This is a map of the capital city of the Maldives, Male, and the surrounding islands. This is where a large portion of the people live in the Maldives. These are just a few of the 1,200 islands that make up the nation. |
On September 29, 2010, parents of children in the government school on Foakaindhoo Island in Shaviyani Atoll stormed into the school accusing Christian ex-patriot teacher Geethamma George of drawing a cross in class. Officials then took her off of the island out of fear of her being attacked. A couple of days later, while teaching Class VI students, drew a compass to help teach geography. The students, who knew little English, mistook the compass for a cross. They thought that this was because she was trying to teach Christianity to them. They complained about it to their parents, who issued the school a warning. The school then set up a committee to investigate the matter. They found that she was just teaching a geography lesson and was not teaching Christianity. But after parents reportedly threatened to tie her and drag her off the island, she was once again relocated to the island of Funadhoo. George, like so many other Indians working in the Maldives, was from the state of Karela. Her story is like that of so many other persecuted Christians living and working in the Maldives.
Above is a picture of Shaviyani Atoll and the islands within it. This is where Geethamma George was first accused of teaching Christianity. http://www.maldivesbest.com/map-of-shaviyani-atoll
The picture above is a picture of a Maldivian departure card (http://blog.opendoorsusa.org/a-story-of-persecution-in-the-maldives-shijo/).This is probably the type of card that Shijo Kokattu and Jathish Biswas would have had to fill out as they were deported. Below is a video explaining what happened to Shijo Kokattu (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-9vfFtXldo).
Above is the city of Male, the capital of the Maldives, which is home to a large portion of the nations inhabitants.
City of Male, from http://barnabasfund.org/US/Maldives.html
Geethamma George's story is from http://www.religiontoday.com/news/muslims-force-expat-christian-teacher-to-flee-maldives-11639154.html
Shijo Kokattu's story is from http://www.persecution.com/public/newsroom.aspx?story_ID=NDQx
Jathish Biswas' story is from http://www.persecution.org/2012/12/07/christian-literature-reason-for-arrest-of-two-christians-in-maldives
http://rescuechristians.org/2012/12/05/maldives-bangladeshi-christian-in-jail-for-bringing-in-christian-literature/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=maldives-bangladeshi-christian-in-jail-for-bringing-in-christian-literature