Few places in the world see celebrity footballers, Russian oligarchs, arms dealers, Madonna and the Taliban occupying the same stretch of sand, let alone infinity plunge pool. But the Maldives is where the rich, famous and notorious go for their private romantic getaways, and the isolation, unique geography and no-questions-asked visa policy of the Indian ocean archipelago offers rare freedom from prying eyes.
Predictably, the Maldivian regime's declaration last week of a state of emergency (which has since been lifted) triggered another wave of "Trouble in Paradise" headlines. But this is a misnomer: paradise in the Maldives is strictly reserved for tourists, the resorts demarcated from the rest of the country. Few tourists looked up from their daiquiris amid a week of presidential assassination plots, exploding yachts, bomb threats, internecine political battles, pro-democracy protests and illicit extraditions, just as few did during the 2012 coup that toppled the country's first democratically-elected leader. The resorts might as well be in a different country.
The Maldives as experienced by most Maldivians is quite the opposite of paradise – but "Trouble in Trouble" just doesn't have the same ring to it. Half the population of 350,000 live in the capital city of Malé, a congested concrete jumble of candy-coloured buildings barely 2.2 square kilometres in size. Alcohol is banned, entertainment options are limited. Sixty percent of the population is under the age of 25, preyed upon by violent gangs and Islamic radicals, and crippled by drug abuse and boredom. A blackmarket bottle of vodka can cost up to US$140; brown sugar heroin can be at the door faster than a pizza. Full story...
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Predictably, the Maldivian regime's declaration last week of a state of emergency (which has since been lifted) triggered another wave of "Trouble in Paradise" headlines. But this is a misnomer: paradise in the Maldives is strictly reserved for tourists, the resorts demarcated from the rest of the country. Few tourists looked up from their daiquiris amid a week of presidential assassination plots, exploding yachts, bomb threats, internecine political battles, pro-democracy protests and illicit extraditions, just as few did during the 2012 coup that toppled the country's first democratically-elected leader. The resorts might as well be in a different country.
The Maldives as experienced by most Maldivians is quite the opposite of paradise – but "Trouble in Trouble" just doesn't have the same ring to it. Half the population of 350,000 live in the capital city of Malé, a congested concrete jumble of candy-coloured buildings barely 2.2 square kilometres in size. Alcohol is banned, entertainment options are limited. Sixty percent of the population is under the age of 25, preyed upon by violent gangs and Islamic radicals, and crippled by drug abuse and boredom. A blackmarket bottle of vodka can cost up to US$140; brown sugar heroin can be at the door faster than a pizza. Full story...
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