The social experiment video posted by WAMCO surfaced Thursday evening. The video showed a trash bag, lying on Ameenee Magu, in front of Finance Ministry. The interesting thing about the video was the very high number of vehicles dodging the trash bag, contents of it spilling on the ground. The only one who was actually bothered by the trash bag was a single pedestrian with his child. He dodged the traffic and picked up the bag. You can see the entire video below.
The WAMCO social experiment has been shared on Facebook over 900 times. Public scorn flared in the form of Facebook comments. But what the video had shown was the honest approach most of the public had over such issues. Only one out of a hundred people were concerned over the trash bin on the road. What was seen on the road and on Facebook was starkly different. Expressing the anger, resentment and displeasure are the hallmarks of the arm chair activism that plagues the nation
But the reality is this. The issue of waste in Male' is not just a matter for the state. It is also a public health issue, an issue that demands individual responsibility.
Male' is a small area but is responsible for majority of the waste generated in the country. Forget implementing major waste management procedures in the country, many Maldivians are incapable of lifting a finger to pick up garbage lying on the road. Except for few individuals like the man in the video who stopped not just to remove the trash bag lying on the road but also to set an example for his child.
