Making quilts in Labasa

from w
Nice to hear of more craftwork being made in Labasa. There are many skilled women, even old women, who sew, plait, weave, and make all kinds of craftwork with reeds, leaves, bamboo, cloth. Here is a story of an elderly woman - eighty years old - who makes quilts. Even though we quibble that the Fiji media are writing soft stories nearly all the time, at least there are little stories from Labasa quite often.
From Fiji Sun:
Tamani loves her work 10/27/2010
Age is no barrier for 80-year-old Sokoveti Tamani, who is passionate about sewing and singing. She is the face behind the neatly sewn patch quilts of many designs displayed at the Salvation Army hall in Labasa. For Mrs Tamani, producing the best at anything means hard work, sacrifice, patience and endurance.

Originally from Namuka Village in Bau, Mrs Tamani, who moved to Vanua Levu more than 20 years ago, has made Labasa her home.

Her love for sewing has earned her a trade name in the North where she sells her creations to earn a living. Mrs Tamani, who has seven grandchildren and three great-grandchildren, says that life must go on despite the daily struggles. “My husband died 15 years ago and I have to fend for myself with the support of my children,” Mrs Tamani said. “Like any other person, I want to be independent. By selling what I sew I am able to provide for my other needs.”

Mrs Tamani is the oldest member of the Home League Women’s Programme, which is administered by the Salvation Army for unemployed women and single mothers. As a business, Mrs Tamani sells a variety of matching pillow cases and bedspreads, cushion covers, patch quilts, to name a few. Even though it takes time to artistically sew the pieces together, the 80-year-old does a great job skilfully.

“I love sewing and singing. Wherever my late husband was posted for work, I would join the local church choir and women’s clubs,” she said. “It is better for women to be involved in income-generating projects rather than staying at home idle. What keeps me fit is my trust and obedience to God. He gives me the strength to do what I am doing and I will not rest until I am too weak to carry on,” she said.

Don't talk, just do it

from w
Peter Drysdale who is the inspiration behind the Koroipita village on the outskirts of Lautoka and funded largely by overseas Rotary Clubs, spoke about the need for hands-on work instead of all the writing of reports and papers on the topic of poverty. Amen to that Peter. How much money in Fiji goes to consultants, 'experts', writers of academic and other papers instead of spending the money on where it's needed, helping the poorer people to have housing, work, education. There are so many talk-fests in Fiji, so many consultants. Maybe someone should write a paper on how much money goes on the 'experts' instead of the ordinary people!
pictures taken at Koroipita village by visiting Rotarians.
From Fiji radio:
Too much poverty reports says Drysdale
Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Too much money and time is spent on measuring, defining and locating poverty says the Vice President of the Lautoka Chamber of Commerce Peter Drysdale. Drysdale was the chief guest at the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty that was observed today at Churchill Park in Lautoka. He says there are several reports that can define the agenda, age and income profiles by race and religion for each squatter settlement in the country. Within a short time - Drysdale says these reports are deemed to be out of date and another survey is launched to formulate poverty eradication policies. While poverty data and analysis is important Drysdale says more should be directed towards actual poverty alleviation projects and less on reports.

School children, representatives of government ministries and the public marched through the city of Lautoka this morning to mark the poverty eradication day which is marked internationally.
-----
and the Fiji papers made several stories out of Peter Drysdale's speech, all of which ought to be the trigger for several pieces of investigative journalism, but alas, they will probably just be left alone. Some good points made, all hands-on and not theoretical.

Soil erosion, floods linked to poverty
Margaret Wise
Friday, October 22, 2010
THE rate of soil erosion in the hills behind western towns were the real causes of poverty, says business executive in Lautoka and community worker Peter Drysdale. He said there was a connection between soil erosion, floods, dry season, crop yields and poverty. "Watch this connection become screamingly obvious to all," he told a gathering in Lautoka to mark International Day for the Eradication of Poverty. "There is not much we can do about climate change. But we can stop the fires and reduce the erosion for future food production, and preserve the forest and the natural beauty of land for tourism."

Mr Drysdale said a study undertaken by JICA in 1998 estimated the soil loss down the Ba river at 6.4 million tonnes and down the Nadi river at 4.2 million tonnes.
"This time, real value and volume terms, our main export is undoubtedly our soil," he said. He said thousands of hectares were rendered useless because soil had disappeared altogether. "Areas like the Vuda back road, Saweni, Wairabetia, Saru, Vaivai, the Nadi and Ba hills and huge areas in Ra are a national disgrace," Mr Drysdale said. "I am not familiar with the Eastern Division but I am told there is severe soil erosion in some agricultural and forestry areas as well."

Mr Drysdale said today the focus was on the state of the sugar mills, prices, the rail system and fertilizer costs ù with the diminishing cane volume blamed on the non-renewal of cane leases and loss of land. "This list is incorrect," he said. "A major cause of reduction in supply is the failure of hill farms where the soil has become so thin that even a modestly dry season means very low yields. A drought year means death to cane."Mr Drysdale said hills deemed too steep for sustainable cultivation could not even cater for pine planting.

Bad plans catch up
Margaret Wise
Friday, October 22, 2010

Fighting poverty ... supporters of Bayly Welfare and Education march on International Day for the Eradication of Poverty in Lautoka as community worker Peter Drsydale talks about the possible causes of poverty in the country. DECADES of unplanned development is now catching up on the economic health of the nation, a leading community worker said as he identified greedy landowners and citizens themselves as possible causes of poverty.

Peter Drysdale said on fair distribution of wealth, while corporate philanthropy was the buzz word, "everyone must pull their weight and solve it". He said developments on the border of western cities were mostly illegal, reducing the value of land and constricting rationale future expansion of towns. The tragedy, he said, was that it was happening in key tourism zones like Nadi and the Coral Coast. "The first design consideration for a proper subdivision is where to send the sewerage and how to treat it," he said. "We are condemning future generations to enormous costs burdens when we try to retrofit sewage systems in these areas. Government has been trying to improve the effectiveness of the Rural Local Authority, but some people in these areas are out of control, there is a huge backlog of problems to tackle. They should not hesitate to charge offenders. Let the courts send a signal that we need planned development, not chaos."

Mr Drysdale said the earthquakes in Christchurch and Haiti should serve as lessons.
"If we allow buildings to be erected that are not properly designed to cyclone and quake standards, then one day we will be starting all over again. "Haiti is in ruins. In Christchurch the modern buildings are still standing. In Fiji I worry about the standard of concrete being used. We tend to use dirty and rounded river gravel and undersized reinforcing rods. There is a very poor understanding of the proper mix and curing process. This should be taught in schools if we are building our nation in concrete."

