Indo-Fijians

in Australia

By Lili Tuwai

Nowadays, former member of par liament for Fiji’s Labour Party Govind Sami enjoys the chal

lenging position of chairperson of the

Fijian Indian Social and Cultural Association (FISCA) based in Sydney.

When Sami migrated to Australia in December, 1987, he found that the Indo- Fijian community was disintegrated and there was no support organisation looking after the interests and needs of the com munity. In an effort to fill that void, FISCA was established to look after the interests of Indians at state and federal government levels. FISCA’s current membership numbers 600 and the associ ation is open to anyone who is interested in promoting Indian culture, traditions

and heritages.

Recently, Sami took up the case for Indo-Fijian refugee or asylum seekers with Minister of Immigration Philip Ruddock. Sami was frustrated by the Department of Immigration’s extreme slowness when making decisions on some of the Indo-Fijian applications. Sami reported that the minister’s response was encouraging. “The minister said he would look at each individual’s application on its merit. Following my letter I have leamt that some people have now got permanent

residency.”

In a letter to Ruddock, published in the local Fiji Times, Sami requested that the minister of immigration consider people who arrived in Australia after Fiji’s first 1987 military coup and whose children

have grown up in Australia. Talking to Pacific Islands Monthly , Sami said, “Some of these children have spent half their life in Australia and by asking them now to go back to Fiji, it would be diffi cult for these young children to adapt to the Fiji situation.”

It was not long after the second mili tary coup in 1987 that Sami decided to migrate to Australia. He told PIM that “at the time, being a parliamentarian it was very difficult to find work”. Attending a conference in Australia, he was offered work as a teacher. Not long after securing a teaching position in Sydney, Sami and his family had few obstacles receiving permanent residency because of his pro fessional qualifications, but he sympathis es with those who wait in uncertainty for extended periods of time.

Discussing the way the Australian and Western media have covered the political situation in Fiji since the first military coup, Sami believes the media incapable of reporting fairly or accurately because of their limited knowledge of the Fijian and Indian cultures. He stated that “at times they have exaggerated what has been going on”.

Media reports in Australia and New Zealand conveyed many Indians in Fiji lived in great fear following the coups.

“Some of them were threatened,” says Sami. “Some of them still have scars on their bodies - they were quite genuine.

Since then I think things have improved in Fiji, but, unfortunately, there are still people who fear if they go back they will be attacked or be in some sort of trouble.”

But at the same time Sami confesses that his view from Australia still causes him to feel concern for the Indo-Fijian community in Fiji.

“Looking at the crime problems that are reported in The Fiji Times, it is of great concern to Indo-Fijians because our community has become a predominant target whereby Indians are affected by raids, and when there is theft it is mostly around Indian homes.”

He believes current government eco nomic policies disadvantage the Indo- Fijians as a race. Sami feels there is obvi ous discrimination in education and allo cation of resources for education, rural

development, and community projects.

“If you look at all of that, it is in favour of

Fijians whereby it disadvantages the Indians. They (governments) have got to look at the way Indo-Fijians perceive things - that (indigenous) Fijians control and dominate in many areas of our soci ety.”

Following the first coup in 1987, peo ple who applied to Australia for refugee status were more likely to have been con sidered under that category because of how the Western world viewed that peri od in Fiji where there was civil unrest and what they perceived as an unstable gov ernment. Sami says that about that time, 40 people were granted permanent resi dency. People wishing to leave Fiji since then because of fear of persecution in Fiji have had difficulty in gaining permanent residency. Sami told PIM that there have been a few instances where applicants were successful. “I am aware of a couple of people, because of (he positions of authority that these people held in Fiji, who the Australian Department of Immigration saw the necessity to grant permanent residency.”

Giving an example, he said “a police officer was granted permanent residency on the basis that his life was under threat if he had gone back to Fiji at that time”.

At the end of November 1995, the official figure for Fijians seeking refugee status or asylum in Australia was 209. “The major ity of these people are still waiting - I don’t know what their future holds.”

The Howard government’s cuts to wel fare programmes designed to help migrants settle have been a major concern for many migrant organisations.

“Generally speaking,” Sami explains, “Indo-Fijian asylum seekers to Australia do not rely on immigrant welfare pro grammes, they have a tendency to help one another. They would rather get help from their communities already over here or their relatives.”

Sami is optimistic about a resolution in the near future. “If the new constitution that has been drawn up by three very hon ourable gentlemen comes into place, then there will be no reason for people to seek refugee status or asylum here because Fiji really is quite all right.” Pondering on the current constitution, he says, “a situation of powerlessness for Indian political lead ers was evident in the 1990 constitution which condemns Indians to being in per manent opposition”.

“I hope common sense will prevail in Fiji and people will leave behind whatev er thoughts they had about Fiji and work together in harmony. Prior to the 1987 elections things were quite all right. What people in Fiji need to do now is get together once again, leave all selfish motives behind and work towards a better Fiji by adopting this constitution,” says Sami. ■