They are waiting …but President Nasheed isn’t Harry Houdini!

Mariyam is 34. Her husband, a heroin addict, has had intermittent interactions with her during his time away from the prison sentences to father 8 children from the marriage. She lives along with her 8 children, 4 siblings and mother, in two match box sized slum-like rooms. Her family has been living on the generosity of her distant relatives ever since her father died of heart failure a year ago.

Aishath, still a year short of 30, was married eight times to seven men. Their only remnant in her life is six children whose whereabouts today remain somewhat a mystery to her. I know she is not demented but the last time I heard of her she was in Guraidhoo - her mother has found a clever way of putting her under Govt ‘care’!

Rashid, 43 a Director General in the Government and father of 3 children isn’t the kind of person you would think could end up with a Bank of Maldives ‘lui loan’. He earns slightly over USD2,000 a month from his job and through rental income. But his regular ‘medico-sexual’ trips to Bangkok, weekend ‘masdhathuru’ and daily ‘coffees’ with his friends have now left him with a mounting credit card debt and an outstanding ‘lui loan’ and is now contemplating on running for Majlis!

Rashfa, a 26-year-old graduate in marketing doesn’t find anything wrong with credit card debt and borrowings from her parents. It’s a must for her. That’s because her monthly salary of Rf 6,000 doesn’t even cover half of the expenses she has to incur on her favourite DKNY fragrances and L'Oreal cosmetics and regular shopping sprees on bags and shoes.

Ahmed 23, is voluntarily unemployed for the last 8 months. Being a bright student he got good grades at school but has shied way from a job for his mother finances, from her two-bedroom rented apartment, his daily packet of Marboro and Lavazzas with his friends. A few months ago Dhiraagu disconnected his mother’s phone line after he accumulated a whopping Rf10,000 bill from his overseas calls to his girlfriend in Malaysia.

My brother, a hard working man employed at a private company is living with his school teacher wife, three lovely kids and their maid in a 10x8 sq ft room, at age 38. Not a single flat/goathi round from Hulhumale or Vilingili over the last 10 years have gone without an application from him and his wife.

In spite of former health Minister Ahmed Abdulla’s repeated calls, Shakeeba 27, from Sh. Narudhoo and her 3 children aged between 3-8 do not eat the occasional bunch of banana they get from the ‘keyo feeni’ in their backyard. The good loins from the tuna her cousin Adam brings home also do not form a part of their diet. Only the fish head, badaidhoo, kashifathi and other parts of the fish that has zero commercial value goes into their pot of garudhiya. The good bunch of banana and the loins, sent to Male on board a Kulhudhuffushi boat are the only means to buy the main staples.

I don’t know how many times Haleema was married and how many children she has had. Today, she is in her early 60s and living with her current husband and three generations of her 8 children in a 10x10 sq ft room which is her bedroom, bathroom, living room, kitchen - all in one.

These people aren't fictitious characters. They are true stories of real people (names changed) I know and have blogged about on earlier occasions. There are hundreds of more people out there whose stories aren’t very different from theirs. All of them have hopes and dreams. Expectations are sky high. President Nasheed has just been sworn in and I know he is no Harry Houdini but I just can’t help thinking about what he is going to come up with to meet the expectations from his people.