The Maldives is a gorgeous vacation destination, and somewhere a lot of people like to redeem miles & points to visit.
While the islands are peaceful overall, they’re not without their problems. There are some drug issues, though if you’re just visiting a secluded resort, chances are you won’t be exposed to any of the problems the country faces.
But it seems like The Maldives may be facing an even larger threat: terrorism.
Via BloombergView, the Maldives is calling on the US to help them respond to a terror attack against their president:
President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom on Sunday narrowly escaped an explosion on his boat. His wife was injured. Investigators have converged on the island nation in the Indian Ocean to determine whether the blast is related to organized terrorism. The government is already rethinking its security and defense practices; top officials say terrorist recruiting has been on the rise there.
Ali was in the United States this week for the UN General Assembly, and he said his government has been tracking an increased flow of its citizens traveling to Iraq and Syria to fight there, at least 40 so far. Some are coming back to the Maldives.
“That is actually the biggest threat that we face as a nation-state and as a society. That is our biggest fear,” he said. “And that’s where our security forces are finding quite a challenge.”
An unidentified Islamic extremist group last month threatened terrorist attacks and attacks against the president in a YouTube video that featured the flag of the Islamic State.
I wouldn’t change my travel plans based on this, though it is certainly something to be aware of. Unfortunately bad stuff happens even in paradise. Bali is one of my favorite places in the world, partly because of how peaceful I find it to be. Despite that, they had a tragic bombing there in 2002, which killed over 200 people.
While the Maldives is a small country, it faces the challenge of consisting of so many different islands, which makes security challenging.
Personally stories like this don’t concern me. I tend to think that I have to be safe and reasonable, but at the same time shouldn’t live life in fear of isolated incidents.
How about you?
(Tip of the hat to LoyaltyLobby)
Have any of you met the "legitimate" President of the Maldives? I doubt it! I have and he's a a very nice man.
Also planning to be at Conrad in Feb. This will not affect plans or mood when traveling but it is good to be aware of these things going on. Does anyone know of a thread on the Maldives specifically addressing the topic of transfer by boat from one island resort, to another? Trying to avoid going back to Male for the boat plane.
Terrorism by climate change deniers?
How dare you the PM of The Maldives complain about rising water levels!
To my lovely American audience, the above is an example of sarcasm :)
Actually the memorial I saw was for the 1988 terrorist attack not the one in 1997. My bad.
There was actually a terrorist attack in Male in 1997 when a bomb was set off in Sultan Park. I actually have a picture of the memorial in my post from yesterday. It's a really nice memorial.
The scooter vendors in Male should be considered a terrorist organization. It's a city you could walk across on foot in fifteen minutes and yet it's too dangerous and stinky to enjoy walking in at all with all the scooters.
Also going to Park Hyatt Maldives in early January. Fingers crossed.
Violence doesn't necessarily equal terrorism. This could have been an assassination attempt; the country has been politically unstable historically.
One government report has stated they think the explosion may actually have been a mechanical issue with the boat.
Going to Conrad Maldives in February - keeping an eye on the news reports.
This country is getting more extremist year after year, but please don't let that spoil your vacations.
An isolated island resort seems like a vulnerable, easy target for a terrorist group unfortunately.
I tend to think like you. I won't be stupid and book a flight to somewhere where bombs are going off every day, but I don't have a problem going where there have been problems in the past.
The most devastating things happen when we don't expect it, and can happen anywhere, be it terrorism or natural disasters. We can sure take precautions and read the warnings before going somewhere, and I agree that...
I tend to think like you. I won't be stupid and book a flight to somewhere where bombs are going off every day, but I don't have a problem going where there have been problems in the past.
The most devastating things happen when we don't expect it, and can happen anywhere, be it terrorism or natural disasters. We can sure take precautions and read the warnings before going somewhere, and I agree that it's probably best to avoid certain places with unstable political environments, or places where a volcano is on the verge of erupting and where the cities around are being evacuated, but to avoid one place because there has been a problem there in the past? Nah.
If I get caught in something while travelling, so be it. I probably have as many chances of getting caught in something while travelling than while I'm sitting in my office.