Mr Drysdale said the word "sustainable" was inserted into speeches to sound respectable but he wondered if the speakers could define precisely what it meant in the context of their speech. "Let me be blunt ù most of the agricultural forestry practice I see today, especially on hilly land, is definitely unsustainable. I know nothing about the sea, but I suspect there are big problems out there too," he said.

From Fiji Sun
Talk and take
DO poor people need religion or are they poor because of religion? Community worker Peter Drsydale believes while church work is important, too many preachers only "talk and take". He said people should be free to choose who and what they subscribe to for physical and psychological help. The poor, he said, were vulnerable and in some cases may be paying too much for too little.

Air pollution
WE import the worst western cultures. Peter Drysdale said the public was bombarded by advertisements on food and drinks, targeting children, thus increasing the incidence of diabetes and other NCDs. He said the news content kept people "in the dark" about world affairs "and so we do not learn from other countries' mistakes". Radio stations, he added, feed the nation with junk music and are guilty of air pollution.

Market co-ops
MR Drysdale has warned that as people start buying vegetables from supermarkets, this will in the long term cause traditional markets to decline. The concentration of selling power will be in the hands of a few, at the expense of the farmers, he said. The solution, he said, should be in independent market co-operatives ù not just in selling produce but owning supermarkets as well.

And the Qawa River is still polluted by the millers

from w
Not only is the Labasa Sugar Mill at fault in the way the Qawa River continues to be polluted and the life for those who live nearby degraded, but all the mills seem to be in trouble. This is a shameful situation. The farmers work their guts out in producing the cane, at little profit, and then the mills break down, are in disrepair, and can't even fulfill their obligations for sales. Wake up, have some pride, get things better.
From Fiji Village this evening:
Mill upgrade program failed to deliver
Publish date/time: 20/10/2010 [17:10]

Print this page
Email this page
The major sugar mill upgrade that started prior to 2006 through the $86 million loan from the EXIM Bank of India has not delivered the desired results, and has caused a number of major problems.

It was termed as a saviour of the sugar industry in 2004 with high hopes that the major cash input would assist the industry to bounce back.

Now it has been confirmed that some of the equipment purchased through this multi-million dollar loan are not working and the Indian experts who came to work on the upgrade also at times did not carry out the work as expected.

Prime Minister Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama said this issue has been discussed with the Fiji Sugar Corporation during a presentation by FSC Acting CEO John Prasad last week.

We asked Commodore Bainimarama what can be done now that the $86 million has been spent and the experts who were supposed to upgrade the mills to modern standards have left.

He said they have now established that there was no proper legal input when these upgrade contracts were drawn up prior to 2006.

Although many people have been talking about the $86 million mill upgrade, the reality on the ground is that one of the mills that the Prime Minister visited last week looks like a junkyard.

According to him, there are a lot of breakdowns at the Lautoka Mill. He said everything is leaking around and some new machines installed by the Indian company have not worked from when they were put in.

Story by: Vijay Narayan

Somewhere over the rainbow

from w
Yesterday we saw a wonderful rainbow after visiting a Lauan/Gau family in Wyndam Vale out of Melbourne and I connected this with something I read in Fiji Village about Fiji migration to New Zealand and Australia. Why? Some people ask us that question - why leave a paradise for our hectic Australian city life? There are numerous possible answers of course and the reasons for out-migration are many and varied.
17,323 Fijians migrated from Fiji
Publish date/time: 15/10/2010 [07:36]

A total of 17,323 Fijians have migrated from Fiji from the year 2007 to May this year. According to the latest statistics released by the Bureau of Statistics, 4949 people left our shores to settle in another country in 2007. In the year 2008, 5391 Fijians migrated while in 2009, 5022 people migrated. For 2010, upto May one thousand 961 people have left Fiji to settle in another country.

The largest number of people who are migrating are professional workers followed by people in other occupation.

Meanwhile the Bureau of Statistics has also revealed increasing number of Fijians going for holidays and visiting friends and relatives overseas.

The number of people visiting friends and relatives increased by almost 3000 in 2009 bringing the total number of people to 37,211.

More than seven thousand people each year also go for education and training overseas.
Story by: Vijay Narayan

Melbourne Fijians party for Fiji Day

The original posting got wiped accidentally with a couple of wrong clicks when I wanted to edit it - anyway here are a few other photos from the Fiji Fashion Parade held in Melbourne on Fiji Day this year. Lots of great photos are on Facebook by two of the Fiji ladies.
w.

Connections with Baker Hall

Vulitalatala students in the late 50s at Davuilevu.
from w
Peceli and I have many connections with Baker Hall in Davuilevu. I taught Class Seven and Eight art there one time - part of Lelean Memorial School. And of course Peceli studied to be a talatala at Davuilevu.One MYF camp - which were annual events for young people at Davuilevu - I painted a backdrop for a play about Thomas Baker. At the time Peceli was a talatala in Naikoro, Navosa so the Thomas Baker stories relate to the villages there.

So when I read about the centenary of Baker Hall, I wished that we could be there this week. An interesting feature of this week is a trek across Viti Levu as reported in today's Fiji Times.

Trek in the footsteps of Thomas Baker
Tuesday, October 12, 2010

MORE than 40 young men took a trip down memory lane and re-traced the steps of Thomas Baker on his fateful mission to spread the gospel.Davuilevu Division superintendent Reverend Malakai Curulala said the group left Mission House, which was the home of Reverend Thomas Baker, located on the slope of Dilkusha Home, before he left on the fateful trek to Navatusila in Navosa.Called in the footsteps of Thomas Baker, the trekkers will spent the night at all the villages Reverend Thomas visited before he and eight others reached Navatusila.

"There were supposed to be 30 of them leaving," he said. "On the morning they were to depart there were 41. Many young men at the villages they stayed in joined them on the walk so there are more than 50 of them now and the number keeps increasing. They reached Nadrau on Saturday evening and will spend tonight (Monday) at Navatusila." Mr Curulala said a truck would transport the trekkers to Nausori tomorrow. "At the farewell ceremony in Navatusila tonight they will light a torch, which they will bring back with them," he said. "They will return via the Queen's Road where they will spend tomorrow night at Naselai or Lotu Village. At 8am on Wednesday, they will meet us in Nausori for the march. The torch will be brought to Davuilevu."

