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A hotel in the Maldives has apologized after a Swiss couple renewing their marriage vows were subjected to a torrent of sexual and religious abuse in a language they did not understand. The pair thought they had received a traditional blessing from one of the hotel’s employees and it was only later it became clear they had been insulted in the local language. The BBC’s Jonny Hogg reports.Download MP3

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LISA MULLINS: The Maldives have a lot of natural beauty to offer visitors. Just ask singer Katy Perry and her new husband. They went there for their honeymoon. In fact, tourism is the biggest industry on the islands just southwest of India. Not surprisingly, the government there likes to project an image of the Maldives as a welcoming and tolerant nation. Well, that image took a big hit, thanks to a video that was recently posted on YouTube. The video shows a Swiss couple taking part in a ceremony on the grounds of a Maldivian resort. But there’s a lot more to that video than meets the eye, as The BBC’s Jonny Hogg explains in this report.

JONNY HOGG:  It should have been a perfect moment. The couple had travelled to the Maldives to renew their wedding vows in a beach-side ceremony costing a thousand dollars. On the video, the couple look relaxed and happy, if a bit shy, as a hotel staff member explains the ceremony in English. Then the ceremony begins, and the staff member switches to the local Devehi language. Everything appears to be normal. A few minutes later, the couple receive what they’ve been told is a blessing. But these are no words of love. Instead the man launches into an abusive tirade, insulting the couple with sexual and religious slurs, and describing them as swine and infidels. Even as the ceremony culminates with the planting of a coconut tree, a member of staff is heard making lewd remarks. Because the Swiss couple did not speak the local language, they remained unaware of what had happened. It was only because the ceremony was filmed, then posted on the internet and picked up by local media that anyone knew anything was amiss. The incident has caused considerable embarrassment for the Maldives, a predominantly Muslim country that markets itself as a high end tourism destination. Dr. Farah Faizal is the country’s representative in Britain. She says the incident has shocked Maldivians.

FARAH FAIZAL:  The government has condemned what happened and the Prime Minister has offered sincere apologies to the couple. If you look at some of our local newspapers, people are horrified, absolutely horrified that they could treat visitors like this.

HOGG: The hotel has also apologized and Faizal says the staff members involved have been suspended as investigations are carried out. For The World, I’m Jonny Hogg.

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