2012: A tImELiNe

I know it has been a while since I blogged, and honestly I have no idea why I am writing a blog post today. I’ve been wanting to get a new look for my blog, but I seem to be preoccupied with other things. Since today is the last day of 2012, it would only be fair if I wrote a memo of how 2012 turned out to be for me, before I go on criticizing politics or writing poems. So here goes.. 

Looking back at 2012, it’s been a good year. Gained a lot of experience, got new friends, did a lot of travelling. 2012 has been a year of a lot of changes, and amendments. A year with both happy and sad memories. Grateful for the good memories of 2012 and learning from the rest, here is hoping 2013 will be a better year!

Happy New Year 2013~

Our education; what went wrong?

Our education; what went wrong?

Back in those days, it wasn’t really necessary to be educated. At a very young age all the children would go to a see ‘edhuru be’ (teacher) to learn to recite the holy Quran, with their ‘voshi filaa’(piece of wood where they wrote and studied). And this was just enough.

Back then, it was alright even if you cannot count or read a letter that was addressed to you. However times have changed.

“Changed”; very much indeed.  

But what we question ourselves today is whether this change had taken a step forward or taken couple of huge milestones backward.

There was a time when girls were not allowed to go to schools and they remained home taking care of the house chores while the boys only attended school. But today, girls are blessed with the opportunity to have a proper education with the privilege of actually going to schools and being accessible to educational facilities.

Remembering the time when black and white turned to multicolor, the very few schools those days have increased in the past years. Not just in Male’ (the capital) but to other islands as well.

The education system was divided into 3 main categories of ‘pre-school education’ (kindergarten), ‘primary education’ (elementary) and ‘secondary education’ (middle/high school) and was this was then only well established in the capital only. The other islands, hardly had a single school and very few education centres. In addition to the few schools in the islands, their educational system was moderated in ‘Dhivehi’ (the local Maldivian language) until recently all schools changed to English medium of education.

A teacher training facility was established and many Maldivians took the opportunity to go through teacher trainings and have begun to pursue their careers as teachers and today, even as lecturers.

In Male’, the schools set for secondary education had various subjects offered and the students had the option to choose what they wanted to study. However the schools in the islands were still unable to do the same. They did not have the resources to set a science laboratory or funds to accommodate enough teachers for those subjects. There was a big difference between the educational system in the capital and other islands. The competition to accommodate to better education increased, and more people migrated for the purpose of this ‘better’ system of education. Which effectively also lead to the concentrated population in the capital.

This was a concerning issue for the policy makers in the educational field and the policy planners and thus is today. The schools in islands needed to have the same level of educational expertise as the Male’ did. However, till today the schools in the capital have been given more priority over the schools in those islands.

We then emerged to the time when it was proposed that books and educational items were issued free to all students and that students had no longer to pay for the exams, which indeed was a light of hope to the unfortunate who could not afford to pay the examination fees.

Despite the partially balanced educational system, the students in the islands were still left with hardly a choice of what they wanted to study and few lucky students whose families migrated to the capital or students who got the opportunity to stay in the capital were studying what they wanted whereas with the most qualified and dignified teachers.

With the introduction of International schools, there was a choice for anyone to transfer. Well, once again, the ones living at the capital were more likely to have been gotten the opportunity to do so.

An year later, at a point where the issue of unbalance nature of educational system within the islands had not been completely stabilized, the discussion of new educational system had begun.

It was proposed that the all schools would comprise of all the levels of education and also there would be no separate gender-based schools.

Today, even with the number of trained teachers, the schools have started to face the lack of teachers with the demand to teach every level (all the grades). Some schools don’t offer those varieties of optional subjects anymore due to few students in each level.

‘Dhivehi sarukaaruge gazette’ (The government newsletter) have published on separate volumes with announcements for available positions for teachers.

Moreover, the fact that all the students of different age are attending at the same session and that too the gender being mixed has brought out some negative impacts on their behavior of the students.

What now we see is that some parents have made the decision to home school their children instead of taking them to school.

The biggest question now is, are we heading backwards? The concerning issue is that we might slowly be heading backwards and without knowledge the generations to come may have to start over.