Gold for Samoa at Delhi

from w
We have been watching many events from Delhi Commonwealth Games even though Fiji is absent but it's a bonus when we see some Pacific Islander doing well, such as the Samoan brother and sister weightlifters. Congratulations to you both. If Fiji can't be there, at least Samoa can!

Weightlifting: Siblings bring home gold for Samoa
By David Leggat
5:30 AM Tuesday Oct 12, 2010Ele Opeloge and her brother Niusila Opeloge won back-to-back golds in weightlifting for Samoa. Photo / Brett Phibbs


NEW DELHI - It was a case of the golden Opeloges at the weightlifting arena yesterday. Brother and sister Niusila and Ele Opeloge won back-to-back gold medals, cheered on by other family members. There will have been celebrations in Auckland and in Vaoala, in Samoa. There are family in Auckland, although the pair still live on the Pacific island.

Ele Opeloge - at 25, five years younger than her brother - was fourth at the Beijing Olympics and an overwhelming favourite yesterday. She did not disappoint, cranking out Games records in the snatch, clean and jerk and with her total 285kg, 30kg ahead of Nigerian Maryam Usman.

"There is pressure but I don't feel too much," she said. "When I go to lift I think, 'I'm strong.' My mind says, 'I think I can do it.' If my mind is strong then I'm good and my lift should be good."

Niusila Opeloge was favourite in the men's 105kg division and won well, although not without a scare. Opeloge failed with his first two attempts at the snatch at 147kg before making it on the final attempt. Had he missed he would have joined younger brother Tovia in dropping out of the competition. He eventually won with a total 338kg, four ahead of New Zealand silver medallist Stanislav Chalaev.

"I was really nervous," Opeloge said of his must-make final snatch attempt. "I never miss a lift. So I thank God he gave me the strength and focus to get my last lift."

Weightlifting is a family affair. Five Opeloges have been lifting at the Games - the others being brother Petunu and sister Mary - and yesterday's golds give Samoa three altogether after Faavae Faauliuli won the 94kg class at the weekend.

They are Samoa's first Games gold medallists and there is a hope that they can provide inspiration for future aspiring lifters in the island nation.

"It's good for Samoa and for other girls coming up," softly spoken Ele Opeloge, 25, said. "I want more girls to try weightlifting." As the highest-ranked lifter across all Games divisions, she has the London Olympics in her sights in 2012. "I'm going back to Samoa to train very hard because I want to do well," she said. "It's very good for me to have my family support."

The pair are heading to New Zealand for a family reunion before returning to Vaoala and training.

Practical Christians of Dudley

from w
It was good to read about the youth of Dudley Church in Suva being practical in helping other people. Way to go. Better than all the words.
from the Fiji Times.

The Evergreen and Project Green
Thursday, October 07, 2010

ON Saturday afternoon (Sat 2/10/10) members of the Dudley Methodist Youth Fellowship and I visited the Nanuku Squatter Settlement in Vatuwaqa, Suva to distribute baigan (eggplant) and chilli potted plants in phase one of their Project Green. Project Green aims to encourage those in the Nanuku settlement to plant their own vegetables as most residents live impoverished lives. The Dudley Methodist Circuit has a small church there and runs a scholarship programme and food bank to support the community.

Project Green started as an initiative to get the Dudley Methodist Youth Fellowship involved in more community-based work as part of putting their faith into action. I am all for singing gospel praise and worship choruses, bible studies and quizzes and fun-nights but there is more to being a Christian than that. Being a Christian involves us going out beyond the four walls of our churches and out of our comfort zones, where we confront not only the reality of the suffering of those less fortunate then ourselves but our attitudes towards them.

The concept of "pot-planting" vegetables is the brainchild of Rev. William Lucas, Divisional Superintendent of the Indian Division and Culture of the Dudley Methodist Circuit. Rev. Lucas, who grew up in Navua comes from a farming background found himself involved in rice farming, which meant being knee deep in wet grassland, planting, milking cows as a child. During his stationing at Sigatoka, he used to encourage those in the rural farming community to plant their own crops in order to make use of the land available to them, giving encouragement and advise whenever he was on a visitation.

Now stationed in Suva, Rev. Lucas has turned his backyard into a small vegetable plantation, with round cabbage, lettuce, eggplant, long-bean, Chinese cabbage, tomato, pumpkin plants. While this is an excellent idea and something that the Methodist Church has tried to inculcate in its student ministers at Davuilevu Theological College, Rev .Lucas had more than supplying his family and grateful neighbours with fresh veggies in mind. His aim is to encourage as many people as possible, especially those living the poverty line to plant their own fruits and vegetables in whatever land they have available to them.

For some this may mean flowers sharing space with vegetables in residential gardens, for others small urban neighbourhoods setting aside pieces of land for communal plantations. However for the community in Nanuku, neither option is possible as what little land is available is not suitable for planting due to the high salt content in the water from the swamp.

Rev. Lucas suggested to our youth group to collected recycled paint tins, bottles, cans, cracked buckets and once the group had enough, they spent an afternoon at the Minister's residence, fill them with soil and planting the 30 eggplant, chilli and tomato seedlings. "Project Green" is an experiment of sorts. It is not a hand out, it is a form of "green-spiration". The residents at Nanuku who have received the potted-vegetables must nurture them. They have been challenged to follow the example and plant their own. They will also be called to share the results with their neighbours and encourage others to do the same. I understand that in this current age of political (or non-political) correctness, it may seem insensitive to use the term squatter instead of the now-accepted "informal settlement", but a visit to Nanuku where our brothers and sisters live on land that is reclaimed mangrove swamp or tiri and where one has to carefully navigate old tyres laid down to created safe paths to the sparse homes that are built, sometimes overnight, over the tiri reminds us of the precarious situation that residents of Nanuku live in. Many of us may not be comfortable with the word "squatter", with the lack of dignity that "squatters" may suffer. But perhaps it is important to feel uncomfortable, to be reminded that many people in our world, in our country continue to suffer structural oppression.

I sensed the "eye-opening discomfort" of our young people as they struggled to maintain their balance while walking on the tires, as their wrinkled their noses at the smell of the swamp, as they saw for themselves the conditions their fellow church members lived in. I saw understanding dawn on them as they witnessed the joy with which residents received the potted seedlings; the humility they experienced when they received gratitude from those they were helping through a project they may have grudgingly gotten involved in.

