This article is taken from Maldivian Economist Facebook Page.
Maldives gained political independence on 26th July 1965. But most
Maldivians are yet to gain "economic independence" as we celebrate 50
years of political independence this year. The majority of our
population are victims of economic slavery without adequate access to
clean water, sanitation, health facilities and education. Even though we
have enough resources, those resources are controlled by very few.
Where did we go wrong? How were we made victims of economic slavery by a
very powerful group of people?
Did you know that there was an
iniquitous poll tax called vaaru, levied on Maldivians who were
residents of islands other than Malé? This tax was abolished during
Ibrahim Nasir's term at office. However, the islanders still had to take
prior approval from the government in order to visit Male'. This rule
was abolished by President Maumoon. Such harsh treatment towards the
people in the islands resulted in uprisings against government on
several occasions notably the rebellion in Suvadive Republic.
Suvadive Republic was a short-lived breakaway nation in the remote
Southern Atolls of the Maldives. The alleged causes of a creating a
separation included the centralistic policies of the government and
iniquitous taxes, racism and humiliation largely aimed at the islanders.
A mosque during British rule of Gan
To suppress the revolt in the southern atolls, the government brutally
attacked islands such as Thinadhoo where people were ruthlessly killed,
women raped and many burnt in their homes. Nasir's officials established
the new atoll offices in the looted houses.
The new policemen
from Male' behaved unethically. Some accounts suggest that women were
often victims of assault. A testimonial of an elderly in Huvadhu in 1997
quoted 'They wore shorts and drank alcoholic toddy. A woman couldn't
even go to the mosque to get water without being harassed! People were
arrested and assaulted and women were often raped. Some were made
pregnant." (Source: Maldives Culture Website) Most of these cases were
not prosecuted and the injustice remained unanswered. Police brutality
& violence has been a routine throughout the history.
After
the uprisings against economic inequality and caste system, the
politicians realised that the most effective way of controlling people
will be to control how they think. Mass propaganda through media which
was controlled by the state focused on symbols and slogans of
nationalism and patriotism. Language and heritage, religion, values and
beliefs were promoted with patriotic songs as a way to keep people
united no matter how barbaric government policies will become.
People were made to believe that this is a poor country with very
limited resources, while few kept on looting resources and getting rich.
Propaganda and religion played a huge role in public perception that
wealth was a gift granted by God in order to test the faith of people.
This made the public to believe that the corrupt rich got wealth as a
gift from God. Religion was also used as a mean of indoctrinating the
masses to force them to be content with what they have and not question
the authority. Finally people would happily accept poverty and
injustice.
If you look at Maldivian history, you will understand
that the wealthiest people who control the country now, acquired their
wealth by either illegally making a government company their own, or
transferring assets and resources of government to their businesses
without any compensation. They managed to do this by making deals with
politicians, with a promise that they will fund, promote and control
people to safeguard the governments & politicians for years to come.
One reason why people in power let corruption get in their way of
better judgment was because they were aware that economic freedom will
liberate the people which will make it difficult to control them. Thus
they limited economic activities by making laws to favor their business
and used religion as an excuse. For example, in 1984, after lobbying
from resort owners, guesthouse tourism was prohibited, which gave
monopoly of foreign currency income and employment to a few very
powerful people.
It is a fact that there were times when other
regions in Maldives were more developed and economically sufficient than
Male' region. After uprisings in northern & southern atolls,
central government in Male' region decided to halt major economic
activities, resulting in less employment opportunities. Government’s
decision to not equally allocate resources to the northern and southern
atolls of Maldives resulted in underdevelopment of these regions
compared to central atolls. As a result of socio economic hardships created by underdevelopment, Male’ atoll and surrounding areas became a
pull zone for domestic immigration. Consecutively, over the years this
led to an uneven distribution of population around the country which was
the main cause of the major problems being faced by Maldives today
(such as congestion, lack of basic facilities and income disparity).
The intentionally “forced” migration led to economic slavery creating
social problems such as drug abuse, social problems, poverty, crimes
& lots of mental diseases we see all throughout the country. The
biggest challenge we face today is to convince the people that they are
victims of economic slavery. What we must remember is poverty and
injustice is not natural, it is man-made. George Orwell once stated in
an essay named "Notes on Nationalism" that nationalism is ‘the worst
enemy of peace’, as it gives us a false feeling of freedom. Real freedom
is economic freedom, not waving a flag.
Recently initiated
population consolidation plans arouses suspicion, because it could
reduce number of inhabited islands thus reducing prospect for guest
house tourism in these islands which would be economically beneficial to
eradicate disparity. Last year, a new plan was initiated by the
government to introduce Special Economic Zones (SEZ). SEZ takes power
away from the people, local government and elected officials,
concentrating wealth under a centralized authoritarian government. The
rich are afforded huge tax cuts, while the rest struggles with indirect
taxation and inflation. Lack of a minimum wage, human trafficking,
regressive tax system, and gap between rich poor makes Maldives a
nightmare for the poor & middle classes. Read our article on SEZ
here http://minivannews.com/…/comment-sez-bill-opens-doors-for-e…
Over the years, laws made by parliament members funded by the rich, and
propaganda via media controlled by the rich have kept us in economic
slavery until the age of information which made us think. Only you can
change it. Educate yourself, educate others.
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