Fiji’s racial

straight-jacket

Madam In the April issue of PIM Martin Tiffany in his article “Greater Freedom” stated that Delaibatiki, Moala, Parkin son and Herman had maintained that in Fiji “culture” affected journalists’ story content. He then, quotes Moala of The Fiji Times saying; “Compared to other Pacific islands, Fiji is in a more difficult position as they have two major races (Fijians and Indians) and three major religions (Christianity, Hinduism, and Islam)... So you have to be sensitive to some issues.” These issues are not mentioned.

Tiffany apparently is very favourably disposed to the above expression of Jale Moala’s sentiments. Presumably Delaibatiki, Parkinson, and Herman also agree with this view of culture in Fiji.

Sadly, this notion of culture is rather

simplistic, superficial and, conflates “race” with “culture”. Sadly too, these journalists (actually media leaders) are also mouthing uncritically the racial straight jacket of the Fijian state.

The major ethnic categories or “races” as defined by the Fijian state for population census purposes are Chinese, Fijian, Part-European, Other Pacific Islanders, European, Indian, Rotuman and Others The Fijian-state’s politically defined ethnic categories for electoral politics are Fijians and Rotumans, General Voters Chinese/European/Part-European and all others (including Pacific Island ers) and Indians.

This classification of “races” in Fiji and their equation with different cultures is a gross distortion of the ethnic categories in Fiji. The fact of the matter is that when we speak of race, that is physically different population group ings, both the Ethnic Fijian and Indo- Fijian categories have considerable di versity within them. Thus there are Ethnic Fijians who appear Melanesian, others look Polynesian and still others who could pass for various admixtures (Part-European, Part-Chinese, Part- Rotuman, Part-Indian etc). The last category (mixed race persons) has pro vided one basis of the debate on what is a Fijian.

Likewise Indo-Fijians are physically diverse Punjabi, Sikhs, Pathans, light and dark-skinned Gujeratis, Nepalis

(akin to Gurkhas), North Indians and South Indians as well as people of mixed Indo-Fijian and Ethnic Fijian or another ethnic category ancestry whose fathers are Indo-Fijians.

Culturally, Fiji’s people are richly diverse and again the three major “races” politically defined by the state “Fijian”, “Indian” and “General Voters” are a travesty of the cultures of Fiji. Within the Ethnic Fijian category there is considerable linguistic/dialect and cultural diversity. The same applies to Indo-Fijians whose mother-tongue may be Fiji-Hindi, Gujerati, Punjabi, Tamil, Telegu, etc. Likewise the General Voters are an extremely diverse lot - the so called European category alone in cludes persons who originated from England, Germany, the United States, Malta, Greece, France, Australia, New Zealand, etc.

In Fiji as elsewhere in the world, cultural diversity is coupled with multi lingual and multi-cultural tendencies.

The latter can be fostered or undermined by the state and the media.

While journalists’ (especially media

leaders’) sensitivity to cultural diversity is admirable, they should not uncritically mouth the Fijian States’ racial categorisation because in doing so they become agents of the state in extending

its ethnic agenda.

Vijay Naidu

Suva Fiji