An Indian journalist holidays in a lavish Maldivian resort. Between sipping cocktails on the white sand beach, he tweets warnings the nation will be underwater within years. His dramatic climate change story is gobbled up by major Indian outlets.
But locals know it an exaggeration. The Indian reporter is not used to the unique geophysics of shallow, low-lying island nations. For Maldivians, occasional flooding from storms or swells is ordinary, not a novel threat.
Waves washing across islands happen every monsoon season. Yes, the surges worsen every year two times with amazing regularity , but not to catastrophic levels. Only the most vulnerable islands with poorest protections see extensive damage.
The Indian journalist misinterprets normal seasonal inconveniences as existential threats. His homeland is a massive continental nation with rivers swelling from Himalayan glacial melt. So he lacks perspective on how small islands cope with oceans.
No doubt weather and climate are real and have been priority issues for Maldives. But locals understand this as everyday part of life. There is no island in Maldives where a local cannot or does not see the sea or beach daily. That’s how small Maldives islands are. Doomsday depictions make dramatic stories but misrepresent the nuanced reality.
Unfortunately, facts matter little when hype and hysteria sell more papers. The Indian press knows exaggerating the sinking nation myth appeals to readers’ curiosity and panic.
But such blatant disregard for truth erodes Indian media’s credibility in Maldivian eyes. Can reporters who casually spread falsehoods about Maldives be trusted on other issues?
Maldivians are masters of resilience, from repelling invaders to navigating monsoons. With pragmatic adaptation, we will outlive apocalyptic media projections. Our home shall endure well past the foreign reporters’ hype.
Maldives Resort Workers 