Girmit Edition

Extracts from the Welcome Address by Professor Srinivasiah Muralidhar - Girmit Smriti 2009, The University of Fiji, 15 May 2009
Distinguished visitors, friends of the University, and members of the University community: It gives me great pleasure to welcome you all to the University of Fiji to commemorate with us the 130th anniversary of Girmit in Fiji. Some of our friends who could not be here with us this afternoon have sent us their best wishes. I wish to thank Judge Dr Ajit Swaran Singh from Auckland, Interim Cabinet Minister Mr Filipe Bole, Pro-Chancellor Pandit Bhuwan Dutt, and our High Commissioner in Canberra, Mr Kamlesh Arya, for their kind words and messages. Girmit evokes a variety of emotions and thoughts in people depending on whether they were direct participants in that system, whether they are descendents of Girmitiyas, or whether they have just read about it somewhere. The Girmit experience itself has been well documented by many, including our own scholars such as the late Dr Ahmed Ali, Professor Brij Lal, and more recently by Satish Rai using film as the medium to tell the stories. There are those who argue that the Girmit experience is best forgotten, and that it is time to move forward. To me this is denying ones history, ones origin, and ones memories. I would go so far as to say that May 14 should be declared Girmit Day to be celebrated across the country because those who came to Fiji under Girmit, and their successors, have greatly influenced the socio-political, agrarian, educational, business and economic landscape of the country. And there are other justifications: As diplomat Kamlesh Arya puts it, Girmit is a day for reflection not only on the atrocities that our forebears were subjected to but also on their unwavering resilience in moving towards a better future that lay ahead. We must also reflect on the positives that have come out of the Girmit System and not dwell overly on the negatives that are bygones. The location of the University itself takes us to the beginning of a story, the story of Girmit: the magnificent hills and the cane fields on one side reminding us constantly of why our ancestors came to be in this country, and the great ocean on the other side telling us of the path that led them here. Ladies and gentlemen, Girmit is about dislocation, suffering, uncertainty and pain. But it is also about assimilation, hope,

Professor Srinivasiah Muralidhar renewal and celebration, and for the younger generation, it is about acceptance and a new identity in Bainimaramas united Fiji. I urge the young women and men of all persuasions present here today to make a commitment to realizing that noble vision. This afternoon you will experience the story of Girmit through songs, readings, reflections, journeys, remembrance and writing. I am sure you will enjoy the experience. Thank you all once again for joining us today, and on behalf of the University, I wish you a very pleasant afternoon. Vinaka, Dhanyavaad.

Extracts from Ms. Nazhat Shameems Book Launching Speech: Remembrance & Writing
I read Professor Nandans collection and selected prose in Between the Lines with fascination, not only because each piece reflects a piece of Fiji, our country, but also because each reflects facets of a writer deeply committed to the essential goodness in each human soul. But here is no glorification of the weaknesses, the greed, and the opportunism of human nature. He lays bare the racism, the humbug of religious fundamentalism, the lack of commitment to the truth and the lack of commitment to principle or ideology, all of which has featured in our nations development since 1987. He writes about corruption-that the cholesterol of corruption is politically and morally a most damaging aspect of a developing nation and about the relationship between corruption and the fear of the absence of power. He links this same fear to the most shameful parts of colonialism, to racist ideologies and to fundamentalist religion. He says in his essay on Corruption and Society, that what corrupts in Fiji is this fear of the absence of power. And he links corruption to politics, to culture, and to racism, saying that corruption is more, much more than the World Bank definition of it as the abuse of power for public gain. In Fiji with its complex social matrix it encompasses the falsification of history, in the use of language, in the laws and statutes and in the institutionalized racism that is such an entrenched part of Fiji. These selections of Professor Nandans writings show us the link between the fear of the loss of power, the coups of 1987 and 2000, the use of racism and political dishonesty by religious leaders and the deliberate manipulation of religion.

Ms. Nazhat Shameem And these are the reflections of a former government Minister, an academic, a politician who has lived these experiences. A lover of the country of his birth, an exile from the country of his birth, a critic of the country of his birth and a son of the girmitiyas. How appropriate then, that this collection of prose should be launched on the 15th of May on Girmit Day, a day set aside to celebrate the girmit dream.

