God hears the faintest whisper

from w

A letter to the Editor of the Fiji Times discusses noise in Labasa town. Loud prayers. Surely God hears the faintest whisper from a troubled heart? The sound of silence.

Loud preachers

I REFER to correspondence by L Leone (FT 02/06) and V Naidu (FT 29/05). It seems the manner in which prayer services are conducted is going to be ongoing debate in Fiji. May I ask, if a group of people is to pray, why do some tear apart their throats in order to be heard?

All throughout childhood, a child is taught to pray in silence.

If one needs to see an example of a prayer service, make yourself available at the Methodist or Anglican Church in Labasa on a Sunday morning and see how Christians come to pray in a gracious, dignified manner.

And on the same note, go and stand outside Diamond Theatre on a Sunday for the 10am and 5pm "church" service, which simply has no regard for the community, as loud speakers and an over empowering musical band can be heard for miles down Naseakula Road.

Even Fijian members of the community have commented that such services only result in young people enjoying themselves. It is nothing but a slap in God's name on a Sabbath morning - a day which is supposed to be a day of rest.

And where is the town council in all this? These days one cannot keep a pet rooster in the backyard in Labasa town, as it is loud and pestering, yet it cannot have a noise control policy for religious groups?

I also take note of Mr Leone's article of the mosques being loud at 5am.

Just when is this religious debacle going to be resolved? Praise the Lord and may God bless Fiji.

RAGNI SAMUJH
Auckland
NZ

The on-going topic of the Qawa River trouble

a clean Qawa River upstream

a picture from google earth of part of Labasa town, via tribewanted.
from w
For years the people of babasiga just put up with the dirty river caused by the polluting Sugar mill and others who treated the river as a dump. Now it is an on-going protest and even the Methodist Church in Labasa has picked up the subject. Vinaka va'alevu guys.
from today's Fiji radio:
Protest march against Qawa river stenchWednesday, December 03, 2008
Taken from / By: fbcl
The Methodist Church will lead a march this Saturday in silent protest against the foul smell coming out of the Qawa River. Rev. Savirio Vuata says people living along the QAWA River will not sit back any longer while nothing is being done to rectify the problem.

Rev Vuata says all they’ve been told is that the Fiji Sugar Corporation and the Vatura sawmill is dumping their waste into the river and the march is for authorities to look into the matter and stop the continuation of pollution.

He says people living alongside the river can no longer draw sustain from it because of the foul smell it holds which only happens when the sugar mill is in operation Rev. Vuata says it is only at the end of the crushing season when the river is somewhat normal.

The Methodist Church march will be accompanied by other religious bodies and villagers who live alongside the Qawa River and will start from the Nasea Methodist church to Macuata house.

A government official will await them at Macuata House to receive their petition.

Changes in Labasa over thirty years

from today's Fiji Times

Michael notes changes
SERAFINA SILAITOGA
Tuesday, July 08, 2008

Michael Amal Deo ... major changes in Labasa

THE town of Labasa in the Northern Division had no housing area and not many shops in the 1970s and people depended on a small market for their vegetable supply. Michael Amal Deo remembers this vividly.

He started work as a cleaner for the Labasa Town Council in 1977. He still does that job today and says he has enjoyed every minute of it.He has done everything from cleaning drains, mowing the lawn on council property to attending to pot plants around the town area. Mr Deo said when he started work, his job involved cleaning around town, starting from as far as Naodamu where a residential housing area now sits. He says there was no such area before when he started work. "There was no housing area in Labasa and not many houses or shops like we have now except for a few houses in Naodamu and about 20 shops in town," he remembers. "There was a small market in town that sold vegetables and I remember there were not many buses and cars like we have today."

Labasa has developed into a major urban centre serving as a meeting place for people in the Northern Division. The township is the only major urban centre in the division alongside Savusavu.

Mr Deo has even noticed a big difference over the collection of rubbish in residential and town areas. "In the past when I first started, there was rubbish every where, scattered all over the place and we used to collect from different places in the residential areas. Today, it is better organised and people know where to pile their rubbish which are now kept in bins or garbage bags."

He says over the years the town has developed but despite this, business people have done a good job in keeping their rubbish stacked in proper places making it easier for collection. Money earned from his job, Mr Deo says, has helped support his family financially."I have been able to educate my three daughters, feed my family and pay for bills so I am enjoying my job," he says."Although people always tell me to look for better opportunities, I enjoy my work at the council and I will continue until I retire."

Pictures of Labasa

Here are some pictures of Labasa, cane trucks going along the main street, a Chinese restaurant, the Labasa river, and a railway bridge across the Labasa river.
They were taken by travellers to Vanua Levu, three of them by Michael Katzko whose description of a trip to Vanua Levu is described here.