Defence Minister Adam Shareef has urged parents to instill discipline and civilised behaviour in children and young people.
Speaking at a special function held Monday night at the Islamic Centre to mark the National Unity Day, he said that nurturing children with the right values from an early age is important to raise a compassionate and caring generation. The Minister also spoke about the importance of the country's religious unity and urged everyone to be wary of attempts to create religious divisions among the people.
Speaking at last night's function, Health Minister Abdulla Nazim said “the history of the world shows that a country or place without unity cannot achieve development. He highlighted that the country has regained and maintained its independence through the united efforts of all citizens.
The National Unity Day is marked in remembrance of the spirit of national unity and solidarity shown by the people of Maldives in the immediate aftermath of the devastating 2004 tsunami - the most tragic, and the largest, national calamity faced by the Maldives in recent history.
Twelve years ago on December 26, massive tsunami waves hit coastal areas across South and South-East Asia causing death and destruction on an unprecedented scale. The Maldives, being a low-lying island nation, experienced the full brunt of the tsunami, which destroyed islands, infrastructure and livelihoods. The catastrophe that shocked the nation and brought it down to its knees claimed 82 lives and left 26 people lost and unaccounted for. Over 15,000 people lost their homes. Homes and whole communities were destroyed forcing people from 13 islands to be temporarily moved to other islands. Many of the people who were made homeless in the disaster lived in temporary shelters for the past 10 years.
Due to the exemplary unity shown by the people on December 26, 2004, the day is annually marked as the National Unity Day.