from w It seems that not only Fiji, but New Zealand too, are looking for a new flag design. Here are some of the suggestions - they certainly look more interesting than the ones offered by the Fiji Flag Committee.
from w
It has been wonderful to watch eight or more hours a day of the Games in Port Moresby on the Australia Indigenous channel of NITV and cheer on Fiji and other nations. I wonder if the inmates of the detention centre at Manus Island are able to watch the games and who would they cheer or not cheer on! Do they have football and rugby and soccer fields next to their quarters I wonder. Anyway here are the flags so it's interesting to see their designs. Certainly in the crowd there are numerous Fiji flags waved and people seem happy to identify Fiji easily.
from w
It's taking time but hopefully the road will be ready by December. It's an important highway for Vanua Levu. From Govt website.
DREKETI – NABOUWALU ROAD TO OPEN BY DECEMBER SAYS COMMISSIONER NORTHERN
7/11/2015
The Dreketi Nabouwalu Highway is expected to open by December this year.
This was revealed by the Commissioner Northern Jovesa Vocea at the closing of the Bua Women’s Craft show in Nabouwalu this week.
Mr Vocea said the Nabouwalu – Dreketi project is progressing well and they were glad with China Railway’s efforts to complete the project soon.
“This project will give the people of Bua better access to market their products, reach their destination fast and dusty roads will be a thing of the past,” Mr Vocea said.
He said when he was in Japan for three years, Bua was only viewed through the internet and websites and investors were eager to see the completion of the road.
“Investors are ready to come in, they are ready to invest, the completion of the road shows how committed government is to the people as aligned is the Look North Policy,” Mr Vocea said. He also thanked the landowners of Nabouwalu who were willing to give their land for township development.
The 70-kilometre Nabouwalu –Dreketi Highway project costs $228million, it is a four-year long project of the Bainimarama Government with the Fiji Roads Authority that is being carried out by China Railway First Group Fiji (CRFG) Company. “We must work together now for Bua and its future generation,” Mr Vocea said.
Mr Vocea has also urged the people in Bua to take advantage of the National Development Plan consultations and make their voices and opinions heard by government for the future development of the Northern Division.
from w
Congratulations. A young man from Tabia in Macuata, Fiji got a gold medal at the Pacific Games. Excellent as he had only started shooting recently and it was pidgeons!
Khan shoots his way to gold
Shalveen Chand in Port Moresby Thursday, July 09, 2015
Faiyum Murtaza Khan with his gold medal at June Valley,Port Moresby, PNG, yesterday. Picture: SHALVEEN CHAND
FAIYUM Murtaza Khan sent shock waves through the sport of shooting as he picked up a gold medal in the 25m mixed gender pellet pistol competition in the Pacific Games at the June Valley Range in Port Moresby in Papua New Guinea.
The Labasa lad only took up shooting in March this year but he beat seasoned shooters in the competition to grab Fiji's first gold in shooting.
"Yesterday I entered an event that I had never competed in before and was placed fifth but today I knew what I was doing," said Khan.
"I was the first one to finish shooting and sat outside. I was told by a New Caledonian shooter that I had won gold. I did not believe him and went and checked the scores.
"To my surprise I had won. All other shooters had scopes but as you know we shooters from Fiji are supporting ourselves and do not have that kind of money to buy additional equipments. I was shooting without a scope, but I did it."
The 25-year old civil engineer hails from Tabia in Labasa and had his education at Tabia Sanatan Primary, Tabia Secondary and Labasa College.
"I am so happy with this win. I hope to inspire other people to take up the sport. Prior to joining the Fiji Shooting Association I was only shooting pigeons during the open season," Khan said.
"Little did I know that one day I would be standing at this podium with a gold medal around my neck, the Fijian flag being hoisted and the national anthem playing."
What was more amazing was that the shooting team stood together and when the anthem was playing, the team sang "Blessing Grant" to fill up the silent shooting range.
