Judge Abdulla Mohamed pending without inquiry.
  4. On 27 July 2010, JSC announced removal of 32 names including Abdulla Mohamed, but on 28 July 2010 declared him to be fit to remain on the bench. JSC appointed member under Article 158(F) of the Constitution, Sheikh Shuaib Abdul Rahman, walked out of a meeting in protest and announced on media that Judge Abdulla Mohamed did not meet the good character required of a sitting judge in Islamic Shariah and condemned JSC’s corruption.
  5. In February 2011, Abdulla Mohamed released an alleged murderer to “teach the health minister a lesson”, and in 24 hours the released committed a second murder, which in reality should’ve taught the public a lesson.
  6. On November 2011, JSC decided that Judge Abdulla Mohamed was in breach of good conduct, not fit to be on the bench, but refused to take action against him.
  7. On 16 January 2012, Maldives Police Service summoned Judge Abdulla Mohamed for questioning. However, Judge Abdulla Mohamed refused to appear, and instead petitioned the High Court to cancel the police order.
  8. MPs held responsible to hold JSC accountable, and to determine the legitimacy of JSC’s actions on article 285 and re-appointment of judges including Judge Abdulla Mohamed of the Criminal Court, who publicly boasted that there’d be no inquiry of JSC led protests against former President Nasheed calling for release of “Ablo Qaazee”.
  9. Records of Judge Abdulla Mohamed show him raging at JSC, declaring JSC had no power to investigate him. JSC refused to agenda the matter showing impunity for Judge Abdulla Mohamed.
  10. On 7 February 2012, former President Mohamed Nasheed was forced to resign, for which the opposition cited “allegations of unconstitutional and unlawful activity with regard to circumstances surrounding the supposed abduction of Judge Abdulla Mohamed.
  11. In July 2012, the Civil Court ruled that JSC, the overseeing body of the judicial sector, could not implement any action against Judge Abdulla Mohamed, and thus he & other judges shall remain above any check & balance mechanisms ensured by the law.

Above points highlights the nature of the Judge, the victim, whose rights seems to take a precedence over the rights of the people that he sits & judges every single day when he walks into that courtroom & sits down to serve the people. If you can’t see nothing wrong with that picture, well, good luck to you! Former JSC member Aishath Vellezinee has a wealth of information on proceedings of JSC & the how’s & why’s of our arrival to where we are today. The points mentioned just highlights the depth of ineptness & corruption of the state institutes in the face of the ongoing judicial dictatorship the country is experiencing.

The arrest of Judge Abdulla Mohamed, which I refuse to call an abduction, took place on 17th of January 2012. Lawyers from all over the country protested the move by the government, not looking beyond to see the character of the man that had been arrested, a man who had violated over and over again, the very code of ethics of the position he stands for. Two of the three judges presiding over the ongoing trial of President Mohamed Nasheed are those that were present at Judge Abdulla Mohamed’s residence when he was arrested, which is why I have a hard time calling his arrest an abduction.

Getting back to the ‘trial’, if it can even be called that, and the fact that Nasheed seems defiant in front of the judges with no respect for them, well, people respect those that garner respect, i.e. respect is earned. You can’t make someone respect a person just by making it mandatory by law. Elitism of the judicial sector is something I have a hard time accepting & well, let’s leave that discussion for another time.

This farce of a trial currently happening in Maldives, is above all difficult to read about & yes, impossible to accept. No matter how much any media wants to gloss over it, the state of the judiciary shines through in every aspect of this trial. Vindictive, corrupt & unjust are a few choice words that comes to the mind. If President Nasheed deserves to be jailed for the unlawful imprisonment of Judge Abdulla Mohamed, by all means please do so. But award him a fair trial that observes the proper proceedings as required by law. Don’t expect the mindful section of the public to accept the shenanigans that you keep referring to as a fair trial to imprison a former President.

