How my friend Ali Farsighted, over a casual coffee, talked about the need for a ‘paradigm shift’ in Maldivian thinking is still fresh in my memory. That was a few weeks after the 26th Dec tsunami. I thought Ali was on the money in his thinking on his ‘paradigm shift’ in population consolidation. His contention was that the calamity had given our people a once in a lifetime opportunity to rethink the way only 300 thousand people are living on 195 islands which are suited to one thing only - a subsistence based, nomadic fishing community.
I also remember how another friend of mine, then working at Planning Ministry, distanced himself from the Government’s decision to develop R. Dhuvaafaru, when I asked him how the Ministry had selected the island as the new abode for the residents of Kadholhudhoo. Today, after 4 years, the island has been developed for its 4,000 inhabitants, at a cost of over Rf390 million – that’s a staggering hundred thousand rufiyaa per person. Another island destroyed by tsunami, Th. Vilufushi, has also been developed at whopping cost of 340million rufiyaa – that’s over Rf 130,000 per inhabitant for the 2,500 odd people who will ultimately call the island, home. Only two islands have set us over three-quarters of a billion rufiyaa behind. And there’s so much more to this. Now that our people ‘know’ what their ‘rights’ are, there are some 190 odd islands that would not shy away from going Maduvvaree’s way. After all, if people in Dhuvaafaru, Hulhumale, Vilufushi and Male can have safe infrastructures in their islands, there is no reason to believe that the Government cannot provide the same to Madduvvarians. The demands will be unstoppable. Decentralization and ‘local governments’ aren’t going to do the trick.
I must say, Ali was damn right. Tsunami was the only opportunity we had to convince Yahuya Average that he has no choice but to move away from his fishing village of less than 300 people if he wants his two sons and three daughters to complete Cambridge A levels and his grandmother Faathumafulhu to undergo the cataract surgery that she had required for years, without having to leave his home island. But now it looks like we have lost that opportunity forever. New Housing Minister has said on record that he doesn’t want too many Hulhumales. Housing Minister is right. Large scale dredging does irreversible damage to our coral islands. But if the plight of Yahuya Average’s fifth generation children are to be anything other than buying land to settle down alongside Dalits in Indian ghettos, we cant help but be fascinated by the seemingly utopian Bushry’s ‘safe island’.
I also remember how another friend of mine, then working at Planning Ministry, distanced himself from the Government’s decision to develop R. Dhuvaafaru, when I asked him how the Ministry had selected the island as the new abode for the residents of Kadholhudhoo. Today, after 4 years, the island has been developed for its 4,000 inhabitants, at a cost of over Rf390 million – that’s a staggering hundred thousand rufiyaa per person. Another island destroyed by tsunami, Th. Vilufushi, has also been developed at whopping cost of 340million rufiyaa – that’s over Rf 130,000 per inhabitant for the 2,500 odd people who will ultimately call the island, home. Only two islands have set us over three-quarters of a billion rufiyaa behind. And there’s so much more to this. Now that our people ‘know’ what their ‘rights’ are, there are some 190 odd islands that would not shy away from going Maduvvaree’s way. After all, if people in Dhuvaafaru, Hulhumale, Vilufushi and Male can have safe infrastructures in their islands, there is no reason to believe that the Government cannot provide the same to Madduvvarians. The demands will be unstoppable. Decentralization and ‘local governments’ aren’t going to do the trick.
I must say, Ali was damn right. Tsunami was the only opportunity we had to convince Yahuya Average that he has no choice but to move away from his fishing village of less than 300 people if he wants his two sons and three daughters to complete Cambridge A levels and his grandmother Faathumafulhu to undergo the cataract surgery that she had required for years, without having to leave his home island. But now it looks like we have lost that opportunity forever. New Housing Minister has said on record that he doesn’t want too many Hulhumales. Housing Minister is right. Large scale dredging does irreversible damage to our coral islands. But if the plight of Yahuya Average’s fifth generation children are to be anything other than buying land to settle down alongside Dalits in Indian ghettos, we cant help but be fascinated by the seemingly utopian Bushry’s ‘safe island’.
8 comments:
Hey Naimbe,
What fascinates me is the half-naked bodies of female tourists visiting us.
True. I also thought that the post-tsunami time offered us that opportunity for a paradigm shift. But as per our usual short-sightedness the opportunity for population consolidation may indeed have been lost. Now we can only cry over spilled milk. If that would do any good which I strongly doubt.
nice post, dude. u r really spot on, on this one.
dude, u r fascinated by your fellow blogger Bushry's rubbish? he is a complete idiot.
I noticed that you've been on the blogger since 2006. where were you all this time? looks like you have reactivated your blog just in time for majlis. U also running for majlis???
you really hit the nail with this article! it is utter ridiculous to spend hundreds of millions to develop island which are going to house 5000 people at the maximum! It seems as if the govt thinks we are floating in a sea of extra cash.
We arnt gonna be able to achieve any significant social and economic development any further without tackling the issue of population consolidation.
But unfortunately the govt seems to be too busy reviewing each and every prisoners case to give them some leeway, instead of tackling the country's real issues.
Naimbe running for majlis - he he. People - not everyone is after a red passport - and in any case, maybe naimbe already has one ;-)
As for your post, I don't agree that we have lost the opportunity for population consolidation. Any responsible government who thinks beyond the Feb 2009 election and accepts economic realities will know with certainty that it will not be able to continue to provide decent services under the current dispersed model, so what choice does a govt really have? How about this scenario? Create a few cities with adequate infrastructure(I would say no more than four in addition to Male' region) with some satellite islands close by linked to the regional centers by a transportation network which could cater to the bulk of our small population of 300,000 odd people? If policy makers does a good PR job and educate the people on this, I believe we will have rational people who opt to move. Anyone who still wants to live in their dispersed islands can have the option to do so - give them the option to choose between better facilities in the regional centers as opposed to basic amenities in their far flung home islands. This is the concept of country vs city as practiced in most countries. The opportunity the previous govt lost after the tsunami was the use of effective PR; take a stand and give people a couple of options, then do a good sell job as to why this needs to be done, it will be the people's choice whether to stay or move! What say you?
your coffee scene made me understand what they meant by 'intellectual masturbation'
Post a Comment