For 30 years the Maldives has been governed by an iron-fisted regime headed by the former President Abdul Gayoom. Political parties were not allowed and the government ran the police, army, the media and courts.
People in the Maldives were not happy with the way President Gayoom ran the country and pressure started to build up. A few years ago they had a new president whose name is Mohamed Nasheed.
The 41-year-old president of the Maldives wants to buy a new country for his people. Because of climate change, sea levels are rising and in the future it is likely that his entire country will be under water. The President has his eyes on Australia. He wants to buy land in Australia for his 300,000 people. The President does not want to see his people climate refugees. At present nothing can be done to stop climate change which is mainly caused by industrial countries. Other small island countries are facing the same problem but they don't get the attention they hope for because they are all poor.
Because tourism is the main source of income for his country, the president wants to attract more and more tourists to visit his country so he can get the money needed to buy the land. His request to buy land for his population may seem strange nowadays but who knows what will happen in the next century.