Extracts from Ms Nazhat Shameems speech (contd)

Professor Nandan s background and qualifications themselves represent the girimit dream, not only because he has achieved respect, recognition and dignity in a world which does not lightly honour dreamers, writers and revolutionaries, but also because he shows a willingness to confront the unimagined, the unrecognized, the unseen. After all , there is no real point in being descended from the girmitiya if one is unable to understand the ideology of the girmit. Of the Girimit he says: Whatever our perspective on the Girimit experience, there is no doubt in my mind that the Girimit people gave us our history and heritage, our culture and community; indeed by sailing in a new direction they discovered and created a whole new world for us. Girimit now has an immortal meaning. And a new definition to an old undefinable experience only the word Girimit conveys the resonance of lives that could not be destroyed: Girimit the fallen cannot be obliterated from the soil beneath their feet. And the earth beneath the soles of their feet became part of our souls. Of democracy he writes: Democracy is not the art of the possible; it is the science of possibilities. That is why politics is sometimes called the master science it makes the practice of other sciences both desirable and practicable. Its unique virtue is that it gives every person one value, one vote and through this process governments fall and are formed.
Professor Nandan writes of the consequences, moral, social, and economic of the exodus after the coups of 1987 and 2000, of the exile of whole communities and of the sense of betrayal suffered. But he writes also of the growth of the Fiji Indian Diaspora, of the free societies these exiles are now a part of, and of the achievements of these migrant people, acquired through energy, intelligence and material possessions. Evil then can produce good. While the results can never exonerate those who do evil, the message is one of hope. And that after all is the Girmit message.

Writing then is your inner home: a struggle, a journey into the self. It is a clarification of the convulsions and confusions of history. It is also an art of hope even when one is writing about despair sometimes so deep that you could simply die. And of the impact of coups on the Fiji Indian writer: We know we were a banished people even from Mother India but home was where ones heart was, where one was born and bred and had broken bread with people who later betrayed with such casual brutality. The coups, I think became the defining moments for the Fiji Indian writer. We had not realized that the innocence and evil were so closely intertwined in our paradise There is nothing like a bloodless coup. How much blood do you see in the breaking of a heart? Or in the inward death of a country? These writings, the beauty of their language and the poignancy of the subjects, will inevitably move the reader. They moved me. It gives me great pleasure to launch this publication today.

Survival and hope, with the dream of dignity, equality, and peace. It is that message that is expressed most poignantly in this collection of essays. Professor Nandan acknowledges that even as he writes about writing in Writing Fiji in Asia-Pacific:

Extracts from Professor Satendra Nandans Speech

Every nation, every people, everywhere commemorate a day to remember, to give thanks: a day or an event that one can look back with dignity and honour at history and inspire generations yet unborn. It is a tribute the present pays to the past so that it can reimagine the future. It can be a day of Remembrance and Reconciliation, Reconstruction and Redemption. Girmit Day in Fiji, I think, is one such day; it reminds us that ordinary people are truly extraordinary; that we can build and create on the suffering and sacrifice of others; that no matter how deep and dark is the night, a new dawn is breaking behind the blue mountains, or across the black waters. It tells us of the unconquerable human spirit. What once may have been seen as an experience of sorrow and afflictions turns out be the celebration of the creative human spirit: its survival, resilience and the remarkable gift of giving and living. One such day in the life of our neighbours is ANZAC. In Fiji I think, theres no day like the Girmit Day. It is a unique fragment of history and our enduring heritage. Its symbols are profound: it is about mateship; it is about ship-mates: jehajibhais and jahajinns. Even today we are in the same ship, no matter what cabin you occupy. Were in the same sea. The ocean is a pathless world: we must charter our own way to the shore; steer our own boat, paddle our own canoes. Shape our destiny the difference is that we are doing it Together. Now we cannot blame others.. It is immensely significant that in Girmit all the people and powers were involved: Imperial Britain, Colonial Office in India, Fiji the Crown colony, Australian CSR; and the islands of Fiji across two oceans-Indian and Pacific. No other event in our history had so many forces shaping a small country, a small nations destiny, full of generous but brave people, both indigenous and immigrant. The adventure of the Indenture is truly an epic. We all know that. And this epic is about us: it is not about kings and queens, chosen tribes and killing kingdoms. It is really the story of our people: indigenous and migrants: convicts and colonials, at a period in human history where on many islands and continents, colonialism was decimating humanity. Here people where protecting one anothers ways of life, declaring their deepest humanity in inhuman conditions. Perhaps the Attorney-General, who gave us his message, can take a message from us. Make this historic day a remembrance day holiday. And the people of the west could make the Girmit Centre and the First Landing as sacred sites for our children and grandchildren to visit, remember and be inspired. Those who do not read their history are likely to repeat it. For the visitors to our shores, these will be worthy shrines to see: we build hotels and motels but the Girmit Centre, where free Fijis PM and free Indias PM met and shared a day, can be a monument to the freedom of our peoples. 2