At this point before we point fingers or look around our shoulder for someone to blame, we need to rethink what exactly went wrong. We need to take a moment to follow those footprints that took an alternative path and to discover what went wrong.

This is the time to make it right. 

Barclays Premier League Trophy Tour

It was Saturday. My friend and I decided to go to One Utama to meet up another friend. The taxi stopped near the old wing. To our surprise we found that there was an ongoing event. So we decided to check it out.

Turns out that it was the Barclays Premier League Trophy Tour! The tents were nicely set up, with enlightening experience. We were each given a wristband with a special number and a barcode. The whole event was about half an hour, where we were offered the opportunity to learn about the Barclays Premier League, its most greatest moments, about managers, players, goals, saves; and also to experience the setting of a live match. The greatest of all was to get up close to the official Barclays Premier League trophy! The interactive experience ended with the chance to take away a customized photo as a souvenir of this day.

Barclays Premier League Trophy Tour’s main objective is to reward their loyal international fans through this interactive and free experience. The tour is stopping over a number of places including Singapore, Thailand, Hong Kong, Doha, Dubai, and Abu Dhabi.

This short, interactive session was truly worth its experience.

WhErE aRe We HeAdInG?

7^th February of 2012, that Tuesday morning when I woke up to see high traffic live feed on my Twitter and on Facebook statuses. I did not have the slightest clue that today was the day of ending the presidency of Mohamed Nasheed, since protests have been ongoing for more than a fortnight.

I, personally am not a fan of Mohamed Nasheed. However, I’ve wanted things to change and for things to work in a different manner. And on that thought, hoping for the change, we did change.

For all those reasons, for better or worse, what Mohamed Nasheed has done within his time as president must have gotten its reasons. He, as being elected as the president must have had a vision, and means to accomplish those visions.

But it all comes down to what happened today. Question lies if what happened today really brought justice? Our concerns remain as we saw the incidents and the outburst of today’s incidents. Mohamed Nasheed was not perfect, nor were any other former presidents.

As a citizen of the nation, one is to abide by the rules and the laws stated as of the constitution, as no one is above the rule of law. Taking the Chief Justice into custody outraged the public and declared that the President had acted unconstitutionally. Although word tells us that the Chief Justice is one of those corrupt judges who brought shame, the fact that the President acted unconstitutional was what mattered. There could have been ways to handle the issue than act unconstitutional and act over the judiciary.

The separation of powers enables the right to uphold the law and maintain peace and justice; However, the parliament being is a cheap market for the MP’s, we saw good examples of sided MP’s changing sides now and then. At this point we question ourselves why we chose those MP’s. I refuse to accept the fact that we cannot find 77 loyal candidates for all 77 constituencies, who would not hold on to ‘gifts’.

What in the eyes of children today were pepper spray in their schools, and the police and the MNDF protesting. The so called peaceful paradise was fuming with rage; with rubber bullets and guns.

Our thoughts go back to what the police and MNDF did today. Did they act within the constitution? They were acting regardless of what they were told. Did they uphold the law? What we saw today was that the Special Forces had acted within their political opinion and not within their duties and their obligations.

The right to democracy never meant heading out for protests every night as a pass time activity. Half of the protesters join the crowd not knowing what they were protesting for. We question ourselves what democracy means. Do we even deserve a democracy?

We blame the systemic failure of the parliament to hold the judiciary and the executive accountable. With the resignation of Mohamed Nasheed, question that floats in our mind is of what happened today. Was it a step backwards? The change yet to come towards the administration lies within the people and their respective representatives within their constituencies; not within the Special Forces. We now question ourselves to where we are heading. What we saw today was what we have long feared. Tyranny is not what the small nation; known as the peaceful paradise on Earth is to become.

GoOdByE tO 2011

2011 began with lots of love, close friends getting married and everything seems to be in its place at that time of the year. Days and months passed as we saw the sun rise and sunset. Celebrating birthdays and all occasions like we use to every year. Attending parties and other functions. Everything seemed to be in its place until the last months of the year.

The year ended with broken hearts, divorces, and lonely days. But with the hope that the beginning will be alright.

Have a blessed new year!

