Although I’m away from home, I like to stay on top of local news so that I know what’s going on. However, I must say that news from home has recently been synonymous mostly with just ‘bad’ news.

I just had a look at yesterday’s local Maldivian news. 6 out of 7 news items were on various forms of reported violence, unrest and social disharmony … some citizens of an island broke down the walls of a mosque and the island office, money was stolen for the second time from the Welfare Department’s safe, prisoners are creating havoc inside one of the jails, party administration office of National Party was broken into…..etc etc.

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It is really sad to see what the Maldives is becoming today. The tolerance level of violence within the society a few years ago was significantly less compared to today where street crimes, gang violence and attacks have become part of life, especially on the capital. From the safest place on Earth we are slowly becoming a tiny, crowded & unpleasant crime box!

Perhaps the tourists are almost unaffected by these changes due to the isolated nature of our resorts. Our resorts are designed so that tourists enjoy maximum security and privacy while they are on holiday in the beautiful islands. Still, such a negative trend which possibly is getting worse as we speak can’t be a positive formula for the development of the country as a whole. At some point, this is going to seep through to the tourist resorts and finally spoil the one good thing we have – a robust tourism industry.

What Maldives offers as a product is a full package, one of beauty, relaxation, privacy, safety and enjoyment. The social cohesion and harmony Maldives enjoys is a major contributor to the factors I just mentioned. Losing the balance of this delicate mix could be extremely unfortunate for our country and it is time we address the situation with better policies. Amidst the numerous financial difficulties, climate threats and vulnerability, we must also pay attention to the volatile social balance in the country which has always been a major selling point of our tourism.

It’s indeed great that Maldives has embraced democracy in all its glory. Change has come to us. We now enjoy greater transparency, more freedom and a louder voice of the public. These are all reasons why we must NOT resort to violent means to solve our problems. Democracy is meant to be the solution to our problems, not the cause of more problems! It is time for both the government and the people of Maldives to think, and act before the very threads which hold this society together are broken in perhaps, much quicker than we expect…

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