In the night of September 19, 2003, at the young age of 19, Eavan Naseem, an inmate of Maafushi Jail in the Maldives, was brutally beaten to death by prison guards of NSS. His death caused riots in prison next day and NSS shot prisoners killing and wounding inmates. On September 20, Male' went into a riot and brought the birth of a pro-democracy movement.
To remember the death of Eavan Naseem, we are organising a vigil for the night of September 19 this year. People can sit on the seawall around Male' (thoshigandu) in Boduthakurufaanu Magu from 9 pm to 12 am. There is no specific point. You can sit on the seawall at a location close to your home or any area you prefer. This is a peaceful vigil. You can bring candles if you want. You can wear t-shirts bearing messages if you want. You don't have to continue the vigil from 9 pm to 12 am. It is okay even if you join anytime in between and leave before 12 pm.
We need the help of photographers to take photos and upload to your Flickr accounts. You can also take video clips and upload to YouTube. This is an event organised because we are against torture. Standing up against torture means you are supporting humanity.
This event has been primarily promoted through Facebook. Visit this event's page at Facebook and join, and invite all your Facebook friends.
This is an "open source event". Like open source software to which you can add plugins and extensions and modify the source code to make it better. Those attending can add new flavours to the event such as banners and t-shirts. You can get an old t-shirt and write on it using a permanent marker. This is cheaper but effective. Be creative with what you write. You can also go there in your evening dresses and shirts/-t-shirts. What is important is to sit on seawall to show that you are against torture. You don't have to spend a dime for the event if you don't want to do it.
This event is a non-violent and peaceful action.
We request all bloggers to promote this event in their blogs. Give a link to the Facebook event page from your blogs. Write a blog post about the event both before and after the event. Tweet about it using the hash tag #9/19.
Start sending SMS to your friends about the event. Something like "Sit on seawall (thoshigandu) around Male' in Boduthakurufaanu Magu in the night of 19 September, between 9 pm and 12 am, and join a vigil to mark the 5th anniversary of killing of Eavan Naseem. Raise your voice against torture".
