Bushry Column - Maldives - Chop me into tiny pieces and feed me to the fish :: Dhivehi Observer

Bushry Column

Mohamed Bushry is one of the most prominent writers in Maldives who has demonstrated his true love and addiction to writing by sticking to his principles no matter what. Bushry began his writing career at a young age publishing in Haveeru Daily but he became a household name when he co-founded and edited the famous Monday Times Weekly magazine which was the first ever Maldivian magazine published in English.

Unfortunately, the magazine was banned by Gayyoom on it's second anniversary and Bushry has since been blacklisted.

DO is very pleased with his association and we know that his readership will appreciate his work as much as we do. Thank you, Bushry!

Bushry's blog www.clubescapemaldives.blogspot.com

Monday Times Archive

What are the priorities in developing Addu Atoll?

After Male, S. Hithadhoo is the most populous island in the country. There are four administrative islands in the Addu Atoll that could be joined to create two administrative units, whereby making the resulting two islands the sixth and seventh most populous islands in the country. These four administrative units are Hulhudhoo and Meedhoo and Maradhoo and Maradhoo-Feydhoo. The current population of Hulhudhoo is 3,307 and that of Meedhoo is 2,464. The current population of Maradhoo is 3,318 and that of Maradhoo-Feydhoo is 1,531. If we join Hulhudhoo and Meedhoo to create one administrative unit -which could be named as Hulhumeedhoo - the population of Hulhumeedhoo would be 5,771. more

Making a giant safe-island by reclaiming the whole of Vaavu Atoll!

Vaavu Atoll is the smallest administrative atoll in the Maldives. There are about 19 islands in the atoll but only five of those islands are populated; and the whole atoll has a population of only 2300. But the government has to bear the overheads of an Atoll Office and many Island Offices and Schools and Power Houses and other infrastructure to support the only 2300 people scattered across the Vaavu Atoll. This is bad economies of scale. This is also against the spirit of decentralization. more

Maldives marred in crimes: gang fighting, murder, cyber-crimes, money counterfeiting, drug dealing and more

If ever you want to see a government at the mercy of criminals, you are looking at one in the Maldives. At the moment, around 200 or so prisoners in the Kaafu atoll Maafushi jail are on a hunger strike. The prisoners simply refused to eat, alleging discrimination against them. The vast majority of inmates in the Maldivian jails are in for crimes related to drugs abuse and small time dealings. Some of the militia who orchestrate these drug dealings have impunity because the regime takes immense political capital by using crimes and criminals. more

Barlamaanee or Riyaasee?

People often ask me why I have stopped writing. I tell them that I have not stopped writing but rather I took a break from it. Writing has mostly been a hobby that I have enjoyed, without any pay. So it has to take a backseat when it comes to earning a living. Even though I'm still unable to write regularly I thought I should pen a few lines just to tell the readers what a pathetic little dictator our so-called President is. more

Asshole of Maldives
It is rumoured that Gayoom is planning to sell all his properties in the country, including his house (Kinbigasdhoshuge). Perhaps the dictator is worried that after a regime change, the new government may confiscate all his properties and freeze his accounts. He may soon sell all his properties and transfer all his millions to a numbered account in Switzerland. more

Insha Allah the Maldivian People Would be Victorious!
29 October 2005

Imagine! If a baby had been born on the first day Gayoom was sworn in as president, that baby would be 27 years old now. That's a lifetime. Imagine a young person who was only 34 years old on the day Gayoom was sworn in as president. That person would be 61 years old now! Indeed that's a lifetime. more

Our Hero

Thursday 1 September 2005

Despite the efforts by the state owned media to portray him as a villain, the Chairman of MDP (Nasheed) is seen by many Maldivians as their saviour.,Many of us look up to him and his party, to free us from the undemocratic political system that is prevalent in this country. In the face of virtually insurmountable odds and difficulties, Nasheed is leading his struggle to bring democracy and legitimate human rights to this miniscule country of ours. more

"To Serve and Protect" Gayyoom

12 August 2005
A few nights ago hundreds of people gathered near the Parliament Building. It wasn't even a gathering. Eyewitnesses say that those people were in fact queuing up to get into the parliament house the next morning. The reason for queuing up so early was that there was an important debate and commoners rarely get any space because government and police personnel in plain clothes fill up the small number of seats available in the Parliament Building. more

MDP do more explaining of its policies and less bashing of Gayyoom

27 July 2005

It was with high hopes and expectations that I went to the meeting of MDP on Monday night. It was the first general meeting after the formal registration of the party. It was at times exhilarating and hilarious; but it was at times disappointing as well. I don't think anyone went there expecting it to be a circus where the clowns performed and the kids clapped. We want our political figures and organizations to be more mature and organized. We may of course ridicule the regime when the need arises, but the opposition politicians should rise from the level of continuously ridiculing the regime. We need to hear some concrete political talk as well. more

A Full Analysis of The Recent Cabinet Reshuffle!

