The news of the knifing of the Human Resources Manager of Club Med Kani, in his office on the resort island should have shocked the nation. Yet, the incident does not seem to have alarmed anyone in particular. It can very well be that knifing is such an every day incident in this nation which claim to be the Sunny Side of Life… or paradise on Earth.
Knifing amongst locals have grown to new heights and the army had to be called onto the streets to control the violence that killed a young man and a child, the latter who was fourteen years died while in a coma in the intensive care unit of the main hospital in Male. The army has gone back to the barracks claiming that the violence is now under control. A week from the bold announcement, there were two incidents of violence in Male which also involved “cutting up” as we say here in the Maldives.
Since then, two knifing incidents one in the Four Seasons Resort and the other after two days in Club Med is alarming enough, to anyone who has a long term perspective on the “golden goose that lays the golden eggs” for the nation that is set to perish from sea level rise anyway, according to state sources.
The Club Med Incident is alarming in that it shows that the “the culture of violence” and bodily harm to others by “cutting them up” is inching toward the breadbasket. The day that a tourist is knifed in Maldives is the day when all hell will break loose and we will not have to wait for sea level rise to perish us, but will be gone much before that.
When it happens, we will have many fantastic ideas of how it could have been prevented and who is to blame. Yet, we – a nation whose human development index (though the UN will boast about its greatness) is below any humanly civilized level, does not have the capacity to be proactive about it.
Smile and Let Smile 
Anonymous
May 5, 2008 at 1:38 am
The tourism industry should see this as a sign of things to come and act fast. MATI should raise their concerns about growing violence and call for the resignation or removal of Home Minister Kamaludeen and Police Commissioner Adam Zahir. If Champa Afeef, Koli Mohodhey, Deen and Damas Salih want to remove those incompetent figures from the government this is the time to act.
muiz
May 5, 2008 at 12:44 am
A good article!The terrorist activities seem to be back on the rise again (by the way, isn’t it a amazing coincidence that only when someone dressed in a particular way and lives a particular way carry out the same sort of acts that it get labelled a terrorist act!). A lot of sincere work have to be done from policy level and in many levels below that throughout the society in order to get this solved. I also agree with “keyolhubey” to a certain extent. I just want to say that, yes, Islamic Shariah is the solution, but one should not forget that the Shariah is based on utmost justice. Social, religious,economic justice should also be implemented under shariah. Withouth doing so, if the judiciary is to go and implement just the punishment part of the shariah, then we are not really implementing shariah!!! We will be doing a great injustice to the people and the religion as well. The shariah is not just the punishments, which forms jsut a miniscale part of the whole system. Islamic shariah is a complete system, in every essense. Thats why we need sincere, educated people to come to the forefront and work together in getting the country into track! (pls have a read of my article on this subject too: http://www.muizzu.com/2008/04/intellectual-hypocracy.html).A difference can be made!
keyolhubey
May 4, 2008 at 11:59 pm
very true article.in my opinion, the govt. authorities is to be blamed for these causes, because they are the people who can implement laws in accoradance with the islamic law, and the govt. cannot blame us because each and everyone is not a wrongdoer, it is a PART of society that creates the violence. it is the freedom that led to the chaos in the country, for not establishing the punishment for the guilty. ‘IF’ the islamic punishment is implemented, i bet Maldives will one of the most peaceful country on earth, thats what the islamic history has proved from the age of prophet Mohammad.