This piece was originally published in Commonwealth Adda as part of their creative nonfiction series. ‘This is My Home. I want to live here and be buried here’ was my aunt’s repeated wish every time the impending move from her island, Dhidhdhoo, to the capital city, Malé, had come up in our conversations. Now that she had been unwillingly brought here, I dreaded meeting her knowing we were unable to fulfill her wishes. The towering edifice of concrete and steel seemed to bear down on me as I waited in line to enter the elevator. Cramped inside the box, I could hardly breathe as it ascended to the fourteenth floor where my aunt had moved in a few days ago. She looked defeated. She had refused the move for many years and only did so now to please her children who wanted better healthcare for her – services not available on or near my island. Her concerns were many. These big buildings scared her; the elevator took the life out of her. Would she be able t...
Illustration by Aishath Rishtha Translation: “When the Last Tree Is Cut Down, the Last Fish Eaten, and the Last Stream Poisoned, You Will Realize That You Cannot Eat Money” 2014: Think about it? In 2014, I started writing a book using census and all available economic data on every atoll including data on how many uninhabited islands each atoll has. I thought that showing demographic, geographic and economic data will make people realize we need to do something about abandoning such rich resources for a congested living in Male’…. I shared the first draft with friends and mother thinking everyone will be very pleased. They weren’t happy. Major problem seemed to be - “just throwing data on people is not enough… we need to talk about some solutions. Take food security for one…..” 2016: Write about it? The book (Falhu Aliran Muy)- now twice bulky, with economic history (on the suggestion of Late Ali Hussain of Novelty Printers) and 11 interventions on future of ato...