I have just returned from Fiji. The mango is in season and sugarcane harvest is in progress. The dry spell that threatened the west had gone.
Fiji is beautiful, the paradisiacal charm is effervescent but the physical and political landscapes are constantly changing.
However, the peoples show their endurance and resilience against disruptive and destructive forces, with equanimity. They believe that dawn would follow darkness, that hope will follow despair.
On the ground, there is little evidence of trauma or uncertainty that afflicted the lives of Indo-Fijians in Fiji. Since 1987, the Laisenia Qarase Government had them on the edge with retributive action, as the fire of racism raged across Fiji.
However, the December 5, 2006 military coup headed by Commodore Josaia Voreqe Bainimarama opted to pursue policies that promoted the ideals of multiracialism. It strongly advocated pursuance of policies that promoted unity in diversity and this gave Indo-Fijians a sigh of relief and hope.
Sustaining life
Although nothing to do with the 2006 coup, Indo-Fijians were caught in the crossfire of competing interests. Fijian nationalists blamed them and the Chiefs, benefactors of the Qarase Government, were isolated from meddling in politics. The Methodist Church that dabbled incessantly in the cesspool of Fiji’s racial politics has been barred from mixing religion and politics.
The effect is that there is calm and ordinary people of Fiji are going about their daily routine without the racial rancor and bitterness of the past.
How the Interim Government shapes the future is a moot point. Those who lost power are simmering with anger and discreetly sowing the seeds of discord.
Sugar in crisis
The sugar mills have military personnel providing security, in a move to protect strategic utility from sabotage.
However, all is not well with the sugar mills, as the Indian contractors made a mess of the $F86 million contract awarded to them. The so-called upgrade of the sugar mills has become a nightmare and indications are that the contractors failed to implement their contractual obligations.
Many people had their reservations about the quality of work or the ability of the Indian contractors to deliver. Their fears have come to roost. All the mills are in a pathetic state and the Rarawai Mill is likely to be closed in the next season.
Pathetic state
While in Ba, I had the privilege to tour the Rarawai Mill and saw its pathetic state. Lorries carrying sugarcane were parked in every available space between the Rarawai Mill and the road adjoining it. Some drivers had gone home, leaving their trucks for the night and only returned to move the trucks when their friends alerted them that the mill had started crushing.
Inside the heart of the mill, it clearly showed the haphazard manner in which the Indian contractors had carried out the works. On the floor the sugar juice constantly overflowed and was being pumped back into the processing system, to prevent it flowing through the arterial drains of the mill and into the Ba River.
The Rarawai mill was built in 1886 and since then it has been the pride of Ba. The location of the mill gave birth to the town of Ba and the mill has been its economic backbone.
My grandfather was fatally injured in the Rarawai Mill in 1943 when the steam pipe burst during the production process.
During my tour of the Rarawai mill, I walked along those huge steam pipes, hissing with steam and I thought of that fateful day with sorrow and sadness.
It is a pity that sugarcane production has been falling since the first coup in 1987.
Mass eviction of Indo-Fijian sugarcane farmers from land leased from Fijian landowners in 1997 has cast a pall of uncertainty over the sugar industry in Fiji.
Sugar accounted for 40% of the value of agricultural commodity and 20% of the country’s GDP. The Fiji Sugar Corporation has been incurring sustained losses over the past 15 years for various reasons. Desperate measures are now being made to restructure to restore its viability.
According to some estimates, the Fiji Sugar Corporation would reduce its workforce by 1000 in the next 18 months.
It is difficult to segregate the sugar industry from Fiji but the forthcoming reality may make it inevitable.
It was the sugar industry that brought Indian indentured labourers to work in the sugarcane plantations. It became the mainstay for their livelihood. Its history is full of tales of endurance and sacrifice.
One day, when the sugar mills stand still, somnolent and silent, they will still echo the history of our people.
Rajendra Prasad is our columnist and author of Tears in Paradise. His articles are widely discussed among the Diaspora across the world. Email: raj.prasad@xtra.co.nz