Media makes out Judge Abdulla Mohamed to be the epitome of a well behaved citizen while President Nasheed, who is getting the raw end of the deal in every single manner remains the villain in many a people’s eyes. There was a mention in the aforementioned article of how Judge Abdulla Mohamed never looked up at President Nasheed during his testimony at court while President Nasheed looked on at him with avid interest. I say, if you have a clear conscience, you can look in the other person’s eye when they are talking about what you’ve done. Can’t say the same thing for the ‘victim’ here who couldn’t, not until that last ‘historic’ moment where even the infamous Judge Abdulla Mohamed had to smile back at a man who refuses to show the world that he is being beaten by a system designed to do so, in the form of this heinous & rampant injustice that’s being done.

Like Julian Assange once said, “every time we witness an injustice & do not act, we train our character to be passive in its presence & thereby eventually lose all ability to defend ourselves & those we love.”

I sincerely hope that doesn’t become the case with us Maldivians.

Allah knows best.

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August 19, 2014

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#FindMoyameehaa

moyameehaa-POSTER

The news of the disappearance of Ahmed Rizwan aka @moyameehaa as he is known on Twitter, hit me as if I’d been bitch slapped six ways till Sunday, real hard. Hard enough to make me reel from the impact. And looking at the outpouring of reaction from all corners of twitter occupied by Maldivians, I think it is pretty safe to say that I wasn’t the only one who felt that way.

Rizwan wasn’t someone I knew personally. But looking back into our acquaintance, I’d say that the impact he made on my life was nevertheless a strong one. He was one of the first tweeps with a considerable amount of followers to follow me when the coup happened and I practically exploded onto twitter, wanting a place to vent out the deep anger and frustration in my soul. So I for one know Rizwan mostly as @moyameehaa, the tweep who always had something encouraging to say, even in the face of all that hatred, blatant hypocrisy and blame game being played out like nobody’s business.

I remember him as @moyameehaa, the guy who lifted up my spirits when one night I was feeling extremely low, of all the things something to do with an ‘Islamic’ viewpoint on the role of wives in a marriage. What he told me that night I still carry with me, and every time I feel the same way, I just bring to mind his sound advice, something I’d forever recall as long as I live.

For those who have been touched by his online presence alone, @moyameehaa is the one who favorites your random and the not so random tweets, has something boosting to throw your way always and joins in on the silliest of conversations and yet at the same time holds a vast depth of knowledge and foresight when it comes to Maldivian politics and its deteriorating societal fabric. He is an empathic, someone whom you know feels deeply about issues and has never stopped actively advocating for them.

And that is why today, I plead everyone and anyone who has information on his disappearance to come forward. He’s the one person I can say without lying or sounding presumptuous that he’d stand up for your rights, yours, yours and mine. If we lose him, we’ve lost one of the resounding voices that has never failed to say what must be said, especially when the going becomes tough and at times impossible. And it is truly a testament to his character that practically almost everyone whose lives he seems to have reached out and touched seems to passionately believe in the cause and are calling out to find him.

I send out a plea to the authorities; do what must be done, do your duty, do whats required of you by law and leave no stone unturned. Let this be the foundation via which we find our way back to placing our trust in you; let this not be for naught. For the man who advocates for freedom tirelessly, let’s fight just a little bit more to find him. Set your political ideologies and differences aside. Dear Maldivian Police Service, as the law enforcement, it is your duty to protect and serve and I’ve never seen the words ‘at our discretion’ written in fine print to go along with that. Live up to your oath and protect our rights. There can never be a more nobler profession than the ones you are a part of, done right.

Lastly, I pray from the depths of my soul that he is safe and sound. I pray that the Almighty gives him, his family and friends the strength to persevere and most of all I pray that he returns to us, with that smile on his face, to tell us more of the variety of #FerryTales that has entertained us through a lethargic day or three. I fervently hope that wherever you are dear @moyameehaa, that you’re happy, safe and of your own volition. I pray so because the alternative doesn’t bear thinking. I pray so because with you gone, we have lost a shining star, a beacon of hope that can never ever be replaced.

Please come back soon. X

Note: If you have any information pertaining to the investigation, please contact the police or Rizwan’s family on 7754566 or 9773250

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May 21, 2014

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Dhivehi – A Language on its Deathbed

Most days, there’s little to be proud about when it comes to being a Maldivian. The corruption and injustice running rampant in this small country of ours makes the country I was born and raised in a trifle bit hard to take most of the time. But then again, Maldives is home, it’s people are mine and I theirs, and there’s always that sense of belonging here that I have never found elsewhere. Though my inner free spirit lusts to travel to all corners of the earth, Maldives would always be my home.

