Tuesday 4 January 2005

MSN Virus Alert!!!
A fake address - andrew_cenita@hotmail.com - will try to add you to his msn, please do not accept it. It's a virus. Please also tell everyone on your msn list because if somebody on your list adds him you will also be infected. It's a mutli threading virus capable of picking up random msn accounts of an infected msn list. 

 Main News
Tsunami waves flood Maldives

Many Maldivians are still hungry and sick

DAY 10

Click here for more pictures -updated as we get them New
I Visit Open Forum  I Help Locating Friends I
Please email your comments, news and info to us now

      PLEASE DO NOT GIVE GAYYOOM CASH    

The man's a dictator and does not care about his people - here's the proof

Please click here for information on how to donate money for the Maldives disaster relief effort.

Do you want to donate aid? If so, please click here to see what we need.

Friends of Maldives are tremendously grateful to all the people and organizations that have supplied aid already. Please click here for a list of contributors to our disaster relief efforts.

NEW! Click here for information about relief efforts to date

 

Gayyoom leaves to Jakarta to attend Tsunami Conference

Dictator Gayyoom was in a happy mood when he left to Indonesia to attend the Tsunami Conference.

As ever, the who Task Force of the Maldives, wearing shirts only, were at the airport to greet the Great Leader.

Accompanied by Foreign Minister, Finance Minister and several others.

A new dress code appears to be in operation now, as all the Task Force of Maldives appears to be wearing shirts and only Gayyoom allowed to wear a suit. Going back to traditions said some commentators.

Yameen Abdul Gayyoom and General Victor Suzeynov are in charge of the country whilst the Dictator goes to collect more money to fund his lavish lifestyle.

more pictures

Local News

General Election to be held on 22 January as announced earlier

Male' - Despite an attempt to delay the parliamentary election indefinitely by Gayyoom because of the Tsunami disaster, many top officials have rejected the idea and is now due to be held on 22nd January 2005.

The idea was conceived by Gayyoom so that his Ministers and his candidates can work more on embezzling the Tsunami Relief Fund, said the informant. Abdulla Hameed, Yameen and Abdulla Kamaaluddeen backed the idea strongly.

The meeting of the Special Majlis today was therefore quickly dismissed as a session to discuss Rules of Procedure.

British People have donated more than 150 million dollars to the Asian Tsunami Disaster Appeal

In the largest donation so far in the history anywhere by the public, the people of Britain have so far donated more than 76 million pounds (more than US$ 150 million) till today, said the BBC.

The British have been very forthcoming in this world appeal and despite the Britain having one of the lowest number of deaths (expected to be around 200) from the disaster, UK stands as the number 1 donor public.

Friends of Maldives, the UK NGO has also received several aid offers and one of its first shipment is already in Male' and being distributed.

The support we are getting from the public in UK is quite amazing and we are pleased to be able to help the people of Maldives said an FOM official.

FOM is expected to send more aid to Maldives, including clothing, food, water and other essentials.

Tsunami 'Kaarisaa' Task Force

Blast from the past

How much does Gayyoom cost us?

More than US$71.5 million over the past six years

Maldives; Overview of Economic Developments During 2003

External Debt - Statistics on external debt comprises of medium to long-term government and government guaranteed borrowings plus short-term borrowings of the banking sector. Total external debt stock (disbursed and outstanding) has remained at around 40 percent of GDP in both 2002 and 2003. In absolute levels this amounted to US$259.0 million in 2002 and had increased by 8 percent to US$280.9 million at the end of 2003. Of this total, 94 percent was medium- and long-term debt and it increased by 18 percent in 2003. Multilateral and bilateral highly concessional debt constituting 70 percent of the medium to long-term external debt portfolio grew by 12 percent on annual terms in 2003. The remaining 30 percent comprised of suppliers’ credits (which sometimes include a grant element within the package) and commercial loans, and such debt increased significantly (by 37 percent) during the year 2003. Short-term debt, which reflects the foreign liabilities of commercial banks, comprised 6 percent of the external debt stock and registered a sharp decline of 54 percent at the end of 2003. During 2003, disbursements of medium and long-term loans stood at US$51.1 million, while amortisation was recorded at US$17.4 million, and interest payments amounted to US$4.6 million. Total debt service therefore totalled US$22.0 million, which was equivalent of around 4 percent of Maldives’ exports of goods and non-factor services. read more

