This afternoon I was walking past the Reefside Electronics shop near Jumhooree Maidhaan. A young man walked past me with two Chinese tourists. As they turned the corner I heard the young man say, “this is my sister” in English, in response to a group of other colleagues of his. They responded with, “… too old!”

I stopped in my tracks! What have we turned into? Probably the tourists wouldn’t understand what the young men said. Still, it sends shock waves through the mind, to think that we depend on tourism and that this is our attitude to those who bring in the dollar that is so crucial to our economy.

As I walked on, I couldn’t help wondering our racist attitude. We treat our tourists also differently depending on their color and country of origin or race. I am saying this because I have experienced this. A tourist of Indian origin from the UK is treated differently from a white European.

I bumped into some of my friends later, and couldn’t help discussing the need for civil education that would ensure an attitude that is respectful of all humans as equal. Hulhumaale ferry incident the other day is no wonder!