In recent times, not a day has gone by without one local news or the other causing an uproar in the Maldivian community. The last one to hit us was the news that our language academy aka ‘Dhivehi Bahuge Academy’ had spoken out on the need to change the taxi boards affixed to every taxi as per new regulation should in fact be in the local language. An advisement that came a trifle bit too late in my opinion.

DhivehiBas

Image created by Waddey which depicts the ridiculousness of Dhivehi Bahuge Academy’s statement regarding Taxi boards

Yes, Dhivehi is our own language. Our mother tongue. A language that bears characteristics of and has evolved from a mix of Arabic, Sinhalese and Maharashtri, a language spoken in ancient India. The prospect of having our own language unique to us while is a novelty in the sense that the language is part of the definition of our race and culture, many would disagree with the fact that Dhivehi contributes in any positive way to our lives. While it also helps immensely when you need to share a gossipy tidbit with the friend next to you when you don’t want non-Dhivehi speaking individuals to know what you are talking about, there’s also the current generation and the one that will rule this country tomorrow that does not feel overly emotional at the prospect of losing our own language.

Dhivehi as Part of our Education

Some might argue that Dhivehi as a language is dying its imminent death because our education curriculum barely touches the subject as students move through their primary, secondary and high school education. From someone who has been through every stage of Dhivehi learning that the Maldivian curriculum has to offer, I have to say I was never impressed with the delivery of the language nor the teachers that came bearing the ‘goodness’ of the language.

Imagine, a sleep deprived teacher who walks in with a pinched look on their face to take a 45 minute class thrice weekly. First and foremost, the teacher alone serves as a turn off for students. Teaching a language is definitely something quite different when compared with various other subject matters. A love for the language one is teaching is a must to convey that sense of ‘I’ve got to learn this’ feeling to the students. From the moment the Dhivehi teacher walks into class everything starts going downhill. An uber bored ‘what the heck am I doing here’ voice will ask students to open to a page number, read what’s there, answer a couple of questions and then? Nothing. That’s it. There aren’t activities that would help a student learn what the language is about, to fall in love with it and see it as a language that could prove to be useful in their future. So how do we blame the current generation that has been bored to tears by teachers who couldn’t care less of the knowledge they were leaving their students with?

Lack of Proper Language Standards

I am no guru of the Dhivehi language. I barely managed to get a ‘C’ grade in both the SSC (Secondary School Certificate) exam and the HSC (Higher Secondary Certificate) exam later on. My handwriting would have definitely been on par with that of a doctor’s scribbles on a prescription if not for my father who was hellbent on working each of us to have a good handwriting when it came to Dhivehi as well as English. While I took to English like a duck to water, needless to say, Dhivehi came with its own dose of Valium pills in the mix.

What struck me most then and even now is the fact that Dhivehi lacks proper standards that are agreed upon and documented by the various ‘scholars’ of the language. While reading an article written by Hui Ali Didi might be the rage, it definitely does not instill the love a student ought to have in the language to seek more materials to read and learn from. With one teacher agreeing on one concept and the other the opposite, as students we remained confused and most of the time didn’t give it much of a thought except when it came to passing exams. Even then, unlike an English exam where one knows what is expected of them, Dhivehi exams always lay in the unknown; no one knew what was expected apart from writing essays that suited the current teacher’s accepted mode of essay writing. All in all, language standards remained the prerogative of the teacher in residence. So who do we blame for this confusion that has led everyone to correctly assume that Dhivehi as a language is not going to be viable for long if something drastic is not done to counter this effect?

The Language that Lies Stagnant

I don’t think most would disagree with me when I say that one of the most severe problems facing our language is the fact that Dhivehi as a language doesn’t seem to grow and expand to encompass and embrace the constant changing world that we live in.

