Your views
‘A good newspaper is a nation talking to itself’
Crossing signs Tevita Tongilava, USP
As a foreign student studying at the University of the South Pacific (USP), Laucala Campus, there is a concern about the lack of road crossing signs between USP and Damodar City Centre.
As pedestrians, we often face many challenges when crossing the Laucala Bay Road, especially when it is busy.
I have witnessed someone get hit by a car along Laucala Bay Rd, while trying to cross the road.
It is important that local authorities act swiftly and install a crossing sign along Laucala Bay Rd, and all other major roads and intersections in the country, if possible, to guide pedestrians. Especially for people new to the country and their traffic systems (since there are students from other USP countries living in the USP hostels/dormitories).
And since pedestrians are the most vulnerable, there is a need for crossing signs.
Establishing a crossing sign along the Laucala Bay Rd will not only ensure the safety of pedestrians but help promote responsible road users among the drivers, since it is the responsibility of both drivers and pedestrians to share the road and adhere to traffic laws.
Since there is an increase of foreign students to Fiji’s USP, the need for crossing signs increases.
I urge the relevant authorities to prioritise the safety of pedestrians and consider the installation of crossing signs as a necessity.
Let us strive to make our roads safer for everyone, especially foreign students.
FRU Wise Muavono, Lautoka
Fiji Rugby Union (FRU) in the naughty corner again!
Girmit mystery Sukha Singh, Labasa
Could somebody tell me how some of the Girmitiyas (indentured Indian labourers) acquired gold sovereigns when they were paid low wages?
Traffic flow Suresh Chand, Nadi
The hope of this letter is to call out the authorities concerned about the rude reality of the challenges commuters face daily due to the poorly designed and implemented traffic layout at Nadi Town. The new layout proves to be problematic in that it slows the flow of traffic and leads to congestion because of the one way and single lane movement.
Many visitors are discouraged from coming into town, and you can understand it. People these days prefer to do their business in an environment that is both user friendly and hassle free.
As I see it, I think the previous arrangement was much better. Emergency vehicles will have a mammoth task reaching their destinations because of congested
streets and the lack of room for movement.
I am aware, in the beginning, a petition was lodged against the change but unfortunately nothing happened.
I remember at one time it was agreed that the layout would be reversed, but a year has passed since then and nothing has changed. I personally feel that our town’s traffic congestion problem needs to be looked at thoroughly and a workable solution needs to be found before it is too late.
Other views are most welcomed.
.
Girmit celebration Prameeta Chand, Suva
Grouping - Grains
Indians - Inculcated such as Rhetorically to - Rice via
Manage - Manpower making
Idle land under - Idleness into Tenure - Thriving
Girmit celebrations have a clear message which should be practiced by all those concerned. Those who own land lying idle should try and use it wisely. The Girmit era only had manpower and today’s era has machinery with it available. Thus, those who have access to land and labour should put to practice even on a small scale such as backyard gardening for personal use if not commercial.
Eras have changed but land and labour are assets valuable.
Lautoka swimming pool Ajai Kumar, Nadi
The details published in the media involving the Lautoka swimming
pool has been enlightening. My understanding is that the original amount of $2.0m has not escalated to $12m, as previously reported.
Rather, the project for the original public swimming pool was discontinued in favour of an Olympic size swimming pool forecasted to cost just above $7.0m, which has ballooned to $14m and still incomplete.
The last we know of the project is that construction has stopped, and a peer review was being undertaken.
Where are we now? Who is doing the peer review, and at what cost? The pool is presently labelled as “abandoned”. Is it really abandoned and be left “as is”, or is it halted, pending a peer review and new direction?
Going through the list of contractors named and paid for so far, it appears that some of them were grossly incompetent, including the Lautoka City Council (LCC), who admitted that they did not have sufficient knowledge in-house to conceive, plan and monitor the project. With this shortcoming, they found themselves lumped by the Government, with an entirely new Olympic Standard pool project costing much more. What a mess!
If the Government or LCC had any regard for good governance, a peer review of the project would/ should have been carried out when a regular public pool was transited into an Olympic pool.
Anyways, while details are being progressively published, could the media also print what the Auditor General of Fiji had to say in each
of his annual audit reports on the pool project?
The pain of Girmit Dewan Chand, Suva
The pain of Girmit (a concocted term for agreement) was inflicted by the British colonial power when it ruled an empire.
Slave trade was a common feature. However, it came to an end with the passing of the British Slavery Abolition Act in 1834.
In Fiji, we celebrate Girmit Diwas each year to mark the arrival of indentured Indian labourers to Fiji from 1879 to 1919.
During this period Britain ruled India. Batches of Indian labourers were transported to various colonies to work on plantations. The Indenture Agreement (Girmit) was nothing short of slavery. The horrific conditions in which the indentured labourers were recruited, kept and transported to Fiji is a painful saga.
Most indentured labourers were from the North Indian state of United Provinces.
They were illiterate and had no idea of what they were signing or how far was Fiji.
Many thought it was an island in the Bay of Bengal. They had never seen an ocean and when the journey began many jumped overboard in sheer fear of dislocation from the motherland.
The journey from Calcutta to Fiji by sailboat took 90 days to reach. Some labourers died due to sea sickness/cholera and were thrown overboard.
They were packed like sardines and hygienic conditions were deplorable. They were fed on tea and biscuits or dhal and rice. On arrival, they were kept in quarantine before being sold to the employers. C.S.R. (Colonial Sugar Refining Company) was the largest employer and distributed indentured labourers to various parts of Fiji.
Labour Lines were constructed to house them in very congested conditions. To make things worse, there was a shortage of women, which created huge social problems.
Murders and suicide by hanging were rife. Women were often molested or beaten by the overseers. There was no plan to provide education to the children of indentured labourers. Hence the emergence of committee run religious schools.
After completing two terms the indentured labourers could go back to India on a free passage. However, many opted to stay in Fiji and were allocated small plots to do farming. They had no political rights and were treated as the scum of society. The pain and struggle of the girmitiyas runs deep and painful memories.
The capsizing of Syria and death of the labourers still haunts the Indo-Fijians even today.
I can only shed tears in remembering the pain and sacrifice of my ancestors who came as indentured labourers to Fiji.
Their contribution in the development of Fiji cannot be underestimated.
143 years later, the descendants of the indentured labourers are enjoying the fruits of their sacrifice.
Fijiana Drua Jioji O Toronibau, Tunuloa
The Rooster Chicken Fijiana Drua rugby sponsored team is well worth it.
No superlatives could have expressed these amazing young women, the management, supporters and couches for the job well done. To the sponsor Rooster Chicken, big times ahead of your amazing product.
You go girls! Congratulations!
Fiji Rugby Union
Jan Nissar, Sydney, NSW
I hope the new board of trustees of the Fiji Rugby Union (FRU) encourages inclusivity and diversity in the game moving forward.
We all know that in the past this game has been the exclusive sport to only one ethnic group at the exclusion of others.
We will wait and see who is appointed to the management of the organisation. I am sure they all will be appointed and elected on “merit.”
What would have helped is if the board itself was more representative and inclusive, which it is clearly not.
I believe that if a concerted effort is made to reach out to all sections of Fiji, then the game can be used as a platform for reconciliation and healing.