MY DAD'S LIFE

My dad was an interesting and an important person for me. My dad had 5 brothers and he was second eldest. He was born in Hulhu Mal’e and lived there, until he shifted to Mal’e. In Hulhu Mal’e he lived in a hut among trees and greenery with white beaches. His parents died when he was young. My dad lived a hard life when he was a child.

There were 5 small brothers to take care of. He worked as all island workers do. Fishing was common. Climbing coconut palm trees and collecting coconuts were also some of his job. The tough job was building a hut. My father and his 5 brothers each had a shelter. My dad was a good swimmer. He said one day that he picked up something unusual and unknown to them. One of my father’s friends snatched it and said it smelled bad. He threw the stone like thing into the sea, but my father went again and picked it up. He thought this will be something valuable and it was Ambergris which is a solid, waxy, flammable substance of a dull gray or blackish color produced in the digestive system of and regurgitated by sperm whale. He gave it to the government and got three shirts and money too.

He married a woman when he was 15. He did so because he had to take care of his family. My father made each brother a house and even for himself but then the government needed to construct the international airport in Hulhule (near Male).They made families to move to the city, Mal’e. The land was given to the people who lived in Hulhule.

My father lived happily but he needed children to have a family of his own but still had no child. Doctors said that his wife had problems that she couldn't have children any more. The problem was the fetus was blocked. At that time they had no treatment. My father was worried about it. He didn’t divorce the first wife but he needed children more than anything else.

My father prayed to Allah to have a good family. Then he met my mother, who lived on another island. My father had travelled so far to fulfill his dream. The island was S.Hithadhoo, the largest island in our country. My dad wanted to marry my mother. In Allah’s grace my father married her. My mom was young.

Although my father had a second marriage, he kept his first wife in his house. My father had divided it into several houses. After the years passed his first wife died. My father character is very simple. He won’t charge a high rent. My mom forced him to do it. My mom wanted to make a big house with floors but there were divisions. My father dreamed about children and the first son was me. Then my two sisters were born. My mom was strongest women as she got third child in critical way.

Now my dad’s brothers are rich. They have their own shops. They are rich due to my father’s hard work in childhood but they don't share their wealth. They have never even met us. We didn’t know their names until my father’s death. Though they were rich, their sons and daughters haven’t studied up to the level which we studied at present. They are not happy as their children could hardly study up to 8^th grade. My father was happy and in our family we achieved high levels in our studies. At first, my father didn’t send us to other countries when we were doing well in our studies, but the government schools became very bad so he decided to let us become transnational.

We studied in India and at present we are in Sri Lanka. My dad passed away in Sri Lanka. We miss him.

My father was good. Everyone trusted him because of his honesty. He was in MTCC (a Maldives sea transport company) for many years until his death. When he was 20 he started working there. He was promoted. He didn’t retire until his death.

I feel really sad about my father's death, but I was proud that he achieved his goals. He got a certificate for the best worker and was in the SAARC summit also. I am proud to have the best dad in the world.