If I were to be cruel, I’d have to say Dhivehi develops, if it can even be called that, at the rate it’s people develop. Our dictionary aka Radheef remains absolutely obsolete. There’s just one online version and that too no thanks to the department that was apparently ‘protecting’ the said document from going ‘viral’. Dhivehi linguists (most of them so darn proud of the fact) boasts about how rich our language really is. I fail to see the point. Perhaps because I have little or zero interest in reading most Dhivehi literature (those things just scream at me not to touch them), I really don’t see all that many words that can be used in multiple contexts. I judge a language to be rich by that. The words that ebb and flow and give meaning to the letters that you write on a page. Yes, our ancestors and current generation included are quite adept at cursing and throwing foul words around using the language; apart from that? Zilch, nada!

What Lies Ahead?

So in the end, whose responsibility is it to develop Dhivehi as a language? To make it grow and infuse it with very much needed life that could perhaps help bring it back from the throes of death. Where is the language academy’s role in all of this? Is their role limited to giving advice as to the bare minimum the law on the language asks from us, and that too when the time for the advice has come and gone? Or is their job a more vital one in terms of bringing the language to the people, to make it a highly usable one in all contexts?

One thing is dead certain, pun intended. Dhivehi as a language currently lies at the language academy, stagnant and half dead, just as the academy itself, barely breathing while the said academy ignores that and pushes on more important reforms needed to run the taxi services in this country. And as I see it, if something is not done soon enough, I don’t see it reviving and being able to keep up as the world continues to hurtle its way through tomorrow after tomorrow into the yonder.

Thoughts? Feel free to share! :)

 

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February 6, 2014

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And Along Came the Doctor’s Structure…

Indhira Gandhi Memorial Hospital

Indhira Gandhi Memorial Hospital

Today, I reached a new ‘high’ in the world of social media. Some might even say its an ‘achievement’ that few would attain by being as outspoken as I am with my thoughts and views on the social media.

What I found out today was that my thoughts which I share freely on twitter, and on Facebook to the limited audience of my friends has a ‘huge’ impact in shaping the policies that govern this country. Now who’d have thought huh? I definitely wouldn’t have. And didn’t. Until I received messages from two different individuals regarding my Facebook post that went together with the Haveeru news article on the implementation of the new job structure for doctors and just how disappointed most of them were about it.

Don’t get me wrong. Doctors are all the rage and all that. And at some point or the other we all owe our wellbeing and lives to one of them brilliant people. And there are those few doctors who continue to serve the public to the best of their ability all throughout their life that earns my wholehearted appreciation and gratitude.

My point of contention when it comes to doctors in this country begins with the fact that most of them just manipulate the system in place to achieve their personal financial goals in life. The government spends tons of money on their education, most of them requiring 5 to 6 years to complete their M.B.B.S and another 4 years to get specialized in an area of interest to them. And just like many of the public servants who study at the expense of the state and sign a bond agreement that they’d serve in the public sector at least for the specified duration of time, doctors too follow the majority and try and evade the system in place that SHOULD hold them accountable.

What one should realize when it comes to the public service is that it is pointless working in the sector thinking you’d attain financial security of the kind the rich and elite enjoy. Public service is not about how much money you earn. Rather it is about your contribution towards the betterment of your country. Towards keeping the machine that is the government working so that the public who receive essential services from it don’t have to resort to corruption and whatnot in order to get them. And I think the quote which I will write below taken from a report of a Commission to Enquire into Matters Affecting the Integrity of the Public Service in 1955 in the Malaysian government sums my thoughts up best.

“The fundamental principle of employment in the civil establishments is that a man devotes the whole of his working life to the public service in return for emoluments which are proportionate to his status and with a pension to provide for his old age. He can never acquire wealth but he is not exposed to unemployment or to the other risks of commercial life.”

I know better than most on exactly what I’m talking about when it comes to the public service. I have devoted more than 8 years of my life serving in the mechanics that govern the system. I also know the extent of corruption and mismanagement that has riddled one of the largest sectors in the public service of this country to date, a sector that has been pretty much neglected to wither and decay away on its own, regardless of the governments that have come and gone in the past couple of years. The issue that not all doctors are treated the same, of course owing to the ‘connections’ some have within the top layer of the government in place is one of the major issues faced by not just doctors but almost all public servants who come back from their studies. When the time comes to give back to the state, most of them, especially the ones who become specialized in various sub specialities tend to work in a way that maximizes their profits while the public who needs their service are practically leeched dry from the private clinics where these doctors see the maximum number of patients.