Professor Satendra Nandan

Nothing can be nobler than that. It can be our light-house in stormy seas. Thank you Aiyaz for being here and sharing your thoughts with us. To Nazhat, all I can say is that your generosity of mind is shown in your reading my book with such sensitivity and expressing it with such eloquence . I do want to express my appreciation to so many. Thank you for your help in so many ways. Between the Lines is published with your assistance, care and affection. And to all present: Thank you for being part of this commemoration. Your presences at our University is inspiring and deeply appreciated.

Extracts from Mr. Aiyaz Sayed Khaiyums Book Launching Speech: Reflections & Journeys
As I sat down this morning to put together a few words for the launch of Shifting Location, I thought it best that I should situate or locate myself in relation to the West as I was after all coming here. Coming to the West is always a home coming for me. Suva is where I live. In fact I was born in Suva but only because they did not have proper medical facilities in Sigatoka. Some would argue that even though I was born in Suva through force of circumstances and stayed there only for a few weeks I cannot be a Westerner. Shifting Location - Indo-Fijian Writings From Australia edited by Professor Subramani is another milestone - For him and indeed for the consolidation of such writings on identity, belonging, patriotism and defining the individual self. He is well known amongst the literary and academic circles and really needs no introduction. He along with those such as the pioneer Dr Nandan is a field apart. The compilation of these writings provides an insight from those who have some connection with Fiji. Many lived in Fiji as adults, some left when they were very young and others were born in Australia. When Professor Subramani edited his IndoFijian Experience in 1979, some 8 years before Rabukas coup, it provided the opportunity to start compiling voices that were pushed to the periphery or indeed did not even feature on the radar prior to that. Of course since then IndoFijian writing has taken a new turn if you like, because of the socio-economic changes. It has had to. This collection of writings is important and significant. As I said when I had the pleasure of launching Dr Kamlesh Sharmas book in Suva about 2 years ago, such narratives albeit it from Canberra, Sydney or elsewhere, are essential because amongst other things it contributes to the development and maturity process of the nation-state of Fiji. Such narratives are essential to continuously challenge and question where we are going as a nation, who we are, and more importantly who we should be as defined by ourselves. The maintenance of the connection and connectivity between the homeland and the Indo-Fijian Diaspora through such literary initiatives are imperative for all citizens of our beloved Fiji, not just Indo-Fijians.

Mr. Aiyaz Sayed Khaiyum I wish to thank you for inviting me here this afternoon. It is always a pleasure to come back to the West and of course the University of Fiji and its academics. Ladies and gentlemen I now have much pleasure in launching Professor Subramanis Shifting Location Indo-Fijian Writing From Australia. Vinaka.