A mAtTeR oF a FeW pOuNdS

Today was a total different day in my life. I am a regular blood donator of the blood group O positive. What happened today was so disappointing I couldn’t stop thinking about it and that’s when I decided I’d write about it.

It was about 3 in the evening and I was going home from running some errands for my dad, when I received a call from my friend asking me if I could donate blood to his friend. It had been over 5 months since I last donated so I agreed to.

My friend soon came to pick me up and we headed to the Thalassemia Center, and I filled in the donor’s form and waited till my name was called out.

Before they called me into the laboratory, they asked me to stand on the weighing scale and I for the first time, felt disappointed that I was not up to weight that I could donate.

I was missing a few pounds to be eligible to donate. I enquired if they could even take half a pint from me. I saw the look in the girls’ eyes. She was 26, and needed blood transfusion every month. I felt in myself how hard it must be for her to get donors every month. She was suffering all her life for a random mistake her parents had made. She was sure a fighter.

After seeing the look on her face, the sad look, for hope and another chance that the Center may allow me to donate. However, the Center refused, and for once in my life, I regretted missing a few pounds in my life. And that thought remained in my mind for being deprived of the right to donate.

If you are eligible to donate, donate today and save a life!

lOnElY rIdE

It was Friday, around 11 am, I walked down to the bus stop and sat there, listening to loud music on the ipod. No one was at the stop when I reached there, so I guessed the bus must have just left. The road was empty unlike any other working day.

I was looking to my left, (opposite to the side bus comes) when I was startled by the bus honking. usually the bus driver would ignore when people do not draw his attention to stop the bus to a particular stop. I got onto the bus and saw just one other man on the bus, who stepped out on the next stop. As my destination was only at the end of the bus trail, I thought more people would get on. I sat on a good seat, continued to listen to my ipod. To my surprise, no one got on the bus either.

There were’nt much people on the road. Barely any vehicles. No traffic jam. It didn’t seem like KL at all. I noticed many things I never did. Probably because of the bare streets.

I usually take the bus 6 days a week, and it was the first ever time, it was a lonely ride.

tHe GiRl WhO lEfT wItH tHe GifTs

started with a “hi”, she smiled

he asked for her name

they started hanging out

for casual coffees, which turned to dinners

he asked her , she said yes

she loved his gifts, enjoyed his presence

in few months

he had to leave, she said goodbye

with tears and hugs, they were apart

he sent her gifts,

for the months he missed

he came back after six months

saw her with another man

smiling the same way she did

and so happened to the

tale of twelve gifts

depressed and lonely

back he went

hoping she would come back

which she never did

she was the girl who left

with the twelve gifts

Is it the passion for work or simply being a workaholic?

The story of a man who lost both of his passion

Just as the alarm went off, he woke up. Without a word, or complaint, showered and brushed up. Opened the wardrobe and picks a shirt and starts looking for the matching tie.

Quietly, takes the work ID, and drives off to work. Its 8 am, and he sits at his desk, with his coffee, and reading the online news.

Not long before others come in and punch their card, most of them late, he sits there quietly minding on his business. His boss arrives and all the staff head to the meeting room where daily work is assigned.

Conducting major surveys, compiling reports, making phone calls and onsite investigations are what his work looks like. While all his coworkers leave for tea time, he sits at his station and stares at his computer screen and tries to solve a situation in one of those islands.

Though quite, he knows what goes around and about in the work place. He knows all the office gossip that files around, but doesn’t talk much. Instead, his priorities lie in finishing the task he was assigned.

At noon, he rushes home, and takes a quick lunch that was prepared by his mum and heads back to work, before lunch break was over. Around 2pm, he is called to his boss’s cabin, and he hands in the report and the survey. His boss asks him if he would be available for an onsite investigation after work hours and he agrees.

It was a Thursday and all the staff were hurrying to get their work done and head home to their family. But instead he stayed late and at 6pm, left to the nearest resort island for the investigation. He arrived home late, and once he was done with dinner and freshening up, he resumed to work.

Took out his laptop and sat on his bed, with soft slow music on and started on his reports again. His phone was on silent and his girlfriend had called him several times. Things hadn’t been on the track with his girlfriend.

She complained him not being able to give her enough time and he always put her off due to work.

