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Communication - an opportunity for Maldives
article (and quotations) by anonymous author
January 2002
'Said's work has sometimes been misunderstood as attacking the western canon, when what he does more often is read between its lines. As he says in the Reader , "I've always been interested in what gets left out."

The task, he writes, is to "re-read and re-examine, not simply to distort and reject".

In The Politics of Knowledge he sees off the dismal strains of drum-beating identity politics, which he regards as revelling in victimhood or "possessive exclusivism" ("only women can write for or about women").

Although the unequal contest conjures the image of a sledgehammer cracking a nut, his clarity is useful: "It does not finally matter who wrote what, but rather how a work is written and how it is read... Marginality and homelessness are not to be gloried in; they are to be brought to an end.'

The Guardian
1 December 2001





In a world where daily life is more or less controlled by powerful media (think TVMaldives, Voice of Maldives, Haveeru, Aafathis, etc.) the average member in any society lacks the knowledge and wisdom to arrive at meaningful decisions, and thus be in a position to fully comprehend the reality in a given space at any given time.

Maldivians of the Twenty First century are no exception. The level of bewilderment, hopelessness and despair in our society know no bounds. Why did this happen in Paradise? Why is this happening in South Asia, when we are blessed with so many developed or advanced societies surrounding us?

This is also an irony by itself. When we claim to be the most technologically advanced society in human evolution, with our fingertips capable of producing and communicating information at warp speed, millions of lives end even before they reach the age of 5 years. There are vast areas of the earth's space devastated due to human greed and negligence. The gulf between the haves and the have-nots seems to have turned into a deep ocean. At times we feel as if we are fruitlessly rewriting history instead of fearlessly exploring the future.

The beginning of the Information and Communication age is marked by the most savage and barbaric developments that humankind had ever seen. We see an age in which history and religion have been distorted beyond recognition by powerful governments and other entities engaged in unholy military alliances.

In the midst of all this, the common citizen is left utterly confused, afraid and vulnerable. This is especially true when it comes to the young and the feeble. They are searching for answers. In every country rich or poor, big or small, first or third world, people are discovering the limits, and in a lot of cases, their lack of authority.

If marginality and human despair are to be wiped out, it is perhaps good to start communicating in clear language, between individuals and among nations. After all, we have the means to do it. We also have among us those who respect real history and offer us the chance to seek a better future. The world community is also now advanced enough ( e.g. the Human Genome project) to build a secure bridge between religion and science, so that we can find a healthy balance in life.

To do this and achieve any degree of real success, I feel that first we must have real law and order. To learn to respect our differences we must know each other better.

In short we must communicate.

Violence, terror, ignorance and impotence are cousins who walk hand-in-hand. Dictators and megalomaniacs suffocating their own people can only be persuaded to drop their eternal quest for immortality, when ordinary people learn to break communication barriers.

Is it not the time to reflect, re-value and re-focus on life? To avert a second September 11th, and to build a safer world for all generations to come, we ought to be able to come to terms with our own insecurities and differences.
'There is no easy way out of the spiraling morass of terror and brutality that confronts the world today. It is time now for the human race to hold still, to delve into its wells of collective wisdom, both ancient and modern.

What happened on September 11 changed the world forever. Freedom, progress, wealth, technology, war - these words have taken on new meaning. Governments have to acknowledge this transformation, and approach their new tasks with a modicum of honesty and humility.

Unfortunately, up to now, there has been no sign of any introspection from the leaders of the International Coalition. Or the Taliban.'

Arundathi Roy
Outlook (India)
18 October 2001



And, unfortunately for us in the Maldives too, up to now there has been no signs of any introspection from our leaders either.