Celebrating Girmitiya Lives
For 140 years, the remains of the ship Syria have survived storms, cyclones and waves on the Nasilai Reef in Rewa. The 207.7 feet (63.30metre) iron sailing vessel shipwrecked on May 11, 1884, carrying 497 indentured labourers, their children, and a crew of 43 which included 33 Indian seamen. She ran aground with Vadrai and Kiuva villages in sight. 56 passengers and three crew members died on that fateful night.
It ended her 24 years of carting indentured labourers to British colonies. Like the MV Titanic, she ran aground in the dark of night on her maiden voyage to Fiji. She sailed through the Pacific Ocean after departing Calcutta on March 13, 1884.
Her iron remains are a reminder of the difficulties and struggles her passengers - most against their will, endured which later shaped the future of their new destination - Fiji.
History reports that between 1879 and 1916 about 42 ships came to Fiji with Indian indentured labourers from places such as Calcutta and Madras.
From the thousands who left their homes for Fiji, their descendants have called Fiji home. This is their birthplace. They are now called Fijians. Their family lineage have found their roots on this South Sea island, and for over a century they have lived alongside the indigenous of Fiji.
Yesterday, after a long while, Fijians celebrated Girmit Day. It started with the visit to Naivilaca Village in Rewa where the deceased from Syria are buried. Naivilaca was labelled ‘Peace Village’ to mark the hospitality the villagers offered to their visitors in 1884. Villagers of Kiuva, Vadrai, Muana-i-Ra, Naselai and Naivuaga also helped in the rescue.
The girmitiyas were brought as labourers to Fiji’s sugarcane, cotton fields, and banana plantations. But like the steel skeleton of the ship Syria, they weathered the different climates by working hard to build prosperity in their new home.
Over the next three days at Albert Park and at the University of the South Pacific in Suva, until the Girmit Day public holiday on Monday, the national celebration will include documenting, writing, telling and sharing the rich history left behind by our Girmitiyas. There’s a lot to learn for every Fijian young and old. This is our history. It is who we are today. In fact, without the Indentured labourers, Fiji would not be what it is today.
Girmit Day should become an annual event with educational activities on the history and lineage of our Girmitiyas. Its history that we should all be proud of. Sites and artefacts kept outside the Fiji Museum should be preserved. They have tales of history that can educate our youngsters. There are traditional games such as Kancha or Lakhoti (playing with marbles), Nondi or hopscotch, lattoo (spinning top), Pachisi (rolling of seashells on board), Lagori or Pani (two teams taking turns in trying to knock of a pile of empty cans with a small soft ball) that children can enjoy, and of course the popular Indian wrestling.
The Girmit Festival of the 1970s in Samabula, Suva, could be revived where its week-long events of Indian food shows, entertainments and dances and cultural shows culminated with the crowning of a Miss Girmit.
These are ways of preserving the rich history left behind by the lives of our Girmitiyas.