Voice of Maldives Islands

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...

The article was published in Maldives Economic Review in its December 2019 Issue 2.  To read the full article click link at end  World Bank in an introductory economic report on Maldives in 1979 states that “Male dominates the political, economic, and social structure of the country. It is here that a small national elite presides over the archipelago's affairs and takes decisions that are crucial to the well-being of the atolls. Not surprisingly, a disproportionate share of government expenditures directly benefits Male and ensures its residents a standard of living that is substantially higher than in the atolls The other islands now rely upon it as their main trading post and contact point with the rest of the world” Fifty years later Male’ has become one of the most congested cities in the world with a population density of 65,201 per km according to National Bureau of Statistics of Maldives. Top reasons for migration as per census is; as a return migrant, ed...