There is a lesson in this project that goes beyond merely feeding the hungry. It is in allowing yourself to be used as an instrument of the greater good, that you receive the most benefit - the joy of fulfilling your responsibility in the web of life.

"Be Still, Stand in Love, Pay Attention."

* Reverend J.S. Bhagwan is a member of the Faculty at Davuilevu Theological College and the Associate Minister of Dudley Methodist Circuit in Suva.

For all the saints and Fiji Day

from w
This week they are talking a lot about an Australian lady, Mary McKillop, and the idea that she is a saint, well I think there are many sweet-tempered but energetic women in Fiji that fulfill the role of a modern-day saint. Don't blush Olivia, but you are a lovely lady! One day we climbed up the steps at Dilkusha and talked with Olivia on the verandah, overlooking Dilkusha Church and the new bridge. Her hospitality and stories at that time took us back many years to our numerous visits to Dilkusha, especially the year we lived at Shantinwas down below the hillside.

from the Fiji Times today:

A good leader loves, commits, dedicates
Geraldine Panapasa
Saturday, October 09, 2010
BEING a good leader requires commitment, dedication and love, says Deaconess Olovia Nataniela, head of the orphanage, Dilkusha Children's Home, in Nausori. She first set foot in Dilkusha after she joined the Deaconess Order in the Methodist Church of Fiji and Rotuma in 1967 where she had to complete a one-month practical training. Deaconess Olovia was appointed to Dilkusha in 1987 and has since dedicated her life to the underprivileged children of the home. Widely known and recognised for her selfless love and care for the children, Deaconess Olovia says leadership requires humble qualities.

"For me, it was the upbringing from home, my little island of Rotuma, where I learned and felt the love within the family," she said. "Love in the home is very important. What I've learnt from faith and my upbringing has made the person I am today. In terms of leadership, I think there are many challenges and responsibilities that come with it. I believe a good leader is someone who is constantly committed and believes in what they are doing. You have to possess these qualities in your heart, commit yourself and love what you are doing," Deaconess Olovia said.

She said the children of the home had always been her main priority and concern. "In the morning before the children go to school, I must sit with them and pray for them before they go," she said."I believe that education for children is very important."

Originally from Motusa in Rotuma, Deaconess Olovia was brought up by her grandmother. She said the virtues and values instilled in her early life made her the woman she is today. "Growing up, I never thought I'd be a leader but what I have learnt is from my faith in God and his love. When people ask me how I came to know God, I tell them it was through my upbringing in Rotuma," Deaconess Olovia said. "The support and people I meet that come to the home, I've also learnt from them. We cannot be a good leader on our own. I wish all the leaders of the country all the best." Deaconess Olovia continues to be mother and father to about 28 children at the home.

Fiji Geelong Friendship Club

from w
Instead of driving up to Melbourne for one of the Fiji Day gigs today - (rugby sevens, a fashion parade etc.) our little group the Fiji Geelong Friendship Club met last night at our home for kava, dinner, talanoa and some music. Fiji people, Tongans, Aussies, including four talatalas - Peceli, Christine, Latu, Tevita - or feifekau I think it is in Tongan. There were plenty of people from Levuka as well as Labasa so that was a bonus! Thank you to the barbecue cooks and others who contributed to a successful gathering. Here are some photos, though some people somehow got left out of the frame. Not everyone was interested in kava and music - one little girl got seriously into drawing - and that's good!

Independence Document Missing

from w
Fiji Radio put an interesting item online today about the legal document of Fiji's independence. No-one can find the 'original copy'! So is the original in England and Fiji was only given a copy in the first place? Anyway the celebration this weekend is rather a mixed bag of memories - Cession Day it was once called when Fiji was annexed in 1874, then Independence in 1970, forty years ago, then if I remember rightly it was called Republic Day for a time. Certainly there are plenty of contradictions in this day's celebrations. And, of course, it's raining on their parade today, or was it cancelled?a picture I saw on Matavuvale taken on 8th October.

We are having a little party here tonight in our home - maybe twenty people - to reflect upon Fiji's history and our own lives, as well as drink some kava and have some delicious Pacific food plus a barbecue. Tomorrow there are functions in Melbourne - two venues for rugby etc. and a fashion parade in the evening.

Fiji Independence document missing
Friday, October 08, 2010

The original copy of the legal document of Fiji’s independence - which was presented by Prince Charles to the Fiji government on the 10th of October 1970 is still not found. Government archivist Salesia Ikaniwai told FBC News they have been searching for this important document for over five years – without success. Ikaniwai says they have tracked down all the places the document may have been kept, and have contacted various government departments to try to locate it. She says the missing document contains the Independence Order, which sets the basis for Fiji’s first ever Constitution. Ikaniwai says they had to contact the International Resources Centre in England to get a photocopy of Fiji’s Independence Order.

Isa, good luck Netani

photo from 'The Australian' newspaper today.

from w
I just read in today's Fiji Times that Netani Rika has resigned as editor of the Fiji Times. Isa, good luck for the future Netani.Some Australian papers are running the story also. Maybe the new editor, Fred Wesley will fill the paper with entertaining stories about Navosa! No political clout.
Times Editor resigns
Tuesday, October 05, 2010
DALLAS Swinstead, publisher of The Fiji Times, has announced that Sunday Times editor Fred Wesley has been appointed acting editor-in-chief of the group following the resignation of Netani Rika. He will assume editorial responsibilities for The Fiji Times, The Sunday Times, Nai Lalakai and Shanti Dut.

Mr Wesley has been the editor of The Sunday Times for three years. Mr Rika's resignation was described by himself as "something of a sacrifice" for the good of the company, recently purchased by the Motibhai Group, following News Limited's forced sale.

He acknowledged that while he was seen to be anti-Government by some sections of the community, he had always tried to be an editor who put Fiji's future above everything else.

Dallas Swinstead noted: "Netani's journalistic life has taken him from a copy boy to the editorship of Fiji's national newspaper during some of the nation's most turbulent times in history." Few journalists can claim that honour, especially under the tenure of perhaps the world's biggest newspaper company, News Ltd.

"I know from my own experiences that one is bound to make friends and enemies along the way but that's the life of an editor. And the best editors know when it's time to move on."