This was Khan's last event and the shooting team will start with the rifles today.
from w
Mostly I've read her breezy column in the Fiji Times and some of her short stories, but here Seona gets occasionally serious about humour and the languages of Fiji. Seona was married to a Fiji Indian man and her stories are about the ups and downs of living with relatives. Seona's husband died two years ago and an excellent eulogy gives bountiful information about this marvellous family.
Go to https://narseyonfiji.wordpress.com/2013/12/10/nand-kisor-chetty-25-12-1944-to-29-10-2013/
Sanjay Kumar, left, with Pradeep Kumar busy harvesting cane at Drasa in Lautoka. The author says Fiji Hindi or Fiji baat is a language that was born in the plantations. Picture: FILE
The "unsmiling Indian" was nowhere to be seen at the fourth Kaise Baat held at the University of the South Pacific last week. Nor, for that matter, were petulant iTaukei, grumpy Europeans or unsociable others.
Kaise baat is a popular exclamation in Fiji Hindi that roughly translates as "what's up or what's happening". It is the title of an annual series that aims to provide a platform for discussions on, in and about Fiji baat — otherwise known as Fiji Hindi.
It is an opportunity for those who know this language, that was born in Fiji's plantations and lives across all Fiji cultures today, to celebrate a valid, vivid, dynamic linguistic heritage.
In the past these events have involved serious academic papers, literature, traditional music, song and dance and other insights into this unique Fiji language.
This year the event looked at Fiji Hindi humour with a program that hilariously undermined the myth of the "unsmiling Indian" of Fiji found in writing by authors from James Michener to Paul Theroux, among others.
The magic of the event was that it involved as many people of non-Fiji Indian ethnicity as those who learnt Fiji baat at their amma's knee — and many who happily swung between baat, iTaukei and English languages with as much ease and enjoyment as the mirth inducing moments allowed.
This ability to crack the joke multilingually was led by the bati ni tharia, Nimilote Naisorotabua and Nemani Bainivalu, who brought their wisecracking style from the iTaukei language television show, Bati ni Tanoa.
Following that lively tradition, a group of students from USP Labasa Campus who formed the Cheenikum/Sukalailai Theatre Troupe threw around some seriously comic dialogue in three languages that also conveyed stern health advice.
The troupe found academics and linguists an easier audience to play to than diabetes patients queueing for medicines in the crowded health centre (who probably wished they had eaten better and exercised more before they got sick) and brought the house down with a scene from Adhuraa Sapnaa — Ank Do Drishyq Ek (Act 2 Scene 1) by the late Raymond Pillai.
The course of tracing Indo-Fijian humour from folk traditions to digital renderings also involved roof-raising folk music (bidesia/pachra) with Rakesh Chand Bobby and Group, some witty Bollywood freestyle mash up by the Masti Arts dancers and a great performance by the still-great Jimmy Subhaydas, Eddie Wilson and their musicians.
Subhaydas was an immensely popular singer of iTaukei songs as well as in Hindi before retiring to his village on Ovalau to fish.
Eddie Wilson rocked the program to a close with an all-time favourite from way back, Ek Hans Kajora.
According to writer and philosopher John Ralston Saul, multilingualism remains the source of movement and growth in a civilisation. It is the role of writers and intellectuals to carry words, images, emotions and ideas back and forth between languages.
He also says comedy is the least controllable use of language and therefore the most threatening to people in power.
So it must have been a rather subversive gathering to explore multilingual humour, although the Minister for Education, Heritage and Arts and National Archives of Fiji, Dr Mahendra Reddy, opened the program with some well chosen words in English about the need to preserve Fiji baat and how it was common currency between ethnic groups.
With my limited ability in Fiji baat and iTaukei languages, I missed some of the best jokes of the evening. I am more in the category of providing the humour when I try to join family discussions in the vernacular.
Teaching me to pronounce the word "horse" (goddha) in Hindi is considered hysterically funny and leads me to sound like an out of work cheerleader auditioning for a squad by demonstrating how well I can say "drah, drah, drah".