He was typing his report and suddenly his laptop crashed and he was unable to retrieve the data. So he started it all over again. Time flew and it was almost morning. His eyelids were heavy and his body and mind was tired, but he compelled himself to continue. Eventually he fell asleep, and woke up in the evening. He rushed downstairs for some snack and back to his report.

He was unaware of the beings around him. He checked his cell phone and found 15 missed calls. Most of them from his girlfriend and some from other friends. He texted them saying he was busy and went back to work.

He spent the entire weekend compiling reports and surveys.

On Sunday, as usual, with the alarm going off, he showered and brushed. Took out a shirt and a matching tie. And got himself ready and headed to work.

Today was a different. He was called to the boss’s cabin and he was told that due to losses in the company, a lot of staff were being let go. And he was one of them.

Without arguing he left the cabin, and at that moment, he received a text from his girlfriend telling him that she was fed up.

He packed his stuff and slowly worked out of the office, not wanting to look back. He had been a dedicated staff and had not expected this to happen. Then he realized, as much he loved his work, he needed to consider giving attention to other things in his life. Passion his work maybe, but he was a workaholic.

Life-another perspective; who said life was easy?

I was standing on the balcony of my house and saw the ritual of someone being buried in the cemetery next my house. Millions of thoughts raced through my mind as I realized that death was the time that ended life, and the end of everything that the person was to do here in this lifetime.

Once out of mummy womb, babies let out a loud cry as if knowing the world isn’t a safe place anymore. The baby is born. You are born to this world. Welcome to ‘life’!

Childhood has always been a challenging time for every growing child. Some being treated as king’s children and while others were being brought up in a manner that they barely got those necessities in life, while some were entirely barred from those needs. That’s when people were classified as to if they came from a high class, or a lower class; the fortunate and the less fortunate. This is when the whole known phenomenon of discrimination and bullying started. Getting beaten up by abusive parents on a daily basis or consistently being a victim of rape are unpleasant incidents and phases of life some children go through.

Early age at school, the so called ‘well brought up’ kids start picking up fights with those silent and less active. The theory is not as such, but works the reverse as well. Even the silent sometimes plays the mischievous role of picking on others. And thus, it goes on. The teen age becomes even harder. Despite going through physical changes, the emotional harm done tends to be greater.

Most parents split up at this phase, and children end up being dragged from either parent from one house to another. Step parents along with half siblings step into the families and life gets more complicated. Family crisis rise to infinity and children being the victim, seek assistance from some stranger, probably a boyfriend or so and eventually end up smoking pot or dealing illegal drugs.

At the age of schooling, there are more challenges to be faced. At high school, the guys on the football team or basketball team turn out to be the spirit of their schools, and even if they tend to fail studies, they are treated with special priority and the school defends these kids under any circumstances. On the same hand, the skinny and slender, the bold and beautiful, are treated the same. The money, and the fame is what keeps them at school. It is often a scene we see young girls of 16 getting pregnant to their boyfriends. At this point, some deicide to give up the baby, or continue with the pregnancy, with or without the boyfriend, or on other circumstances giving up the life of learning.

The learning stage of life is difficult, and most struggle for various reasons. It could be money, time, boyfriends or girlfriends or peer pressure, or just pressure from parents itself. The good news is that it all goes away, once you graduate. You thought your childhood was a wreck, and your high school life was a total disaster, but the bad news is that the real part of “life” has just begun.

While some decide to start up their carrier and family, others continue with the process of learning, and specializing in a certain field.

You get into relationships; get out of them, with lots of drama. Some happily married with children, or enjoying life with their partner. Some divorced and raising their children alone. At this point in life, you are not alone. You probably have a partner or children to look after. Life is not about you anymore.

Eventually, your children grow up, go through the whole series of events that you went through or someone else might have gone through. You grow old. You learn to spend time doing what you love to do, with either your loved one or by yourself.

You have seen what became of you and others around you. There might have been regrets, mistakes and sweet memories made. You learn to appreciate them and for whoever you may be, you have to be grateful for what you had in life and not complain about what you were deprived of. Probably the best years of your life passed by you, while you were busy growing up. If all the good things come to end, bad things also will come to its end. And in due course you life ends here too.