The Commonwealth

from w
With the Commonwealth Games in full swing and good luck to all the athletes from a disparate lot of countries, I am just wondering what is this 'Common-wealth' and where it is going. These are some rambling thoughts and grabs from the internet. I'll rewrite this later after I do the breakfast dishes!What is the value? With the history of British imperialism, exploitation of resources, a point of view that expects the British to be rulers over a variety of indigenous peoples, sending criminals and never-do-wells to the far corners, slavery. There's a bad history behind the colonial story. Okay there's been some altruism, some aid, some development, some grants, some co-operation.

But, is there a value in being part of this disparate group of nations in these modern days? Certainly the Commonwealth Games is a wonderful event for young people to experience meeting with strangers-becoming-friends from many different parts of the world linked by British colonial history.

And what about the teenage kid in the corner writing out a thousand times, I must be on my best behaviour at all times! They certainly picked on little Fiji while barely casting an eye on many countries with serious human rights abuses. Fiji left in 1987; rejoined in 1997; suspended on 6 June 2000; suspension lifted on 20 December 2001;[34] again suspended in 2006 because of the 2006 Fijian coup d'état.
-------
Here are a few grabs from internet resources:

The modern Commonwealth has come a long way since it was ''invented'' in April 1949 to replace the original ''British'' Commonwealth of The United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. Its members reflect every region, religion and race on the globe. Critics allege that the Commonwealth is a colonial relic, a neo-imperial conspiracy and nothing but ''a collection of not very important states brought together by accident of having been colonised by Britain''. Others claim that it is a toothless (originally British) bulldog and a mere talking shop which has helped Britain to slowly come to terms with its loss of empire.

The Commonwealth is also accused of failing to effectively discipline members who fail to apply the principles of human rights and good governance which underpin the organisation.

Supporters, meanwhile, hold the organisation up as a British ''foreign policy success story'' and cite the queue of prospective members as evidence of its vibrancy and continuing relevance.

Without it, they argue, many impoverished small states (who make up the majority of its membership) would find it difficult to network and build strategic alliances in the competitive modern world.

It is also said to be a important simply because it a ''decent club...which confers a sense of identity...no more no less.''

What do you think? Is the Commonwealth a pointless neo-colonial talking shop that achieves nothing in the world today? What if any role do you think it plays< Would the world be a worse place without it? Do you have ideas on how it should change? Should the British monarch, for example, still head the organisation?

The Commonwealth has developed a 21st-century role – as a haven for serial human rights abusers
by Tom Porteous, London director Published in: The Guardian (UK)
November 24, 2009

What's the point of the Commonwealth? Every two years the question comes around in the run-up to the Commonwealth heads of government meeting. Then everyone goes home and forgets about it until the next one.

Starved of cash and political attention, the Commonwealth becomes ever more marginal. Even the UK's Foreign and Commonwealth Office hardly mentions it in major foreign policy pronouncements.

But is the Commonwealth redundant? Or is it, as Lord Howell, a Tory former chair of the foreign affairs committee, said recently, an "ideal soft power network" for the multipolar world?

The answer depends on whether the Commonwealth can muster the collective political will to uphold its core values of political freedom and respect for human rights. In the past it has punished errant members: apartheid South Africa was excluded; Nigeria was suspended in 1995 after the execution of Ken Saro Wiwa; Pakistan was suspended after General Musharraf's coup d'etat in 1999, and again in 2007; Zimbabwe was suspended in 2002, and withdrew from the organisation the following year.
However, in recent years the collective political will of Commonwealth members to promote human rights has all but evaporated. Only the tiny Pacific nation of Fiji, suspended following a coup in 2006. Its secretariat fails to push or fund its human rights unit as a viable mechanism to encourage its members to comply with international standards; neither the secretary-general nor the diplomats of leading member states make a serious effort to get the Commonwealth to act collectively at the UN and elsewhere to champion human rights.

Over the past six years, the Sri Lankan government - presiding over serious violations of the laws of war and a vicious assault on its critics - has even sat on the Commonwealth ministerial action group, responsible for enforcing members' compliance with the Commonwealth's core values. There could be no better symbol of its failure to protect human rights and political freedoms.

Pakistan and Bangladesh, with a nod from London and Washington, use the real threat of terrorism to justify abuses such as torture and illegal detention. Kenya deliberately avoids accountability for serious abuses during the post-election violence in 2007. Cameroon, Uganda and the Gambia intimidate human rights defenders and journalists...

If the Commonwealth is to become relevant in the 21st century, it must set itself in opposition to the gathering forces of intolerance and authoritarianism. As a global, multifaith, multiracial network of genuinely rights-respecting states, the Commonwealth could be a powerful symbol of the universality of human rights and a champion of their protection. But that means first engaging constructively with its own members on their shortcomings, taking strong action against serial abusers, and refusing to accept new members unless they are genuinely committed to human rights and democracy.

Building a fence

from w
I was astounded to read that the building of a fence requires Chinese labour instead of local workers. Here is an item from Fiji Exiles Board.

i guess there's no skilled labor in Fiji good enough to build a fence - so we have 20 guys from China building the Presidents fence.

Fiji people are not good enough to do that job of building a fence ?!

whats so special about that fence ?

what kind of fence is it ? a high tech special only known by Chinese fence ?

so we have unemployed people with carpentry skills and experience sitting just 1/2 a mile up the road from the Presidents house in Charles Street and High Street and Toorak Road and Edenville - and none of them are good enough to build a fence.

tsk tsk tsk

==========================
Date for fence job at the State house

By Geraldine Panapasa
Saturday, September 25, 2010
http://www.fijitimes.com/...ef=archive&id=156732

THE Government House fencing project is progressing well and should be ready for commissioning in January next year says, the Office of the Prime Minister’s deputy secretary for development co-operation, Eliki Bomani. The fencing project was enabled through direct government assistance from China worth $2.3million.

“The walls have gone up and it’s almost complete. The only thing to start in a few days is the laying of the underground cable for the lights,” he said yesterday. “So far, the project is on schedule. With the weather permitting, it should be ready for commissioning in January.” The fence, made of steel and reinforced concrete, is used for the foundation and columns.

Mr Bomani said earlier the fencing project involved three types. The first involved a decorative fencing which would run along the frontage from the Great Council of Chiefs complex to the entrance to the Botanical Gardens through to Cakobau Road to the British High Commissioner’s residence.

“The fencing perimeter will be about 2.4 metres in height,” he said.

The second type of fencing will serve to separate Government House from the Botanical Gardens and the third will cordon off the properties at the GCC complex and behind Government House.

Mr Bomani said 20 workers had been brought in from the China Railway Number 5 Engineering Group and were housed in government quarters at Domain.

