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Wind whipping against my face as I ride on the bridge linking Hulhumale and Male, I sneak a glance back at the thriving city of Hulhumale and on my left I spy one of the flights of our national carrier touching down on the extended airport runway, no doubt carrying tourists from a faraway destination.
Arriving in Male, I head straight to my office, a sprawling 20-storey building housing the quarters of a multinational offshore bank that now finances the development of a major share of resort and other industrious islands chosen from a cross section of all the atolls.
My first task is to go through all the corporate emails and my own personal emails, plus I do spend a few minutes to chat with some corporate officials discussing some upcoming resort development projects. Thank God Internet is so cheap. I am now able to do virtually all my transactions, communications and even keeping in touch with family and friends over the Internet.
I take the opportunity of the 10 o’clock coffee break to visit a relative who is undergoing a cardiac operation at the hospital. I find that he is already in the operating room, and one of his relatives tells me that the operation is supervised, through video conferencing, by a renowned heart surgeon directly from the United States. Talk about satellite communication revolution, I am so relieved. I go back to my office, promising to visit my relative after the operation.
As I get out of the hospital, a call comes to my mobile phone. The caller identity shows it is my friend Suhail who probably right now is fishing on his big vessel a few hundred miles outside Maldives’ territorial waters.
“Hey, what’s up?” I say.
“Long time no hearing from you!” Suhail exclaims.
“Why, we were in Kotari only last week!” I say. “You must be bored, being so many months away from home.”
“No way, man,” says Suhail. “I’ve all I need here. My PC is here with me. I get to enter the chatroom even from here. I’ve got Internet plus a fully computerised vessel. What more could you ask for? You should come out to the sea sometime, my friend.”
We chat for a few minutes, thanks to this international roaming service that links Maldives to virtually any point on earth.
When I get back to the office, one of my managers, Mohamed, is waiting with a folder. I sign some documents and he hurries off to catch the 12 o’clock ferry that will take him to a Vaavu atoll island which we are financing to develop as an agricultural island. Hopefully, he will finish his task and return to Male in the evening by the six o’clock ferry. I am awed by the pace of economic development that is taking place due to the mobility of people and resources when regular ferry services, linking all islands, was established a few years ago.
It is now evening and I decide to hang out with my friend Zaid who needs a break as he is very busy these days preparing for his PhD presentation at one of the higher education colleges in Hulhumale. We decide to watch the latest Tom Cruise vehicle, Mission Impossible 6 (yes, the series have been that successful) at the multiplex in Vilingili’s downtown area. In front of a wide screen, with DTS surround sound effects giving the full cinematic experience, we spend two overwhelming hours in one of the THX cinemas as Tom Cruise chased evil spies, hung from Grand Canyon cliffs and in the end saved the day—and the girl. Finally, we both return to our separate apartments in Hulhumale, by cab, and retire for the night.
With a start I wake up and realise, sadly, that it was just a dream. But such a beautiful dream it was. Then a smile spread across my face as another realization struck: That dreams can come true if we work on it. If the commitment is there. If the hope is there. Because hope never dies. And neither can a dream.
(This article was published in Haveeru Daily on Jan 1, 2001. You can access it on Haveeru Daily Online at the link: http://www.haveeru.com.mv/english/features/iftomorrowcomes.htm)
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@ "Though I browse through Haveeru, I must have missed this article. Enjoyed reading and like you, I'm sure there are hundreds of people who'd like to project themselves into a new era and island such as Hulhumale. Dreams can be made realities if everyone works to make them realities. Though progress is slow, the 'painting' is getting better. Anyway, keep on writing. Your stuff is informative and interesting. Bravo!"--"0009san", 1 Dec 2003
[There's a comment by Mohamed Sobah from Malaysia on the MESSAGEBOARD about this article. Click here]
OPINION
If Tomorrow Comes
By Hilath Rasheed
MALE, Jan 1, 2001 (Haveeru News Service)--A cool dawn breaks over a red sky as the first orange rays of sunlight sneak through the drapes, caressing my face, waking me up to the call of a cheerful new morning.
Taking a warm freshwater shower in my apartment on the suburbs of Hulhumale, I dress, down my breakfast and get on my Honda for the ten-minute ride to Male.
