Maldives' Vice President Hussain Mohamed Latheef -
Vice President Hussain Mohamed Latheef paid tribute to Maldivians who lost their lives in the tragic 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami.
In a message on National Unity Day—officially observed each year on 26 December to commemorate the collective response to the disaster—the Vice President offered prayers to the lives lost on the tragic day.
Eighty-two lives were lost and 26 people were reported missing. Twenty-three islands were badly damaged, four of them destroyed. More than 15,000 people were left without homes, and the entire country worked together to rebuild. As the country remembers those who were lost, it also honours the spirit of togetherness that carried it through one of its darkest chapters.