Church birthday and soli in Melbourne

from w
Thank you to Bulou for her photos (on her Facebook page) of the Fijian congregation's church birthday and soli at Chadstone Uniting Church recently. Special guests were Dr Meo and Lisa from Sydney, Ms Dobson the Moderator of Vic/Tas Synod, and others. Dr Meo had a productive ministry there with the establishment of this congregation, prior to his retirement in Sydney. Unfortunately we couldn't be at the birthday function with our many friends because of our need to be grounded in the reality of health concerns.

Call me old-fashioned but

from w
Call me old-fashioned but I don't intend to use the term i-taukei every time I need to describe what the old word 'Fijian' meant. Look at this article and how silly it sounds with every mention of the word i-taukei which means land-owning anyway. Okay, good move by this gentleman to produce books for the school-kids using songs. Way to go. It's only one of the Fijian languages of course. Are there going to be books for the Labasa kids with words such as aaaa in them. A'a'a'a of course is the Labasa word for katakata - meaning hot.

From the Fiji FBC yesterday:
Passion for the language makes Lote write
Sunday, September 26, 2010
He loves his mother-tongue so much that he teaches, produces songs and composes music in it. And now he has written three books in his mother-tongue. Former school teacher Etonia Lote says his passion for the i-taukei language prompted him to write the books“ Moli Koula” – the “Uto ni Moli Koula” and “Na Coke ni Moli Koula.” The three books - written in the i-taukei language were launched yesterday at the Holiday Inn in Suva. Lote says he would like to see the i-taukei students in country be taught their language and their culture.

“I love speaking the i-taukei language ad I love teaching the i-taukei language to i-taukei students. I also love teaching i-taukei students how to behave and how to keep that high discipline in their classroom and how to behave at home. I felt that it would be good to show it in the text books – so that teachers all over Fiji can teach the students – the i-taukei students about what we expect from them.”

Meanwhile Education Minister Filipe Bole had commended Lote for writing the books.

The three books come with an audio CD which has about 30 songs – all in the i-taukei language. Bole says the inclusion of the songs has taken teaching to another level. “This is the first time it’s come out in this form. A workbook for the teachers, a workbook for the students and there’s the story and in addition there’s a CD. It’s a new type of teaching where lessons are taught in music. The words of the music are used in all sorts of things – you know – for grammar and other parts of the i-taukei language.”

The books will be used by forms 5, 6 and 7 students next year.

The people of Navosa

from Peceli,
When I read one feature article in today's Fiji Times it brought back memories of the time when I was a talatala in Navosa and knew these villages that are so far away from Suva and to travel between them meant walking or riding my horse. This was in the early 1960s. Some of our family have been back there also, for example when my niece Mere(Pinky) was married to a young soldier who came from a mountain village. Today roads link some of the villages up there.
Fiji Time: 11:38 AM on Sunday 26 September 2010
Sense of purpose
Fred Wesley
Sunday, September 26, 2010

Simione Tui cuts a forlorn figure on horseback. It's cool as evening approaches in the highlands of Navatusila, overlooking the village of Nabutautau in Navosa. Simi, 30, was about 200 metres away from the top of the mountain range to the north. He had travelled about an hour from Nasauvakarua Village in the south, cutting a path through a series of mountains before he reached the tip of the Delai Navatusila range. He was headed north, to Nabuabua, which would take him another half an hour to reach. He had another horse in tow, headed for Nabuabua.

Nabutautau is surrounded by mountains that rise steeply on all sides. The village itself is in the middle of nowhere, about 3000 feet above sea-level in the heart of Viti Levu.The village sits below the Delai Navatusila mountain range to the East, Ba ni Kavu mountain to the North, Marauralo mountain to the North-West and Delanabitu mountain to the West. It makes up one of seven villages in the Tikina o Navatusila. The other villages are Nasauvakarua, Nanoko, Mare, Tuvatuva, Natoka and Nabuabua. The Delai Navatusila range holds the village in from a deep ravine that stretches from the direction of Nadrau Village in the North, heading down South, past Waibasaga Village a few mountains away, to feed the river which winds its way on to the little tourist township of Sigatoka, a little to the South-West.

The nearest villages to Nabutautau are Nabuabua and Natoka, an hour's walk away - Nabuabua to the North and Natoka down South.

Simi, married with two daughters, has made this trip many times before. This day though was different for a good portion of the way. Over mountains and bushland, he emerged on to the newly constructed Nabutautau Village Road which links the village to the mountain highway that stretches through to Bukuya to the West and meanders its way through breath-taking views of mountains and foliage along the way to Nadarivatu in the East.

For people like Simi, this new highway has lifted expectations. They now understand how better life can be with a properly maintained road linking their little rural villages to the outside world.

I'd first travelled to Nabutautau in September, 2008 where I met Aliti Buna Nawawabalavu. She was 75-years-old at the time, having left her village at Nasauvere in Naitasiri to marry Ratu Sailosi Nawawabalavu and settle down at Nabutautau in 1949.

Her words that day still ring loud and clear. "Isa na luvequ, keitou sa kerea ga me dua na neitou gaunisala vinaka." It was a plea for assistance. A call from the wilderness. A call for something a sizeable number of the population consider a right - a good road. The widow didn't mince her words. There was no need for her to impress anyone. Her wrinkled face, weathered hands and eyes had lived through years of hardship. Her husband died in 2005, at the age of 82. He was a third generation direct descendant of the man (Ratu Nawawabalavu) blamed for the killing of Reverend Thomas Baker on the morning of July 21, 1867.

Aliti sat there, shamelessly emotional. Every one of her three daughters and four sons were born at Nabutautau. The nearest health centre, at Bukuya was a couple of hours West by foot. She'd learnt to deliver her own children and that of other mothers in the village. It was a reality she wanted highlighted.

As most wives in urban centres get off a bus or a cab and walk a few metres home with their shopping, Aliti was forced to get off at Nanoko Village, coming from Ba, with her shopping packed securely in a used 10kg sack to trek through the jungle on a four hour walk home over mountains that would leave most urbanites gasping for breath. Her needs far outweighed the wants of most urban dwellers.

It was the reality of life in the inhospitable terrain. In 2008, there were three ways to get to the village. You could either hop on a four wheel drive vehicle with a driver willing to accept road conditions that could only be described as horrible, rugged, and life threatening, travel on horseback or you could walk.

