The Fijians, Too, Must Learn

Tomorrow's Fiji Will Be For Everybody

The Fijians, Too, Must Learn About Mutual Co-operation

By David P. Ragg

For some time I have felt very much that problems in Fiji have to be approached in a more realistic manner, in that they concern everyone regardless of race. The Fijian cannot afford to look upon himself as something apart from the other

people in the Colony.

TE must always see that the I Fijian gets a fair deal, but we must be honest in our thinking d try to get him away from the lice in Wonderland” atmosphere ich his own leaders, Government d the Europeans foster. All have ;n apologists for the Fijian cause, ;n in the recent rioting.

Agreed that the Fijian leaders k the irresponsible Fijian element task for their part in the riots, t where was the exhortation that ; underlying problems could only solved by united action with the iian and European and the other •es?

Certainly mention was made that ; European was the Fijian’s friend, list the obvious reference to iian participation in the riots, list not actually stated, was to ; effect that they were responsible • the misguided action of the esponsible Fijians in the mob. h fact, this advice to keep away m the Indians, irrespective of at the Indian influence in the ts might prove to be, will only ve the effect of widening the sach.

Grave Ills *.s we all know, the riots are nptomatic of the grave social momic and political ills which ; at present besetting Fiji.

Briefly, the reason may lie in the ;t that there has been unemploy mt, overcrowding in the urban jas, a low wage-scale structure ;h a relatively high cost of liv ; and the resentment which this renders in the “have-nots” when ;y line up their lot with the more vileged people, and as has hap aed elsewhere, the European is the receiving end of the abuse, d damage which a mob can do. vlobs are mobs in any country d to solve problems which give e to mobs it will take goodwill d harmony from everyone, Fijians, dians, Europeans and others, rhere no doubt will be inquiries d soul-searching on the cause of 5 riots and every right-thinking rson will try to prevent a re rrence, but no one can absolve

himself from the underlying reasons for them in the first place, and the problem is l serious enough.

By trying to play down Fijian participation it becomes a more difficult job than ever, and in this regard the Fijian leaders might have shown a more states manlike approach to the problem as a whole if they had asked their people to join with the Indian in trying to solve their mutual problem.

Underlying it all is, of course, the Fijian fear, and a real one, that the Indians will dominate the situation. Without being pro-Indian or anti-Fijian one must accept the fact that in terms of numbers and their contribution in the economic field the Indians already do.

Must Be Told Another fact is that for good or bad the Indian is a resident of Fiji, and as self-government must come sooner or later, he is going to be come a big factor in the political field as well. The social part of the fabric must be integrated, as must the other elements, if the Colony is to prosper. Any thinking to the contrary is only self-delusion.

Before total self-government arrives the Fijian must be told what to expect and this is the job for his leaders. If he is astute he will use the remaining time to get himself on the same plane as the other people in the Colony at local government level to get the neces sary experience before self-govern ment, possibly in a modified form, arrives. In the course of time there will be complete democratic form of self-government, when there will be only one roll and the people, irrespective of their race or colour, will elect the people of their choice.

When democracy finally arrives, the functions of parliament, or whatever name this institution may be called, will be competent to set aside what land will be required for public or other use, the owners, of course, being justly compensated for its use If they are honest, the Fijian leaders and the administrators will tell their people that their thinking

on the sanctify of the Deed of Cession may have to undergo a change for the common good, par ticularly as there have been hints by some Fijian leaders that “force” may be used to preserve the Fijian rights.

If and when democratic institu tions take over, every resident will become a “Fijian” in a constitutional sense, so there will be no need for a Deed of Cession to be resorted to unless it is applicable to the rights of all residents'.

Britain will have no option but to comply with the policy laid down by her Government that the Colonies are to have self-govern ment, the form in the early stages designed to serve the best interests of those residents who go to form the peoples of each particular Colony.

According to a recent report in a well-known American news mag azine, the Colonial Secretary, Mr. lan Macleod, has set 1963 as the date line for self-government in the smaller British Colonies, of which Fiji was quoted as one. Whether it is correct or not one cannot say. As it is an important date its 1 veracity or otherwise should have some official verification, and if it isn’t true then the correct date should be given to the people, as time is very, very short.

Fiji must have realistic leadership, tolerance and understanding, plus some material assistance in the form of development capital to keep Fiji going. Therefore, it is to be hoped that Messrs. James 1 Anthony, D. B. Lakshman and other trade union people will lead their unions in a responsible and reasonable manner and that industry and the employers will work towards harmony and a decent standard of living, reminding the workers that they, too, have a responsibility to everyone by being reasonable in their demands.