I’ve heard this tale many a time. It is impossible to get an appointment at IGMH, it is impossible to get the medicines required under the health insurance scheme ‘Aasandha’ etc. Nasheed’s government tried to implement the health insurance policy for everyone which ‘guaranteed’ that no one would have to pay out of their own pockets for medical expenses. Turned out that the National Social Protection Agency couldn’t keep up with the payments and one by one most of the private clinics that sees the bulk of patients visiting specialist doctors dropped out of the scheme rendering Aasandha mostly ineffective, unless you’re willing to wait around for more than a week to see your doctor at the government hospital.

My ire arises from this. I’ve heard from many within the sector, just how notoriously some of these specialists work the system so that they see only around 5-10 patients at the hospital during their O.P.D hours and then go on to see 20 or so patients at the clinics from whom they charge an amount equivalent to MVR 300.00 from most clinics. And specialists like those in cardiology, the last time I took my father in law to see one, I was charged MVR 400.00 to see him. That is bloody expensive when you take into account just how much of a hand to mouth existence most people live in.

If doctors cannot survive with their take home pays higher than most public servants except of course the parliament who are in a league of their own, what are those who receive a take home pay of mostly MVR 5,000.00 to do to survive? Are they to wait eons in a queue to see a specialist doctor at the hospital while their ailment continues to escalate and bother them because doctors just don’t have enough time to see patients at the hospital in which they are supposed to serve when they come back from their studies? If everyone suddenly gives up on the country saying that nothing will ever be put to rights here, who on earth is going to come and put our affairs in order? Who can we count on but ourselves to know the flaws in our systems and propose ways to correct them and try and try even though it seems like a fight we’d never win? Sometimes I wonder whether investing in foreign doctors would yield better service for the people than investing in educating Maldivians who at best are so far removed from their ability to empathize, that most of them hardly care about their patients much less the system that does everyone wrong.

What tickled my funny bone today is the fact that apparently one of my Facebook ‘friends’ thought my posts on the issue, which I have to say were quite a few, were found to be ‘important’ enough to be discussed at a meeting held at the health ministry regarding the doctor’s new job structure. Rather than focus on the issue at hand, I bet now I have a “Hate” club of doctors who would practically find ways to murder me if they could get away with it.

My Facebook just like all my other social networking accounts, is my own. The opinions I express there are solely mine, they don’t in anyway reflect the place I work at nor can they impose their values and views on me. In other words, the Civil Service Commission doesn’t do my thinking for me. I’m not that senile yet, to not be able to think on my own. My parents spent a ton of money on my education just so that I’d turn into someone who doesn’t require anyone else to spoon feed thoughts and brainwash me into submission.

The fact that a fellow doctor went and blasted at my elder sister who herself is one, because of my opinions, shows just how professional a doctor the person is. If the ego in some of these doctors in the system lets them entertain the opinion that Maldivian doctors are such a special and privileged bunch, I have as much right to hold an opinion that veers in the opposite direction. What today’s actions prove is that I did hit somewhere it hurts when I said that most doctors of this country are not in sector to serve the public but rather themselves.

The point is that most people in this country just don’t bother commenting on any of the stuff that happens in this society because, either they have their connections that will see them through a tight spot, or they are just so fed up of the system that never changes regardless. I guess I always end up being the person who expresses the opinions held by many, which most just don’t want to come out with.

And to whoever it was that took screenshots of my Facebook statuses on the issue regarding the Maldivian doctors community, please do the needful and share this too so that you’d all have something to be righteously indignant about in the next meeting. And on that note, thank you for making me feel so important. You have no idea just how wonderfully wrong you are in assuming I have anything to do at the policy level where I work. Next time, get your facts straight before giving attitude to my family. If you have something to say, you’re most welcome to share your thoughts on your own accounts and even here by commenting if you may. And in the meantime, don’t kill anyone.

Ta!