Thousands of US Marines to Lanka, Maldives relief work upset India – how long will US Marines stay in Indonesia, Lanka and Maldives?
Balaji Reddy, Special Correspondent
According to sources India is not very happy about Sri Lanka’s decision to allow US Marines to land in Sri Lanka for Tsunami relief work. India is also not happy about American Marines in Maldives.
The decision of the Sri Lankan government to accept 1,500 US Marines as part of the American contribution to tsunami relief work in the island, without taking India into confidence, has "greatly angered" India, says the Tamil daily Sudar Oli. read more

More aid in pipeline for tsunami-hit countries:
[World News]: United Nations; The international community has stepped up relief efforts for tsunami-devastated South and Southeast Asia as the death toll from the region is expected to cross 150,000, reports Xinhua. read more

Asian Development Bank pledges initial $325 million tsunami aid
The Asian Development Bank said up to $325 million will be made immediately available in response to requests from Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Maldives to help finance priority reconstruction and rehabilitation work following the tsunami disaster.
An estimated $175 million of these funds can be quickly reprogrammed from existing operations in the three countries, while up to an additional $150 million of new lending commitments could be drawn immediately from the Bank's highly concessional lending window, the Asian Development Fund. In both cases, the principal objective is to ensure rapid disbursement during the coming critical two to four months, said a bank statement.  read more

Crucial health information for people in disaster area
Dehydration is a loss of body fluid, which is not compensated  for by sufficient fluid intake. This symptom in general is caused by vomiting and diarrhoea. Dehydration is not a disease but it comes along with other diseases. About one out of every ten children born in developing countries dies of diarhoea before reaching the age of five.
Formerly dehydration was mostly treated with intravenous infusion. For this treat­ment you need infusion sets and there is always the danger of contamination. read more
 

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Homeless Maldivians are Forced to Sleep in Their Open Boats
More than a week after it rose up and destroyed their homes, residents of the low-lying Maldives atoll of Kolhufushi are being forced to seek refuge on the sea.
The Maldives government is struggling to deliver emergency aid to more than 1,000 islands spread out over 560 miles of the Indian Ocean.
On the remote island of Kolhufushi, hundreds of people are sleeping in fishing boats because their homes are too damaged to live in. read scotsman.com

The Sydney Morning Herald

Maldivian island 'worse than Falluja'
The island is completely deserted, its homes smashed, power and communications wrecked and its wells contaminated by sea water.
The desolate scene on the remote Maldivian "ghost island" of Kandolhudhoo, evacuated after last week's Asian tsunami disaster, reminds US Marine Corps Major Max Andrews of war-torn cities in Iraq.
"I was in Falluja last summer and saw the devastation and damage there. But that was surgical and aimed at specific targets," Andrews said today. "Here it's total. Everything is gone." read more 

News
Two Maldives Nationals Arrested in 4.5-kg Cocaine Seizure
BURGAS (bnn)—Police in this Bulgarian Black Sea port arrested early Monday two Maldives nationals after seizing them in possession of 4.5 kilograms (9.9 pounds) of cocaine worth $4 million, an official said. read more 

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Tourists jet in to damaged paradise
Even as south Asia continued to count its dead following the Indian Ocean tsunami a week ago, Italy's tourist machine got back to business this weekend with two charter flights taking off from Rome and Milan carrying tourists to the Maldives.read more

News Update

Velavaru Island Resort
First, we all have been feet on the ground since the first tidal wave passed through the Maldives, this past Sunday morning, now a week ago.
We are very grateful that most guests and staff at Velavaru, suffered only relatively minor cuts, scrapes and a few sprains.  
Tragically, as you may know, two guests lost their lives, and our
deepest sympathies and condolences are extended to their families and friends. One female British guest was presumably drowned
when the tidal wave washed over the island, and a male British guest who was snorkelling with some other guests, was swept out to sea. read more

