These sun-kissed islands, this evening cloudy sky, these serene sea sides, full of tranquillity, away from chaos. I feel my heartbeat shifting at ease. As I take each step, barefoot on the sand of my country.Clean, blue water of my country has seen me through thick and thin.As I move towards my home in Male after spending a peaceful evening of solitude, I see vehicles lined up one after the other. The traffic has replaced the silence, the serenity. It is not only the traffic of vehicles which concerns the public of Maldives but the traffic of oppression. The smooth flow of life is being obstructed by tyranny and the political oppression. The common voice of our people is struggling hard to pave way for itself.
Clean, blue water of my country has seen me through thick and thin.As I move towards my home in Male after spending a peaceful evening of solitude, I see vehicles lined up one after the other. The traffic has replaced the silence, the serenity. It is not only the traffic of vehicles which concerns the public of Maldives but the traffic of oppression. The smooth flow of life is being obstructed by tyranny and the political oppression. The common voice of our people is struggling hard to pave way for itself.
It’s one beautiful day in Maldives, it’s raining outside, tapping my window panes. I am at home, having a cup of black coffee and suddenly I see the news flash on television which says A prominent blogger has been killed. Thoughts lined up my mind. My brother is out and he is a writer, too. Is he safe?
The voice of Maldives gets shuddered all over again.
The very basic right, the freedom of expression has been curtailed. If you against the tyrannical government, you’ll be killed. Is this the message that the worshippers of tyranny trying to convey to us?
Somebody abducts a journalist and his whereabouts are still not ‘known’. MPs are unseated or jailed on false allegations. People are being attacked in prayer gatherings. THIS IS NOT THE MALDIVES WHERE I GREW UP.
I remember the time when I was small and mamma would dress me with vibrant colours, took me to shopping in my adolescence years and gave me full liberty to wear anything. Something has changed over the years. The same woman now tells me to dress ‘properly’, cover my head with a scarf. As soon as girls hit the age of puberty, they are being married off. No matter what happens, women around the globe get majorly affected by each event. Women are suffering in every sphere of life in Maldives.
We grew up watching your films, Shehanshah. You have always been the hero, fighting against the evil. We have watched you fulfilling your social responsibility, campaigning for health, bet it Polio or campaigning for the common people of India.
There is no place for human rights in our country, Mr Bachchan. You being an ambassador of WHO must realize that we have greater issues than health problems in our country.
We cannot ‘be’ free let alone healthy. Why do we forget when we talk about health that it concerns mental health as well? According to a report, cases of self-harm took flight in this peaceful country.
We aren’t at peace. Each day is a struggle in Maldives. They are trying to chain our voice, out thoughts, our choices. We aren’t a free country. Democracy is losing its meaning here. Do not propagate health awareness without considering the mental health of common people here. The everyday life is losing its meaning, it is getting monotonous. The helplessness is clouding over the minds of active, happy people of my beloved country.
The people are deprived of very basic rights. Doctors advises a MP to go abroad for treatment, the autocratic President seizes his passport. This is the clear violation of human rights. There is no value of a life in this country, not anymore…not under this so called rule of law.
In this crisis situation, i want people of my country to have faith in themselves and keep pressing forward and keeping rising.
I am reminded of a poem by one of my favorite writers- Maya Angelou :
Out of the huts of history’s shame
I rise
Up from a past that’s rooted in pain
I rise
I’m a black ocean, leaping and wide,
Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.
Leaving behind nights of terror and fear
I rise
Into a daybreak that’s wondrously clear
I rise
Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave,
I am the dream and the hope of the slave.
I rise
I rise
I rise.
Full details are available from the link below:
