The Maldives: Where Swimming Skills are Apparently Optional
In news that has the entire world scratching its collective head, it has been revealed that a shocking number of young people in the Maldives are unable to swim. This lack of basic aquatic ability is even stopping these people from getting involved in important industries and conservation efforts.
Take Azha Abdul Azeez, for example. The poor girl is terrified of the water and has never learned to swim. She grew up in a house surrounded by the picturesque Indian Ocean, but she might as well have been living in a desert. It’s a shame, really, because the water that Abdul Azeez is too scared to dip a toe in is home to all kinds of incredible creatures like coral reefs, manta rays and turtles.
When we dug a little deeper, we discovered that Abdul Azeez is far from alone in her fear of the water. In fact, it seems that almost no teenagers in the Maldives know how to swim. It’s not clear why this is the case, but Abdul Azeez reckons that her parents didn’t want to send her for swimming lessons when she was little because they were afraid something might happen to her. We’re not sure what ‘something’ they were worried about, but we’re guessing it was something worse than finding out she was a terrible swimmer.
It’s all very confusing, to be honest. We mean, what are these young people even doing all day if they’re not frolicking in the ocean like happy, splashing mermaids and mermen? Are they just sitting at home playing video games and eating junk food? Does anyone in the Maldives have a tan anymore? We have so many questions.
In the meantime, we can only hope that young girls like Azha Abdul Azeez don’t let their fear of the water hold them back from achieving their dreams. After all, there are plenty of industries that don’t require swimming skills, right? Right?!