Not to mention how I seriously confused the dog by apparently shouting "hornet, hornet" at him when I thought I was telling him to go "outside, outside" and other such incidents.
It's enough to turn a single language speaker mute.
But even I have picked up many of the words in common currency and according to my daughters, who are the products of a multilingual household, most Fiji people can understand the other languages enough to know the swears, get the rude jokes at the bus stop and speak enough to tease their cousins.
Jolly good, because John Ralston Saul says if we always act in a respectable manner, then comedy is dead. People (except perhaps for heads of governments and those in charge of financial policies) shouldn't worry about sounding responsible every time we open our mouths, because gravity is a lot less useful than irresponsible inquiry.
So if Fiji baat seems a bit funny to those people who promote "proper" Hindi — which also has its place, no doubt — we need to also feel proud of it and be able to celebrate this richly nuanced idiom that has infiltrated the first languages of us all to add vibrancy and colour to our everyday speech.
* The views expressed are the author's and not of this newspaper.
from w
We met Ratu Epeli at a function in Melbourne and he presented as a really nice man, a gentle man, at ease with people, with no arrogance or sense of his position as President. This article also shows this - about his 74th birthday this week.
Fiji Sun:
President Ratu Epeli Nailatikau revealed yesterday he started as a waiter at Government House.
He had just joined the then Royal Fiji Military Forces and one of his assignments was to serve dignitaries entertained by the then Governor Sir Kenneth Maddocks
Ratu Epeli was reminiscing on his early days in the RFMF as he celebrated his 74th birthday two days early, four months away from the expiry of his presidential term. He flew to Tonga later to attend the royal coronation in Nukualofa.
It was also the reason senior Republic of Fiji Military Forces officers led by Commander Brigadier-General Mosese Tikoitoga gave him an early morning surprise visit and wished him happy birthday.
As he rose through the ranks, he was aide-de-camp to Governors Sir Robert Foster and Sir Derek Jakeway.
While Government House became a familiar place, he said he never thought that one day he would occupy it.
He remembered the neatly-manicured lawns and the Victorian architecture of Government House. They have been preserved until today.
Ratu Epeli and other soldiers were sent to Government House as waiters for functions.
“As I entered the kitchen, the Butler directed me to the glasses that needed washing, drying and put on a tray.
“We were told where to stand and not to let guests wait for their drinks.
“No, I never thought I’d be here one day,” he said looking around the compound.
Ratu Epeli was in his track pants ready for the morning exercise when the military delegation arrived and serenaded him.
He said: “You almost missed me. I was just getting ready to go out for my morning walk.”
It was cakes and champagne for the officers and their Commander in Chief as the RFMF band played a few numbers.
Every year the RFMF celebrates the birthdays of their former commanders.
Yesterday’s early celebrations took place because Ratu Epeli will be in Tonga on his birthday. He turns 74 tomorrow.
(L-R) Madhu Kohli, Ami Kohli, Renu Nand and Peter Nand at the Labasa Rotary Club meeting on Saturday. Picture: Luke Rawalai
THE Labasa Rotary Club has spent more than $252,000 to assist 11 community projects in the Northern Division.
Speaking during the club's annual general meeting on Saturday, club treasurer Yogeshwar Chand said they would look at assisting more projects this year.
Meanwhile, re-elected club president Ami Kohli said since taking up the role this year he intended to take the club to another level.
"Currently we are expecting a grant of $250,000 New Zealand money from Rotary International," he said.
"If the grant really comes our way it will be a great help for the people in Labasa and those living in remote areas.
"We have to sit with the club to identify projects that we can work on but right now some of the projects that we have identified are the construction of public convenience and resting facility between Savusavu and Seaqaqa."
Mr Kohli said the absence of such a facility might be a contributing factor to tired drivers who make the long trip daily along the highway.
"We have other big plans including the refurbishment of wards at the Labasa Hospital," he said.
"We at the Labasa Rotary Club here in Labasa would also like to assure members of the public that there will be increasing overseas medical specialist visits to the North in the future.
