Male’, Maldives – Foreign Minister Abdulla Shahid, has described the COVID-19 pandemic as a great tsunami invisible to the naked eye that continues to devastate the world.
Delivering his remarks at a ceremony hosted by the Foreign Ministry on Saturday morning to mark the occasion of National Unity Day, Minister Shahid said that he had witnessed the devastation caused by the 2004 tsunami at close hand. He said the devastation left in the wake of the tsunami was similar to that of a battle field.
I saw our houses and buildings crumbled and our islands devastated. I saw at close hand the tears streaming down the eyes of Maldives on that day.
Foreign Minister Abdulla Shahid
Shahid attributed Maldives’ success in overcoming the devastation of the tsunami to the unity and solidarity shown by the Maldivian people. He also said that it would not be untrue to say that never in the history of Maldives have the people been so united as when the Maldivian people had faced that great wave.
Shahid said that with the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, the Maldivian people face a no lesser danger than they had 16 years ago. He added that the difference is that this tsunami is invisible to the naked eye. He said that the tsunami that’s attacking us today is attacking our entire community in the form of small viruses and is destroying the whole world.
Shahid further said that he takes pride in the solidarity shown by the Maldivian people in face of the pandemic, and described the work of the frontline workers as a great jihad and said that “today, we all salute them”.
Till now, 13,583 have tested positive for Covid-19 in Maldives. While 13,026 people have recovered from the disease, 48 have passed away due to the virus as well. Maldives is slowly recovering from the damages of the pandemic, and the health officials continue to urge the public to adhere to the guidelines.
