Why are Maldivian boys rude?

These days you'll have to listen to schoolboys at your own risk. Their insult strewn lingo is definitely not for the weak hearted. If you unwittingly walk into a group of young boys having fun on the road, it is strongly recommended you reverse your steps before they spot you. The worst mistake you can ever do is to start advising them on good behavior.

Young boys hanging around street corners and making a nuisance of themselves have become a national disaster. Their kin who make life difficult for teachers and parents are no better.

After observing the current scenario, it's difficult to imagine that once Male was a very peaceful place with young boys respecting teachers, parents and elders and helping them in their daily chores. So what has gone wrong?

The obvious truth is that this is the result of national negligence. All of us are to blame –government, teachers, religious scholars, parents, adults, all. Over the last 30 years we have done nothing, absolutely nothing, to shape the behaviors of our children.

On the other hand, we do everything to spoil them. Even before the child is born, we start collecting baby clothes, toiletries and toys. As soon as the child is born pampering with material presents begins in earnest.

We also do nothing to discipline the child when he/she misbehaves. We believe disciplining and punishing children make them lose their self confidence. We believe this leaves them weak to face competition in today's material world.

The end result of all this pampering is that by the time our 'lovely' child goes to school, he is already a spoilt brat to the teachers. Most parents find this difficult to believe and dispute the teachers, in the process teaching the boy not to respect the teachers.

Can we improve the situation? Certainly. There are many examples of government as well as NGOs and individuals successfully creating awareness among the people and changing behavior. Take the example of health and nutrition awareness. Today nearly all people avoid foods with oil and cholesterol. They also consume fruits and vegetables and avoid junk food. The number of youngsters and adults taking regular exercise has also increased.

Similarly the number of youngsters doing regular 5 times prayers is at an all time high. The number of girls wearing the buruqa has also reached about 80%. All these shows that with the right type of technique behavior can be changed.

It's not too late to save the young generation. But the time to start work is now.

Intellectuals and the 5 star hotel

Maldivian intellectuals, particularly those of the commercial kind, rarely foray into social issues. So this time when a group of architects, civil engineers and lawyers submitted a petition against the proposed 5 star hotel in Lonuziyaaraykolhu it was something of a surprise. The question is, why did they think this so important that they broke up years of near total silence? Is the project so flawed that it deserves instant condemnation?

The answer appears to be an emphatic 'no'. In fact, it appears that the intellectuals simply signed somebody's petition without actually verifying the facts. For example, the document got the site of the hotel wrong. While it says the hotel is to be located in the public park to the east of Dharubaaruge, actually only a part of the park was to be used for the hotel. Most of the land was to come from the premises of Dharubaaruge.

The arguments against the hotel were also rather vague and had little relevance to the hotel project. While the petition talks about congestion in the island of Male, it is rather obvious that the hotel would add very little to the existing congestion. Male already has 100,000 locals and about 40,000 expatriate laborers living here. It is difficult to understand how an additional 500 to 600 hotel guests could add anything significant to the existing congestion in Male.

The intellectuals also fail to understand that a bustling capital like Male needs a 5-star hotel to accommodate the numerous business and diplomatic visitors. Keeping them in nearby resorts is not a solution to the issue. Not everybody will be happy with a launch ride back to their hotel room every night especially in inclement weather.

How long will Dhivehi survive?

In the 90s it was common to see young office girls reading Binma Waheed and Nahla's stories. Not any longer. A few weeks back I went searching the leading bookshops of Male for a good Dhivehi novel. I was surprised to learn that there are hardly any Dhivehi novels on display. The only ones I found were copies of the recent series of books written by Mustafa Lutfi. The shopkeeper told me they don't sell either. I discussed this with a friend who informed me that recently he was told by an official of Novelty, the leading publisher in the Maldives, that they are no longer publishing Dhivehi books as there is no market for them.

I had a similar experience looking for Dhivehi songs. Nearly 90% of songs stocked by music shops are English and Hindi CDs. The classical Dhivehi songs of the 70s and 80s have all but disappeared except in the series of 'E-Handhaan' CDs produced by Voice of Maldives.

The disdain shown by the current generation of Maldivians to Dhivehi literature is also reflected in student attitudes towards teaching Dhivehi at school. For nearly all students their most hated subject is the compulsorily taught Dhivehi language.

We know at least one reason why youngsters are moving away from Dhivehi. The youth spend most of their leisure time chatting on mobile phones or PCs and usually Dhivehi fonts are not available on these programs. So if one wants to use Dhivehi one has to write in Latin script. Many youngsters find it more convenient therefore to write in English itself.

If this trend continues how long will Dhivehi language survive?