"It is good to have these specialists home to share their experience and professional know how in assisting the people of the North."
The Labasa Rotary Club plays hosts to visiting medical teams including catering for them and providing teams with accommodation.
from w
I think it is appalling to ban Brij Lal and his wife from going back to Fiji. They are both outstanding people and it is vicious and vindictive to say their case cannot be considered. They are not criminals but people who do care for Fiji. Story from Fiji Times.
Minister for Defence, National Security and Immigration Captain Timoci Natuva at the Government Buildings in Suva yesterday. Picture: JONACANI LALAKOBAU
THE decision to ban academic Prof Brij Lal from Fiji was the Government's collective view and one it won't reverse.
Minister of Defence, Timoci Lesi Natuva confirmed this yesterday following allegations by the National Federation Party that the decision to maintain the ban was made by the Prime Minister's Office and not independently by the Ministry of Defence, National Security and Immigration.
"The directive comes from Government, it's a decision made by Government, a collective decision so we stand by the decision already been made and if they're thinking of coming for another application it's just a waste of time," Mr Natuva said.
"We will not change our decision. He's already applied and we denied the application."
NFP leader Prof Biman Prasad labelled the ban as a mockery of Fiji's democracy and the conduct of Government.
Mr Prasad said the decision was conveyed to Prof Lal by assistant immigration director Edward Brown, after the couple paid $380 to apply for a lift on the ban.
The party alleged that the Lals were to some extent given positive feedback of re-entering the country through electronic email exchanges between Mr Natuva and the Immigration Department.
On November 24 last year, an email sent from the minister to Prof Lal stated the director of immigration had confirmed the Lals could travel to Fiji but it was also advisable that they contact the director Nemani Vuniwaqa or his deputy Mr Brown.
On December 15, the Lals were informed that their names were still on the "controversial list" that had been given by the Prime Minister's Office.
That e-mail from Mr Brown also confirmed the immigration department's intention to write to the PM's Office to seek comment and endorsements on whether the names should remain on the list or not.
In his correspondence, Prof Lal said he had been offered an academic position at the Solomon Islands National University but the acceptance of the offer largely depended on whether his wife, Padma was able to travel to Fiji.
"It is undeniably a breach of fundamental rights of two former Fiji citizens who are banished from the land of their birth for defending democracy and human rights, we want the Prime Minister to come out and tell the truth about this travel ban," Mr Prasad said.
"The FijiFirst Government is hounding him like a common criminal; this is utterly insulting not only to Prof Lal and his wife but to all right-thinking and law abiding citizens and to the Indo-Fijian community whose historical background right from the days of indenture has been well researched ad documented by Prof Lal," Mr Prasad said.
Go to this website of the Age for a video of the coronation of the King of Tonga. http://media.theage.com.au/video-news/video-world-news/a-king-is-crowned-6661529.html\
from w
Surely the installation of the Tongan king is an event that is significant enough for the neighbouring nation to send their Prime Minister. After all it's only a couple of hours by plane.
Instead he was in Ba doing some small thing. PM opens new R C Manubhai manufacturing facility in Ba
By Dhanjay Deo
Saturday 04/07/2015
Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama
R C Manubhai Group of Companies has opened its brand new manufacturing facility in Ba today which is an investment of $10 million.
from w
Here is a response concerning the minimum wage in Fiji.
WAGE RATE
Nishant Singh,
Lautoka | Saturday, July 4, 2015
WITH the implementation of the new minimum
wage rate and more than 100,000 to benefit as per the relevant ministry's
claim, let me put forward a scenario.
An employee, say an unskilled labourer
and a breadwinner supporting a family of four, sweats it out for 45 hours a
week at $2.32. He would earn about $104.40.
After FNPF deductions kick in (mandatory
by law), his take home pay roughly equates to $96.
With the current high standard of living
and the cost of goods and services skyrocketing, can the Labour Ministry
explain how one would cater for the financial needs for a family of four by
earning $2.32/hour?
