Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen.
At 9:26am, on 26 December, 16 years ago, the world as we knew it then changed.
To describe the tsunami as simply a wave is not enough: the pulling back of the water, the fish that flapped on the exposed lagoon floor, and then, the huge wall of water - measuring 4 feet at some islands – that swept across entire islands, sweeping away everything in its wake. Water that gushed upwards from the ground up. This was no simple wave.
Communications went down across the country. And as the day wore on, we learnt of the damage - Entire islands destroyed. People holding on to coconut palms, on roofs, barely holding on, as they watched their life’s work being swept away.
We did not know what a tsunami was at that time. We would later come to know about the massive earthquake that caused it. We would come to know later about the impacts the tsunami had across the Indian Ocean. We would come to know of the numerous deaths, and those souls that got swept away.
16 years ago, we saw damage like we had never seen before in this country. But we also saw friendship, unity, like we had never seen before.
It was that unity that enabled the entire country to overcome that tragedy. And it was unity – multilateral unity – that allowed us to overcome the damages.
Excellencies,
The sheer scale of damage that the tsunami had inflicted on the Maldives came as a shock to everybody. Damages amounted to 60% of GDP. Seeing the remains of our islands and the helpless situation of our people, within a few hours after the disaster struck, we made a desperate plea to the international community for emergency assistance - and the international community listened.
Aid flowed into the country from our development partners and friendly nations. Emergency humanitarian assistance was extended for the distressed within less than 24 hours. Recovery works were initiated to help the thousands of homeless Maldivians return to their homes, regain their livelihoods and rebuild their infrastructure.
Long-term projects were carried out to protect our communities against the threat of future disasters. Our graduation from LDC status was postponed at the UN. This unprecedented outpour of compassion from millions of people around the world brought in millions of dollars in donations. Maldives is where we are today because the international community helped us back on our feet - because of your generous assistance.
Excellencies,
We did not choose to have this commemoration at this location, by accident. Just behind me, you see the monument commemorating the Malé sea wall project, a generous assistance by the Government and people of Japan, after the 1989 sea swells that severely affected Malé. If not for this wall, the impact of the 2004 tsunami on Malé would have been, much more than it was, causing much more damage.
The interlocked tetra pods that make up the sea wall – make it strong. Made it a bulwark against the raging waters. Just like those tetra pods, it is unity – global solidarity – that will help us overcome any situation, any crisis.
Today, as we remember one of the worst disasters our county faced, we are living through another. The COVID-19 pandemic has surfaced the stark vulnerabilities of Small Island Developing States such as the Maldives. This pandemic has reminded us of a reality evident even back in 2004 - multilateral cooperation and collective action is the most effective way to overcome global challenges. International cooperation is not an ideology – it delivers results. Disasters know no borders, and therefore international cooperation is absolutely crucial.
As we mark 16 years since the Indian Ocean Tsunami ravaged our country, let us take a moment to remember the lives lost, and the damages caused. Let us take a moment to recall with gratitude, the unity of the Maldivian people, and the solidarity of the international community. Without the support of our friends, our bilateral and multilateral partners, without you, we would not have been able to weather the storm either then, or even now.
I thank you.