During my time in the Royal Navy, I was fortunate enough to visit the Maldive Islands on two occasions.  Located just north of the equator, the republic is made up of about 1,200 islands(Atolls) of which only 200 of them are inhabited.  The place is simply incredible to visit (or was) and as a young sailor I was swept away by the beauty of the place, with the white sandy beaches, palms trees with coconuts and beautiful blue lagoons.  This of course was before the time of really cheap air travel and only the really wealthy or impoverished sailors could be found enjoying the islands.

"Sea Daddy" A senior rating or Instructor in charge of new entries, to help and guide them as well as to instruct them. Similarly, any rating who takes a newly-joined rating under his wing for this purpose.

I remember (old men have an habit of starting off with - "I remember" and I am no different) sitting at a beach bar with my "Sea Daddy" and drinking a bottle of the much maligned but loved by me, Dubonnet Blonde, whilst he informed me that the highest point in the Maldives was only about six or seven feet above sea level.    We speculated on the effects of a tidal wave.  Forty years later I remembered the conversation, when I read about how the Maldives were devastated when the 2004 Tsunami hit.  Forty years that seems to have gone in a blink of an eye.

Well that Tsunami did not destroy the Maldives but I suspect that the cancer of Islam will do that for them given time.  For their Islamic government have recently made a start to destroying the economy of the Maldives, that totally depends on tourism by banning completly, the sale of alcohol on the inhabited islands with the exception of Airport Island.

They are also withdrawing the rights of expats who are employed as medical staff, teachers and run the tourist trade on the Islands to have "liquor permits" to buy alcohol and already some businesses have announced their intention to relocate to Singapore.

Those in the tourist industry have pointed out that the mainly Western tourists who go to the Maldives will not do so if they cannot enjoy a drink with their evening meals.  The  government has suggested that the hotels model themselves on Saudi Arabian hotels which do not sell alcohol.

“A lot of hotels, such as the Intercontinental in Medina, are without alcohol,” he explained. “What about developing alcohol-free resorts; Islamic tourism, just like Islamic banking?”

Well the bit about Islamic tourists brought about a lively debate in the comments section of the article, where one writer pointed out that the first thing female Arab tourists from Saudi did on arriving in the Maldives, was to throw away their letterbox outfits, jump into swimsuits and and rush of the bar with their husbands for a cool beer.

We know what will happen next.  After the bars are closed, the tourists will be forced to cover up, acid will start to be thrown and eventually the Maldives will become just another Islamic hell hole on earth instead of the paradise I once had the opportunity of visiting before the cancer took over.