I remember our trusty Ford Ranger had taken on the elements, and arrived at Nabutautau to gasps of surprise from the villagers. I'd left Suva with my colleagues Asaeli Lave and Anare Ravula at 4.30 on a cool Monday morning. We arrived at the junction at Bukuya which serves as the gateway connecting the highland people to Sigatoka, Ba and Nadi, at 8am. We came to a stop at Nabutautau at 2.30pm.
Nadi, Lautoka and Ba are to the West while Tavua, Vatukoula and Rakiraki are to the North of Nabutautau. Suva is towards the South-East.

To say this village is far is an understatement. Villagers spoke of travelling with ropes, to pull vehicles on portions of the road that were so bad in rainy weather, that even four-wheel drive vehicles had trouble passing through.

"I'd like to be alive to see a good road made for us," Aliti told me that day. Aliti forked out $150 one way to get her produce from Nabutautau to Ba then.

Like her, turaga ni koro Vilitati Rokovesa believed a proper road could change their lives. "We are blessed with fertile land, our crops are plentiful, from watermelons to dalo, yaqona and cassava," he told me that day. "All we need is a proper road to get to town to sell our produce."

The rugged terrain, scarcity of transportation, lack of human habitation and no public transport service made the highlands suitable grazing ground for drug farming.
The fact that mobile phones picked up signals on the mountain roads added credibility to the notion.

But it was something the people of Nabutautau shrugged off. Most are Seventh-Day Adventist church followers. They live simple lives, and off the land.
It meant more respect for tradition and culture.

The ways of old were evident in the far flung land where communication with the outside world was intermittently possible only with the aid of a newly installed satellite phone system in the village, where water flows through plastic pipes from the nearby mountains and lights at night came on from benzene lanterns or the little used generators until solar powered lights came on this year.

Anare's story in the Nai Lalakai on Friday, September 19, 2008 was followed by a Cabinet statement on Tuesday, September 23 which was like a breath of fresh air for the people of Nabutautau. Cabinet approved funding for road upgrades within the Tikina of Navatusila, specifically to the villages of Nanoko, Ebuto, Nasivikoso and Nubutautau. The project was to be carried out by the Ministry of Works, Transport and Public Utilities via contracting the scope of works to the private sector based on public tender.

"We faced many problems before," Simi tells me. "Now we can travel to the urban centres anytime, rain or shine which is very good for us."

They now have a brand new road, one they fondly refer to as ‘gaunisala piji'.

But it was no easy road to build for Mukesh Chand the supervisor roads for A Jan Group of Companies, the contractors for the road works. It was one of the toughest challenges in his career as an engineer. "We had problems with material and water sources," he said. "We eventually had to cart material over from Bukuya and water from Nanoko and Nabutautau. The road at the beginning was rough and demanding but at the end of the day, I think it was well worth it."

Tui Navatusila Ratu Filimoni Nawawabalavu believes the construction of the new road will open up many opportunities for his people. It has not been officially opened yet. He was appreciative of the government effort to build a road for his people. He was one of the major forces behind the campaign to have a proper road for them.
Whether it was a curse that troubled them over the years, or just a matter of simple logistics, people like Aliti, Vilitati and Simi are thankful the door to the world has opened up for them.

Introducing Fiji Times new manager

from w
Radio Australia did an interview with the new manager of the Fiji Times. Sounds like he's pragmatic and will be cautious about stepping on egg-shells.
Returning Fiji Times publisher to negotiate a different Fiji
Updated September 24, 2010 08:48:31

The newly sold 141-year-old Fiji Times has a new publisher, Dallas Swinstead, a former publisher of same newspaper from 1976 to 1980 and several Fairfax mastheads in Australia. One of the dictates of Fiji's media decree is that the country's media outlets must be ninety per cent owned by Fiji nationals, and in accordance Fiji's oldest newspaper was sold by the Australian-owned News Limited to the Motibhai Group of Companies for an undisclosed sum earlier this month.

Mr Swinstead explains how Motibhai chief Mahendra Patel came to select him for the position.

Presenter: Geraldine Coutts
Speaker: Dallas Swinstead, publisher of Fiji Times

SWINSTEAD: I was here as the publisher in '76 to '80 and I had my time and the paper flourished. It was owned by the Herald and Weekly Times then. So move the clock forward to September 3 [2010], I am having lunch with some people and this call came. It was a sort of noisy cafeteria type place and I could not really get the name and I thought it was an insurance call from Bombay or something like that, and I heard the name Mahendra and it was Mahendra Patel. Mahendra Patel is the chief executive and driving force of Motibhai who now own the Fiji Times. And we had a great relationship then because again he was a member of the board which was made up of some expatriates and some locals, but even then Mahendra was a standout and he asked me simply 'would you come to the Fiji Times if I am successful in buying the Fiji Times'. And I thought for around five seconds and I said yes.

COUTTS: So obviously there were not any reservations given that you are a long time journalist, a seasoned journalist and writer. But you didn't have any reservations about the current state of the media and the restrictions and censorship there?

SWINSTEAD: Well obviously I am very much aware of it. Reservations, no. I see it as a challenge. We talked to the staff here yesterday and we talked about a lot of things and I did say that the elephant in the room was the relationship between the press and the government. And someone said 'well, what do you think of the government?' Your question - how will you live with the government? And my reply was that by nature, and I stress by nature and not by profession, that instinctively I believe people have got a right to free speech. And I was born with that attitude and my parents nourished it. When I stepped out of line they gave me a whack, both of them - although not at the same time. So I understand the values and the responsibility enjoying the right to free speech and the cost of putting my foot in my mouth. So there is two ways to go here. One is to demand free speech and you can ask News Limited about that. And the other is to try to work with local ownership, with the people and with the government to get this country to where it wants to be. Now it sounds a bit precious, but that's the reality and I am a pragmatist.

COUTTS: I am not quite sure what that actually says - as whether it will be the status quo that you'll pursue, or whether you will pursue the desire and the need that a free press is required and therefore there will be stories examining the workings of the government?

SWINSTEAD: No what I said is that I understand free speech better than most and I understand its value, but here it is not possible under some circumstances. What you have to understand is that 95 per cent of our paper - whether it is Fijians, Indians and whatever is happening here - it's sport results, it's commerce, the whole thing. And inevitably there are going to be stories that will cause the government embarrassment and I hope to be able to find a way to negotiate with good people down there and people here who are somehow or other able to keep some conversation going. I make no promises, and if we have to close our mouths or be shut down, I have no option but to walk around it. Now that's pretty simple.

