Shaneedh

On the 28th of October 2008, the Maldivian people have unequivocally stated their desire for change in this country. Most of the people who voted for Anni probably did not consider what Aneh Dhivehiraajje may look like. While there were five issues proposed in the election by Anni, there really was no comprehensive set of policies on the election agenda. I believe people just wanted a change of government. This was for the simple reason that they had trusted Qayyoom for 30 years and he was not able to make a difference in their lives. Of course, the level of depravity of DRP which was evident in the media in the final few days before voting clinched the deal for change. ANYTHING different from Qayyoom-rule was preferred by most voters.

The last week of campaigning confirmed for me what the result was most likely to be. However, it also made evident that Qayyoom was not prepared to step down whatever the cost. I was expecting turmoil in the country and bloodshed any minute. But by the Grace of Allah, we have been spared from it to a large degree as of now.

While we might like to claim that we achieved change without bloodshed, this claim would be an injustice to the families of the number of innocent victims who lost their lives due to political maneuverings. It all started with the life of Evan Naseem and others who lost their lives in jail. Then came the life of an innocent 14 year old who was killed by a group who came out of a DRP meeting (no one even remembers now that this kid was killed). This violence quickly spread to numerous incidences of violence with cutters, knives, clubs, iron bars…you name it and it was used against people in violence. All these were very quickly dismissed as “gang violence” and “paatey fights”. This was of course, a myth created and sustained by the government. If there was no government involvement in these incidents, why were, why are, the perpetrators still at large?

The last in this series of political violence was another innocent young boy who lost his life. A young lad who did not have an inkling about his destined role in this ruthless game. I wonder what was going through his mind as he set out to distribute those Wathan Edhey Gothah CDs? Was he thinking about a bright future for him and others of his age? Was he wondering about what Aneh Dhivehiraajje would look like? Or maybe he was hoping that he might at least get some decent housing with a new government in place? I suppose we will never know. Ever since I heard the news of his death, I have asked myself a thousand times : what were his final thoughts? Hope? Agony? Despair? Hopelessness?

Ironically, this lad was also attacked by a group who came out of a DRP gathering. The demise and downfall of an authoritarian regime, sandwiched between the violent deaths of two innocent 15 year olds? Life can be so twisted sometimes.

Question is, if people have gone to such lengths over a four year period to deter change and to protect the regime, is there any limit to what the same people will do to hang on to the final threads? In our moment of seeming victory, we may be tempted to turn a blind eye to reality. I have been observing the unfolding drama of Qayyoom and DRP over the past few days, and it is very clear where that drama is leading us. They may say that they have accepted defeat, but their actions and the sequence of events, the sms messages that are being floated around, the rumours that are being spread, reveal a carefully choreographed series of events and activities which is setting the stage for the ultimate denial of election results. If key people in the contingent leave town one after the other in quick succession, that will be the final signal of what is to come.

It is not unusual for the end of these kinds of regimes to be associated with violence. The reason is that the regime gets into a vicious cycle. The have to hang on to power at any cost to prevent negative consequences of actions within the regime. In order to hang on to power, more atrocities have to be committed and so it goes on and on and on. Nelson Mandela broke South Africa out of this cycle by his famous Truth and Reconciliation Council. But maybe, for the Maldives, this may not be an alternative; simply because the community is too small to absorb these kinds of things without ostracisation coming about.

Freedom in most nations has come with a cost. We have already paid heavily for the freedom we have got so far. The final breakaway from servitude will definitely invoke further costs, but I fervently hope that it will not be in the form of further bloodshed, damage to property and a general loss in the sense of security of the Maldivian people.

May Allah protect us all, and may he pardon the sins of Shaneedh and all others who have been the unknowing sacrificial lambs in this unholy ceremony of power transfer. May Allah grant them a place in heaven.

Rest in Peace, Shaneedh, my son. Rest in Peace. How I weep for you and all the others who have been brutally murdered to pacify the wrath of selfishness.