Poem by Dr. Asinate Mausio An Ode to Aja

My cauldron of poetic ferment Squats on barren ash, The fires of yesterday Have not burned long enough, The sheer poverty Of shallow existence Shackles my wings of song, But for you O Precious Aja This ode finds meaning For we share a collective memory Of your silent grief That needs the healing power Of remembrance And forgiveness The sentinels of time Cannot erase, Your eternal imprint On this islands history, The shame of indenture Has not crushed your memory Dear Aja, For my soul weeps as I hear Your melancholy whispers Rippling through these emerald fields, Sadness washes over me As I feel the deadening pain Of the Sardars cruel lashes Tormenting your spirit And I am reminded As I see your bloodied footprints Among these contours Of bitter sweet cane, That this sun-speckled vista Still radiates your undying hope For a better day You were plucked From the crucible of a grand civilization, Lured by sham promises Of fresh beginnings, In a Garden of Eden Many moons away, You journeyed yonder Unwittingly hopeful, That the brotherhood of man Would be your refuge In this far away land, But alas! In paradise lost You were sorely betrayed From dawn to dusk You sought in vain From this heartless soil, The warm embrace of mother earth, No brotherly hand Relieved your lonesome burden, You nursed the tatters of your self-esteem In hushed loneliness But the testament of your quiet dignity Shall prevail throughout the ages For like the phoenix Your sons and daughters 3

Dr. Asinate Mausio Have soared to heights in this new age A living legacy befitting kings! Rest in peace O precious Aja, For no more shall I dismiss you As a figment of this islands history, They say that the dawn of wisdom Is in the reckoning! So until we come full circle To acknowledge your pain And pay sincere tribute To your gifts and sacrifices, This islands dreams In the shifting sands of time May remain drab, Incomplete And unfulfilled

Extracts from Ms Rejieli Racules Speech Girmit: From a Fijian Perspective

In searching for information for this presentation, I asked our landlords about their families, whether they are decendants of girmitayas. In the conversation, they said there was an old lady who was a girmitiya living in Lovu. I was surprised, thinking that all our Girmitiyas had gone on to the next life. Anyway, last Friday afternoon we went to visit her. Muniamma is a beautiful lady, now 100 years old. She was born in Nakaikogo in Nausori to girmitiya parents, who got married here in Fiji. They lived a hard life. Her first contact with Fijians was when she was 8 years old when they shifted here to Drasa. Some Fijian girls made friends with her and used to take her swimming, which she greatly enjoyed. Later on she developed a liking for yaqona, which she still likes drinking. Those were the only contacts she had with Fijians, as she got married at 9 years old and began her life as wife and mother. In talking to her, through our landlady, Seema, who was interpreting, I realized just how isolated Muniammas parents and her own generation were from the Fijian community, and by extension, how isolated the Fijians were from the Indian community. When I first came for boarding school in Suva, my parents were working in Bua in Vanualevu, and later on they were posted to Lakeba in Lau. We used to travel in the copra boats. And at Nasilai, we would see the bow of the Syria sticking out of the turbulent sea where it was wrecked. At first, for me, the Syria was just another wreck. Later on it became a landmark - from Suva, when we neared it, we knew we were nearing the open seas, from the islands, when we saw it, we knew Suva was near. As I got older, I began to wonder about those who had traveled in the Syria. Why had they come to Fiji? Their long sea journey must have been far worse than what I and other islanders endured. What had they been searching for? What had happened to the 438 people who had survived the Syria? How did they react to the Fijian people of Nasilai who came to help rescue them and who sheltered them in their village? What were their dreams beyond the 5 year contracts? How successfully had they and their children managed to plant themselves in this new land of small islands, so different from the vast continent they had left behind? I wondered about my father who spoke fluent Hindi and had great respect for his Indian friends and great admiration for the Indian civilization. For me and my siblings and cousins, and for most of our generation, the Indian people were always held up, by our

Ms Rejieli Racule
parents, teachers and other significant adults in our lives, as our role model of success and achievement in the face of much hardship. Today I remember the Syria: in my youth it was a landmark in a turbulent sea; today I think of this ship as a symbol of a group of people, the Girmitiyas, who had traveled across the seas of life, their journey a turbulent one as a sacrifice for their descendents, to whom they have left a rich inheritance. For all of you who are in any way connected to the Girmitiyas, and for all of you here today, I wish you all fair weather in your own journeys as you pursue your dreams.