Friends of Maldives (FOM) sends relief aid

Since the Tsunami disaster, Friends of Maldives has been sending relief aid to the Maldives, targeting the islands that have been most damaged. The first appeal for aid was broadcast on Spire FM on Thursday where we asked for donations of goods and money, since then radio and TV stations around the south have helped to alert people on how they can help. The response has been phenomenal and there are an enormous number people working together to ensure this aid gets to the Maldives as quickly as possible. FOM have three collection points with many more being set up by individuals at various locations across the South of England. read more

Local News

Dhiraagu donated 1 million US Dollars to the Tsunami Disaster Fund but there is no news about it, complains the staff

Dhiraagu - the Maldives Telecommunication Company - donated one million dollars to the fund to help the Maldivian people who are struck by this tragedy. However, local news is not reporting any of this. In addition to Dhiraagu, several large donors have pledged generous amounts and aid to the fund. Some local donors were even told to pay import duty on items they recently brought from Singapore, food and medical supplies, unless they give the items to the Task Force for distribution. Sources close to Karankaa Rasheed reported a similar incident. The general public have no confidence in the task force that Gayyoom has setup and hence want to supply the aid and help to the doorsteps of those who are in need rather than pass it over to cronies like Yameen and Hameed.

Tsunami Hazard Mitigation
Information about tsunamis that may SAVE YOUR LIFE
Tsunamis that strike coastal locations in the Pacific Ocean Basin are most always caused by earthquakes. These earthquakes might occur far away or near where you live.
Some tsunamis can be very large. In coastal areas their height can be as great as 30 feet or more (100 feet in extreme cases), and they can move inland several hundred feet.
All low-lying coastal areas can be struck by tsunamis.
A tsunami consists of a series of waves. Often the first wave may not be the largest. The danger from a tsunami can last for several hours after the arrival of the first wave.
Tsunamis can move faster than a person can run.
Sometimes a tsunami causes the water near the shore to recede, exposing the ocean floor.
The force of some tsunamis is enormous. Large rocks weighing several tons along with boats and other debris can be moved inland hundreds of feet by tsunami wave activity. Homes and other buildings are destroyed. All this material and water move with great force and can kill or injure people.
Tsunamis can occur at any time, day or night.
Tsunamis can travel up rivers and streams that lead to the ocean.
read more

Develop Hulumale as a metro city
It is time now that the people of the Maldives consider development of the artificial island of Hulumale into a metro city to bring together the fragmented communities in a number of tiny islands across the country in the vast Indian Ocean. This is also in line with the Gayoom regime's policy of population consolidation. It would bring many advantages including making a disaster management much easier than it is when the people are spotted across hundreds of miles as we are experiencing now. read more

Donors to Maldives relief fund must beware of corruption
Gayoom administration has obviously not done as much as he should have. The island torn by the merciless killer tsunami into heaps of debris had bare walls which made for the tidal wave easier to level off all the houses that came in its way. When Gayoom boasts of having been graduated to a developing country, the people could hardly afford to lead a comfortable life in these tiny islands. The best part of Gayoom's policy is cheating and deceiving the people. The regime has been lying to the people even at this time of national disaster about the condition of the people and their homes when they were hit by the huge tsunami last Sunday. read more

Tsunami death toll in the Maldives rises to 80
Authorities in the Maldives islands on Sunday confirmed another seven deaths from the tsunami that swept across Asia a week ago, taking its toll to 80, with 28 people still missing.
The Maldives was one of a dozen countries hit by the tsunami, but officials say the damage was not as bad as in some other places _ in part because the chain of atolls is so low-lying that the waves washed over rather than crashed down on them. read more  

Scots fly bottled water to Maldives
A further 45 tonnes of bottled water is being sent from the UK to the Maldives where the population desperately needs clean drinking supplies after being hit by Asia's killer tsunami.A flight chartered by the UK Department for International Development is due to leave Prestwick Airport, near Glasgow, on Monday, carrying 20,000 bottles donated by Scottish Water and Strathmore Water. read more

British families mourn the lost holidaymakers

In the village of Ridgewell, Essex, special prayers will be said today at the parish church of St Laurence for Stuart Shields, a 37-year-old sales executive who died on Boxing Day in the Maldives. His wife, Tania, survived the wave that struck the couple as they were swimming in the tropical seas. read more