My Indo-Fijian brothers and sisters, please know this and dont let anyone argue it over you... Fiji is your home, we love you for being different amongst other races (Chinese, Rotumans, Tongans, etc). I know how lost some of your might feel and how important it is to have an national identity, which is why the excitement abounds with the newly introduced common name in Fijian. You must understand that the term Fijian has long been associated with the indigenous brothers and sisters of yours here in Fiji. I would love for all to be called Fijian, but historical reference has already been reserved for the indigenous people of our beloved Fiji and we cannot just change it because it has a nice ring to it and also because US citizens are called Americans and for Australia, Australians. We are very different from these countries. Our history is different. The discrimination of its indigenous populace and the current stand of their government now for adopted citizens of their country share different policies. In a few recent cases, if one of us is already a citizen and commits a crime over a period of time, our people are threatened of deportation if not imprisonment. However, please respect the fact that the name belongs to the indigenous group of our beloved Fiji, and remember that the name change was forced and did not go through the consultation process. By claiming and crying over it makes you seem greedy for something that was grabbed from another and given to you. Let the indigenous Fijians enjoy it, whilst the rest of us will be called Fiji Islanders or Indo-Fijian or whichever, our warm relationship makes us Fijian, not the name. The change did not follow a fair process despite the nice ring and logic behind it, the end does not justify the means. Fiji is unique because we host multi-cultural, multi-racial, multi-coloured folks in our country, lets enjoy each other’s differences - it was on this context that the saying Fiji, the way the world should be was coined by one of the most influential person in the world. Dont be easily fooled by some of these politicians, theyre just trying to find a reason to stay in power and run away from their responsibilities and human rights cases that they will be all accountable for. Thank you my fellow indo-Fijian brothers and sisters, SODELPA will guarantee your rights and freedom in writing this new chapter of Fiji. Dialogue, Accountability, Respect, Diplomacy and Transparency is key to resolving any conflict, not by character assignation (which is a waste of taxpayers’ money just going on and on) but to discuss growth, positive innovations and creating sustainable and vibrant economy. God bless us all. Eli Steven
Posted on: Wed, 20 Aug 2014 10:53:42 +0000