Extracts from Associate Professor Cliff Bensons Speech: Commemorating Girmitya

The Chief Guests, invited guests, colleagues and students from the University. I am deeply grateful to my colleague, Professor Satendra Nandan, for giving me this opportunity to express a few thoughts about the girmit period of 1879 1916, when 60,537 indentured labourers were brought here by the British colonial government. Like everyone else, I have become more and more shocked and saddened, the more I have learnt about this dark period not only of Fijis, but the worlds history. At the same time, the legacy of the girmitiyas is a delight to be part of. One such delightful legacy is the close day to day interaction between the girmitiyas descendants and their Fijian brothers and sisters. One finds many commonalities in their beliefs and values, so such closeness is not surprising. Indeed, both Fijians and IndoFijians share a common root experience in that both communities faced a daunting and treacherous journey across the Kala pani (Fijians from Asia and Indo-Fijians from Calcutta or Madras) to Fijis warm and ultimately hospitable shores. Today, I lament the lack of knowledge of their own histories among Fijis young people. This University is playing a crucial role through its Centre for Indigenous Studies in redressing the education systems deficiency in terms of treasuring the past of Fijis people and ensuring that the younger Fijian generation knows where they are coming from. I wish to suggest that we also promote Girmit studies, perhaps through our Tappoo-Gandhi Centre for Writing, Ethics and Peace Studies. I also dream that we could play a role in redressing the status of Fiji Hindi, the rich language forged by the girmitiyas to transcend their differences. In preparing for todays occasion, I had looked forward with excitement to making a first visit to the Girmit Centre, expecting to find a treasure trove of literature and artifacts which young people could be encouraged to explore. I did not even make the visit, having been told that it is a Girmit Centre only in name! Young people of all races in Fiji need a deeper knowledge of their own history. It is a truism to say that we can only fully understand and appreciate the present when we know about the past. I believe the Fiji Social Science/History curricula have very limited coverage of our own past. Not only could this University contribute to redressing this lack, but we can also have inputs into the English, Fijian and Hindi language curricula. It amazed me, once I had recently read J S Kanwals highly informative, readable and moving fiction account of the Girmit experience, The Morning (Savera), that such a book has never found its way into the English Curriculum. 4

Associate Professor Cliff Benson In conclusion, ladies and gentlemen, I quote the simple but moving key words of hope in J S Kanwals novel and on which the title is based. I will first read the quotation in Hindi and then a translation by Ms Vijayta Singh, Part-Time Assistant Lecturer in Hindi at this University. Savera aayega. Jeevan mein kabhi to suraj chamkega. Tab raaho ke rodhe hat jayenge. Tab bikhare kaante udh jayenge Aur saare bandhan kat jayenge ************************* Morning will come Some time in life the sun will shine. Then the things that hinder your path will disperse. Then thorns too will fly away And the chains of bondage will break. Vinaka, Malo, Shukria and Dhanyavaad.

Extracts from Dr. Jyoti Nandans Reading: A Remembrance Day in May (From Between the Lines)
Fourteenth May is an iconic date in Fijis history: the date of our first coup; and it merges into 15 May, Girmit Day. And in May theres Ratu Sukuna Day. For some it is a day of betrayal; for others of dispossession; for yet others historys deception, and a peoples resilience and resistance; and the celebration of Leadership in a single life: soldier, statesman and man. But the person who changed Fijis political landscape most radically was not the Colonel with a gun but Timoci Bavadra with a new, alternative political vision for Fiji, whether we admit it or not that vision is still alive for a Fiji people care for. The Colonels entry into Parliament may have been more dramatic; Bavadras legacy will be more enduring. In Fiji one electoral defeat and the traditions of tolerance, the customs of our civilization, the ceremonies and protocols of respect, collapsed. The Colonel marched in with his masked gun men; the mask of multi-racialism slipped. A culture of violence and violations was introduced into Fijis political world, as if we had been infected by an alien disease for which we had no remedy. Many institutions and individuals felt violated to the core of their being. None of the coups that followed the 1987 coup would ever compare with the betrayal, the breaking of faith, the shattering of dreams, the shock and grief of many men and women, most of whom had known no other home, no other country. The brutality of 1987 was calculated and callous. Its shock sharp and deep. Its consequences festering. So 14 May merges into 15 MayGirmit Day. It took 40 years to get 60,000 indentured Indians to Fiji. In 20 years after 1987, more than 120,000 citizens of Fiji have gone to other countries, and not Fiji Indians alone. It is, I think, the largest migration from a South Pacific nation. The hemorrhage continues. Despite the immense suffering, the sense of betrayal, exile from homeland, most of our migrants have gone to free societies where they are respected as citizens, rewarded as workers, and where all share a common identity, whatever other problems they and their children may face in the future. They come from many cultures, but they belong to one nation. A generation of men and women have gone. Dr. Jyoti Nandan Despite their differences, their ambitions, they, I feel, had a sense of nationhood. There was an element of nobility in their struggle for equality, dignity and political recognition. The Prime Minister was first among equals; the Leader of the Opposition was the alternative Prime Minister. All that changed on 14 May: a day can be so devastating. What 14 May should remember is Dr. Timoci Bavadra. His decency, laughter, generosity and the dignity born of human painand what we do to each other for petty ambitions. It is a sad reflection on us that there isn't even a memorial Lecture in his honour. Perhaps we can choose a day in May as our National day of Remembrance and Reconciliation in the memory of so much we share, both the grief and the glory of belonging to Fiji.