COUTTS: So if you get a directive not to do a certain story, you will abide by that?

SWINSTEAD: I beg your pardon?

COUTTS: If you get a directive from the government or the censors not to do a story that you think is important and in the public interest, you'll sit it on it yourself? You'll choose to do that? You'll censor yourself?

SWINSTEAD: Well with respect to you, that is a pretty dumb question. Of course, I will. What's the point in having a newspaper shut down?

COUTTS: Well then going back to the original question, what is freedom of speech?

SWINSTEAD: Freedom of speech - my original answer was my parents gave me a pretty fair idea of what you can say and get away with, and when you stepped out of line and they ran the show they knocked you over. So, I mean, I don't like that happening. I am tenacious, but I am a good mediator and a facilitator, and I will be trying to talk to people in government to lead them to understand how valuable a free and open press is. But look, it is a developing country with lots of problems and I am sympathetic to them and I am not angry about censorship or anything else. That's life.

COUTTS: But when it comes to human interest there is the tragic story that availed itself this week where a Fijian came to a grievous end and that wasn't actually covered too well in the local press, so on a human interest level that was still being censored.

SWINSTEAD: As far as I know, we covered it. As I say, I have been here five minutes. I only found out where the toilet was yesterday and I think we covered it and I can't see any reason why we wouldn't.

COUTTS: And staffing levels, will you maintain the level of staff that is there currently?

SWINSTEAD: Too right, yes. I aim to grow newspaper. Look, News Limited left a fabulous paper here and they had no option. I am not critical of them. It is a great newspaper organisation, or media organisation. They have a worldwide obligation to freedom of speech and to stick to their principles. Here, they really had no option in the end to be thrown out.

What do we want, we want it now!

from w
What do the elderly want in a park? There's talk about refurbishing part of the Thurston Gardens near the Museum especially as a park for elderly people. So, who is elderly? Over ninety, or over sixty? And that's me, so what do we want, and we want it now. Already there is a nice little park near the seawall not far from Victoria Parade. The Peace Park, with benches for sitting on, nice trees and environment. But what do we really need? Okay, here's a wish list.
I. cafe for tea and scones and memorabilia on the walls
2. toilets
3. walking paths without potholes
4. ramps or slight gradient rather than steps for wheelchairs
5. a perfumed garden for the blind and seats and picnic tables
6. a touch and feel sculpture for the blind
7. free passes to the nearby museum
8. buses that stop at the corner of the park and also at the other entrance
9. free plants to take home
10. an internet cafe and free computer access for Facebook and emails as some 'elderlies' actually write blogs and email, etc.
And more of course that I haven't thought of because I'm elderly and forgetful.

And in the article is the referece to 'sitting in their homes looking at the walls' well, what about the ninety year old women of Macuata who still do gardening. I don't think Pacific people look at walls.


Park for elderly expected by Christmas
Publish date/time: 24/09/2010 [16:19]

Sitting in their homes looking at the walls will now be a thing of the past for senior citizens of the country as stakeholders have come together to construct a leisure center for the elderly.

The park which will be located at the Thurston garden will be the first of its park in the Pacific.

A ground breaking ceremony was held at the Thurston Garden and during the ceremony, Social Welfare and Poverty Alleviation Minister, Dr Jiko Luveni said this is a way to repay the senior citizens in our community. She said that senior citizens have played a significant role and invested many years in the community and the country and the UN has projected that in year's to come 4 percent of the senior citizens will make up the population. The park is expected to be completed in time for Christmas.
Story by: Praneeta Deo

The Delhi Games - to be or not to be

The Commonwealth Games village. From w
At last I see one positive media piece that is not poking fun at India's apparent lack of readiness for the Commonwealth Games. So much written is arrogant and critical and barely sympathetic to the current difficulties. Good luck to the organisers to get it right within two weeks and for the athletes to have a good meet.
I know from the experience of family members what hard work is put in by athletes of this calibre.

Of course Fiji won't be there because of the ban, so Fiji's athletes don't have to worry if the Games are on or not, though it's always good to see the standards and compare with their PBs.

From the ABC Online

Aussie coach shrugs off Games setbacks
By Amy Simmons
Updated September 24, 2010 13:40:00
Miles Wydall says sleep, food and transport are most important for athletes at the Games. (AFP: Prakash Singh)
Commonwealth Games athletes will have more trouble if they are put in a room with someone who snores than if their accommodation is not quite up to scratch, Australian weightlifting coach Miles Wydall says. Wydall is not concerned about the state of the Delhi Games, despite mounting fears over security, hygiene and a dirty, unfinished athletes village.

Earlier this week part of the weightlifting venue's roof collapsed not long after a pedestrian bridge also came down, injuring dozens of workers. But Wydall says as long as athletes can get a good night's sleep, healthy food and transport to and from their venues, the Commonwealth Games should run smoothly.

"We've stayed in some really fancy accommodation and some places that are very ordinary but I've probably had more of an issue when I've been bunked in with someone whose been snoring all night," he said. "We've been to the Pacific Islands and eastern European countries where there are a variety of standards, but I tend to look at it thinking as long as I can get a good night sleep and there is some quality food there, I'm not particularly too fussed at the standards of the hotel.

"We know what the worst is like and we're hoping it's not like that [in Delhi], but then funnily enough they're the trips that you somehow remember with a certain fondness." He says he has stayed in pristine accommodation where trips have been ruined because of bad food.

"I think it's just having the proper hygiene yourself and making certain food choices and I think these guys are experienced in that and the coaches of course know what do," he said.

Australian super heavyweight Damon Kelly, who competed at the Beijing Olympics in 2008, says he is trying to stay focused despite the problems. "The weightlifiting venue roof is leaking, all the ceilings are cracked, all the sewerage is blocked up, it's not quite finished," he said. "But there's nothing we can do. India won the right to host it so they've got to do the best they can and if that's the best they can, then there's nothing we can do about it. As an athlete, you've just got to be focused on your training and the competition and try not let anything worry you." He says there is no way he would pull out of the Games. "For a lot of sports the Commonwealth Games is just another event for them, but for weightlifting it's almost the pinnacle, our chance to do well and get noticed," he said. "I have been building up for the Games since December last year and this year all I want to do is compete at the Games. That would be the same with all the weightlifters."

The Commonwealth Games Federation president is having high-level meetings with the Indian government today in an effort to salvage the event.
First posted September 24, 2010 13:28:00