Exodus to Vancouver
IN 1974, skilled workers were leaving Fiji because they felt Fiji “held no future” for them and their children.
And the exodus of these workers was captured in an article published in The Fiji Times on November 6, 1974.
The report focused on a Ram family of Lami who were among 30 people from Fiji leaving for Vancouver, Canada from the Nadi International Airport.
Bali Ram worked as a plumber and was migrating with his wife, daughters and sons.
According to the Bureau of Statistics, 1021 people left to settle in Canada in the first seven months of 1974.
They consisted of skilled workers, their families and a few expatriates.
Those who left boarded the Canadian Pacific flight and included a building foreman and his wife from Samabula, a newly-married housewife from Suva who was going to join her husband and an 11-year-old girl who was also leaving the country to join her family.
Some told The Fiji Times that their main reason for migrating to Canada was because Fiji held no future for them or their children.
Some said they wanted to reunite with children and relatives already in Canada.
Poor wages
A 17-year-old student from Suva said although she was sad to leave her friends, she was glad to leave Fiji.
“I know I was born here but Fiji is not the place for poor people,” she said.
“I mean, if a family is poor, there is little possibility that the family’s financial position will improve.
“Besides, the wages workers are paid here is lousy, especially with inflation and the amount of work they do.
“In Vancouver, where a lot of my relatives live, even the ordinary workers are paid enough for them to live a comfortable life,”
An elderly couple from Ba were at the airport to farewell their granddaughter who was joining her parents in Vancouver.
They said they were sad to see their children leave.
“But we realise that our children are leaving for their own good and that is a consolation,” the couple said.
They hoped that one day, their children would call them to live in Canada as well.
Bachelors
Many people who settled in Canada did this.
Many bachelors who settled there came back to Fiji to marry and returned.
Some people said relations fixed jobs for them.
Some relatives in Canada also helped to pay airfares.
In Vancouver, where a lot of my relatives live, even the ordinary workers are paid enough for them to live a comfortable life – A 17-year-old student