Extracts from Joji Uluinakauvadras Thanks-giving Speech

Mr. Aiyaz Sayed Khaiyum- The Attorney General, Ms Nazhat Shameem- Former Judge of the High court of Fiji, I wish to thank you indeed, on behalf of the Vice Chancellor, the Registrar, Professors, Deans & Staff & Students for giving us very informative and encouraging speeches. The books that you have launched today will certainly increase our volume of reading materials written by citizens of Fiji or former citizens of Fiji, that will force to believe that both books contain many stories related to Girmitia Smriti . I wish to thank all the other speakers for contributing more facts about the Indenture Labour Migration, which started arriving on 15th May 1879 and was completed in 1916. Today is 15 May 2009 and I am truly thankful to the Department of LLC for organizing this celebrative get together. I am also requesting the Dean of the School of Humanities & Arts to work with the other Deans & the Vice Chancellor to make this a yearly celebration and if possible involve many more members of our community. Its high time that we learn more about the History, Geography, Politics, and Economy of Fiji alongside those of our neighbors, our trade partners & the World. This first wave of Indenture Labour Migration arrived on 15 May 1879 on an agreement to work for a certain period and were given the choice whether to go back or start a new life in Fiji. I am very thankful to Almighty God for encouraging a large number of them to start a new life in Fiji. We know from records that all of them went through some ill treatment during their labour days. But to go through a lot of hardships for 5 years, then decided to stay and make Fiji as their new home, that decision, to me showed a lot of courage. I truly wish to thank them for creating history. They started living side by side with our Fijian forefathers, helping one another to build our Fiji, up to where it is now. This ETERNAL TRUTH is here until ETERNITY. Two heads or sources of intelligence are better than one. Latter waves of migration came later to make us multicultural- multi-ethnic society in Fiji. 5

Joji Uluinakauvadra The fact remains that the two major races will determine the trend of our governance to our destiny. I wish you both- the Attorney General & Ms Nazhat Shameem success in all your future endeavors. Please convey our best regards to the Prime Minister and others in your government. We pray to our heavenly father to equip you with wisdom & knowledge and lead us to peace and prosperity. We now bid you farewell, Ni sa moce, Thank you, Dhanya bhad, vinaka vakalevu.

In Exile at Home: A film by Mr. Satish Rai

Satish Rai, who is a Visiting Fellow/ Producer at the FIT, has been producing feature and documentary films and TV programs in Sydney, Australia since 1998. He migrated from Fiji in 1980 and is participating in a Girmit event after a lapse of thirty years. He started his academic research on Fiji in 1996 for his MA degree. In 2004 he continued this research as part of his Doctor in Creative Arts candidature in Research and Film Production, a major component of which is a 90 mins documentary drama film titled In Exile At Home. This film documents the history of Indians in Fiji since 1897 till the events of 1987 marked mass exodus of Indians from Fiji. The University of Fiji is extremely grateful to Mr. Satish Rai for screening In Exile at Home at this years Girmit Smriti

Mr. Satish Rai

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