Basic grocery shopping for four family
members would generally amount to $100-$150.
Other subsequent expenses would include
utility bills, rent, hire-purchase payments, education, unforeseen medical
emergencies and other social obligations. And yes after a tough week at work,
one deserves to reward himself with a bowl of kava or a cold glass of beer. So
how would one survive on $96 a week to fulfil the above financial commitments?
It still puzzles me as to what feasible
formula the Employment Relations Advisory Board and the Ministry of Labour
agreed to that justifies the new wage rate. The Government almost daily reminds
the public that Fiji is economically progressing at a steep rate and the
livelihoods of the people are changing for the better.
If so, then why put into practice such
an impractical wage rate for a nation that is supposedly phasing through an
economic boom?
Would the Labour Minister be game to
work at $2.32/hour?
Take up the challenge and you would
almost certainly have an improved understanding of what a common person endures
earning less than $3/hour!
from w
When the Minister for Education accused a school of being racist when asking for an indigenous Fijian as principal, a very good reply has been published in the Fiji Times. The author shows that ethnicity is a fact and cultural considerations need to be addressed not ignored as irrelevant. And I remember one time a Christian based school was given a Hindu principal because head office in Suva apparently chose the principal, not the school board. It wasn't satisfactory in my opinion. The local people - in the islands, in the countryside - should have a say in their school leaders, not some office men and women in Suva.
Racist or sensitive
Jioji Kotobalavu Saturday, July 04, 2015
I am prompted to write this after reading of comments by the Minister for Education, Dr Mahendra Reddy, as reported in The Fiji Times issue of June 30, 2015.
Dr Reddy questioned the propriety of the principal, manager and leaders of a school in Nadroga in asking for an iTaukei headteacher at a primary school where the majority of the students are iTaukei. The minister was reported as saying such attitude from school heads "who are obsessed with ethnicity" needed to stop immediately, adding the ministry should determine who will be headteacher because it was paying for the salary.
Aware of
cultural context
The purpose of this article is not to criticise the minister but to highlight the importance of those in government authority being aware of the cultural context when communicating with community members in our multiethnic and multicultural society. This is to avoid the kind of intercultural misunderstanding which could lead to resentment and undermine social stability and harmony.
The minister seems to think that simply because the 2013 Constitution has made all of us as citizens of Fiji to be "Fijians", this is all that matters. It is not so, and I would advise him as a scholar of exceptional intelligence to read his 2013 Constitution thoroughly because the authors have very carefully and adroitly crafted into it several identities each with a particular constitutional purpose. Let me explain.
We, the people of Fiji
The first identity specified in the Constitution is in the preamble. It opens with the words "We, the people of Fiji". It then identifies who the people of Fiji are. They are the iTaukei and Rotumans as the indigenous peoples of Fiji, and the descendants firstly of the indentured labourers from British India, and secondly of settlers and immigrants who followed in coming to make Fiji their home.
The constitutional significance of this identity of "we, the people" is threefold. It is the people in this holistic sense who are the repository of the sovereignty of the State of Fiji. It is the people as the source of the sovereign power of the State who constituted the State of Fiji in its 2013 Constitution, providing for its system of parliamentary democracy and government, and for the human rights of all its citizens. It is the people in exercising this constituent power who have legitimated the 2013 Constitution.
The 2013 Constitution, as the constituted creation of "we, the people", then sets out several identities.
The first and most important of this is set out in section 5 (1). As citizens of Fiji, we are all Fijians, and as Fijians we have equal status and identity. This means that we are equally entitled to the rights and privileges of citizenship and that we are equally subject to the duties and responsibilities of citizenship.
In the Bill of Rights, in Chapter 2, one can see three identities referred to in it. Most of the fundamental rights enumerated in it apply to "every person" or "a person". The person here refers not just to citizens of Fiji but also include a non-citizen who has been granted the necessary visa as resident or as visitor to be in Fiji. But the political rights set out in Section 23 apply only to citizens of Fiji.
