Residents fear for their safety

Not as safe as it used to be was the general consensus among the residents of Siberia, outside Labasa say they don’t feel safe.

Similar views were expressed by residents of Tuatua, Namara and Delai Labasa. Naresh Kumar of Siberia who was recently a victim of a house break-in said thefts and break-ins have become common.

“We as communities were able to leave our doors open in the day and sleep peacefully at night,” Mr Kumar said.

“Thieves took things from my place during the day. I was at home. Just three weeks ago, my neighbour’s house was broken into,” he said. “And small items have started to go missing. We are seeing new faces in the area and I am sure they are not from around here.”

Two youths were arrested and charged last week by Police for breaking into Mr Kumar’s and his brother’s residence.

Tuatua resident Maikeli Sivo said his clothes had been stolen and he has heard of other items being taken too.

“It could be the work of just one person, but the worrying thing is that it never used to happen in Labasa,” he said.

“I am hoping to organise a community neighbourhood watch group and this may lead to these acts being stopped.”

In Nakama, which is primarily an agricultural community ten kilometres out of Labasa, the issue is theft of livestock, primarily of goats. Similarly, Siberia goat farmer Mahendra Prasad said there were opportunists who did not feel any remorse when taking advantage of other people’s hard work.

Mr Prasad said they were happy with the work done by the Police. He said all stakeholders in the communities around Labasa needed to look at preventing crime.