Our protectors have failed us
The Maldivian police, who have pledged to protect and serve us, have failed us. Stabbings, killings, death threats, and destruction of property are now common in the Maldives. To date, justice has been delivered in only a handful of cases, writes Shafaa Hameed.
08 Sep 2015, 9:00 AM
During a dinner conversation on Saturday night, a friend mentioned a photo that was being widely shared on social media. It was posted by the Maldives Police Services and said: “Parents, please stop telling your children that we will haul them off to jail if they are bad, we want them to run us if they are scared. Not be scared of us.”
The message was accompanied by the photo of two unsmiling Maldivian officers. Several commenters noted the message had been plagiarized from a European advertisement, while others said that the demeanor of the policemen, without a hint of a smile, did not inspire confidence.
As we came out of the restaurant, we saw a crowd of people gathered on the street. A woman was lying unconscious on the road. Two policemen in uniform stood by. Another in plain clothes stopped a taxi, and asked the uniformed officers to help him lift the lady into the car.
The officer, instead of bending to help, ordered a pedestrian to lift her. The lady was helped inside the car by pedestrians and the officer in plain clothes.
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