16 July 2005
The first thing I noticed about the recent cabinet reshuffle was the wrong statistics that were reported by the local media. Some of the newspapers reported that nine new ministers were appointed in the recent reshuffle. I noticed that Abdullah Shahid, who was until recently the Executive Secretary to the President, is the tenth new minister. He wasn’t of course appointed as a cabinet minister, but nevertheless he is now the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs. more

I Never Ever Voted For Gayyoom!
10 July 2005

I was a kid when the country had a Presidential election in 1978. I remember listening to the results of the election on Radio Maldives. A young politician by the name of Maumoon Gayyoom was leading the election. Almost all the young people were extremely excited with the coming of a new and young president. The people had great aspirations and expectations. Since I was a kid I didn't share the political enthusiasm of the youth who seemed to be charged with adrenalin. more

Let's Party

30th June 2005

Even until a few hours before the registration of MDP, many people were skeptical that Gayyoom's government would register an opposition party. The skeptics were saying that the government would come up with some last minute excuse to delay the registration process indefinitely. Thank Allah the skeptics were wrong. MDP has finally been registered and political parties have finally become a reality in the Maldives. Indeed it's time to party. But there are some worrying signs on the horizon. read more

Bushry Column
Here comes another cabinet reshuffle

29th June 2005

The air is thick with gossip. There’s going to be a cabinet reshuffle by the ruling regime. It is an open secret that Gayyoom’s brother, Abdullah Hameed, is on an extended leave of absence in Singapore. According to my gossipy source, Hameed will soon resign from his post of Atolls Minister. It is high time he did that. The people of the atolls deserve a more capable minister. read more

Shadow Cabinet!

21 June 2005
The youth of this country hasn't seen a President other than Gayyoom. Hence it is not surprising that many Maldivians cannot imagine anyone else being our president. Any name preceded by the title, President, would still sound bogus to many of us. Would you choke on your own saliva if I say that Gasim Ibrahim could be our next President? read more

Chop me into tiny pieces and feed me to the fish!

16th June 2005

It was a typical day. I was going home for my lunch break. While driving around the block, trying to find a parking space for my car, I couldn't find any. So I parked in front of the Atolls Minster Hameed's home. After lunch I walked to my car. I wasn't surprised to find a parking fine stuck on the windscreen of my car. These days it's so hard to find a parking space for your car. Numbers of cars are increasing exponentially, but the number of parking spaces remains limited. The government benefits from this, because the authorities can charge the car-owners for illegal parking. read more

The Stepson of Maldivian Democracy

13th June 2005

Last Saturday night I attended a meeting of the Maldives Democratic Party (MDP). The venue was Iskandar School, and from my estimation there were more than four thousand people at the gathering. Freedom was in the air. The reform agenda seems to be moving at full throttle. And guess who is getting most of the credit for the current reforms. If the local media is to be believed, we have to be thankful to the incumbent President, Gayyoom, for being kind enough to suggest and then grant party politics to the Maldives. The thing is that hardly anyone at the MDP gathering believes the local media these days. read more

Blabbing of an addict

11th June 2005

We all know Brigadier Adam Zahir don't we? The guy with broad shoulders and an aloof look. It's only a foolhardy few who would seek to cross Mr. Zahir. I hope I don't cross him by writing this column. I happen to know a quite different side of the Brigadiers life and character. No! I'm not talking about anything shady as such. This might sound ridiculously unbelievable to some people, but Mr. Adam Zahir was our mathematics teacher while I was studying at grade five in Majeediyya School. This seems like ages ago. I hope I don't sound too immodest when I say that I was always good at mathematics. I think Mr. Zahir was one of the teachers who laid my mathematics foundation. The other two teachers are Mr. Adam (owner of Asrafee Bookshop) and of course, Mr. Dissaneika (I hope I spelt that correct). read more

Related Articles

Blast From the Past - November 2002

Monday Times banned and editor charged

Monday Times, a Maldives English language print magazine also available on the Internet, has been banned and the editor Mohamed Bushry is facing unspecified court charges in Malé, according to informed sources. Mohamed Bushry is the son-in-law of Minister Zahir Hussein, a close friend and confidante of President Maumoon Gayyoom. Minister Zahir is also the owner/editor of Haveeru, the most influential Dhivehi language newspaper in Maldives. Monday Times was founded by Leena Mohamed Zahir Hussein, Mohamed Bushry's wife and Minister Zahir's daughter. read more

Blast from the Past

Monday Times Archive - Courtesy of Ishan

On 22 November 2002, the Magazine was shutdown by Gayyoom for being too critical of his dictatorship and government administration, for acting like a free press. On the day Editor Bushry wrote on the website "Today is the second anniversary of Monday Times. We were registered as a newspaper, on 22 November 2000. Despite the occasion, it is with sadness that we have to mark this day. Due to reasons that we are unable to discuss publicly, none of the print houses in the country are willing to print our magazine as of this date. First it was Lomafaanu Print who informed us that they were no longer in a position to print Monday Times. We approached a number of other print houses in Male and none was willing to print Monday Times." The original Monday Times website was deleted once the magazine was blocked but DO has obtained an archive of several issues of the Magazine which became one of the most popular English magazine in Maldives in recent times. please visit Monday Times archive