Constitutional
significance
The recognition of the iTaukei and Rotumans in the Preamble as Fiji's indigenous peoples and the protection under Section 28 in the Bill of Rights of their customary ownership of their communal lands are constitutionally very significant for three considerations.
Firstly, it is the same recognition and protection that were granted to them by the British Crown when it accepted the deed of cession of Fiji's sovereignty from Fijian chiefs in 1874 and Rotuman chiefs in 1879.
Secondly, it was because of that British recognition, under its common law, of Fijian and Rotuman native titles to their customary lands, territories and resources that today the iTaukei, for example, still own 91 per cent of all lands in Fiji as their communal lands.
Thirdly, by being a party to the ILO Convention 169 on the Rights of Indigenous and Tribal Peoples, the State of Fiji has recognised the right of indigenous iTaukei and Rotuman peoples under international law to self-determination. At the very least, this obligates the State and all its agents to consult the iTaukei and Rotumans on any matter that is of concern to them about their customary lands and culture.
Showing sensitivity
So, had the Minister for Education been aware of this right of the indigenous iTaukei and Rotumans to be consulted he would have been more sensitive to their concerns and carefully explained his ministry's intentions. He could have assured them he would take into account their cultural concerns in the deployment of teachers who would actually do the teaching.
The headteacher is the school's administrator and the minister could have cited the outstanding example of individuals like Amraiya Naidu when he was appointed principal of Ratu Kadavulevu School. Under his stewardship, RKS produced its best results ever in Fiji's external examinations. What was really important in the Minister for Education's reported encounter was the need to be aware of the cultural context and to show sensitivity in the way he reacted.
Splendid example
Prime Minister Bainimarama set a splendid example in recognising this when he recently officiated at a public ceremony at Raiwaqa/Raiwai. It was all done in an iTaukei cultural context with traditional ceremonies of welcome and Christian prayers. The people were acting in a cultural context and were honouring him as PM and national leader.
The PM could easily have told them that we are all Fijian citizens and equal in our right to human dignity, and to treat each other as equal in our individual human rights status and entitlement. He could also have reminded them that under the 2013 Constitution with its foundation in modern day liberalism, the State is required to remain neutral on religion and culture and to treat them as private and personal matters.
But he recognised and respected the cultural context and the free wishes of the people to honour him according to their customs and tradition. He, for his part, felt emboldened to publicly declare that iTaukei culture is safe and secure.
Proper grounding
Finally, the Honourable Minister for Education ought to know the critical importance of the proper grounding of all children in their own vernacular language, especially in their early years of education up to Year 6. For the iTaukei, the protection of their customary lands and the proper knowledge and use of their own language are the two essential elements of sustaining their culture and their indigenous identity.
So, if the manager, landowners and parents in an iTaukei primary school are concerned about the ethnicity of the teachers who are being posted there by the ministry, please do not jump to the conclusion that they are "racist" or "ethnic blinded". If you are patient and take the time in a culturally sensitive and appropriate manner to ascertain their concerns, you will surely find out they genuinely care about their children being proficient in both their vernacular and English.
If in your posting of teachers, you are not sensitive to this need for cultural differentiation, you will be perceived by the community of failing to act in good faith in discharging the public trust conferred upon you by your election to office. Worse still, you will be accused of manipulating the constitutional principle of common and equal citizenry for all "Fijians" in pursuance of a deliberate policy of cultural assimilation in schools.
* The above views are the author's and not of this newspaper
Babasiga (pronounced bambasinga) is the dry land of Macuata in northern Fiji - our place in the sun in Fiji. Peceli is from Fiji from the village is Vatuadova and the beach is Nukutatava. Peceli Ratawa passed away on 27th December 2015 so this is Wendy's blog now. Wendy is an Australian and today live in Geelong, Australia.
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Go to https://narseyonfiji.wordpress.com/2013/12/10/nand-kisor-chetty-25-12-1944-to-29-10-2013/
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Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama
