Suva City Library
Arthur Solomon Meyers, U.S.A .
I am visiting Fiji and especially Suva. I read in the Fiji Sun about Suva as a city of pride.
I am a recently retired Director of a public library in United States of America with more than 40 years of experience, and thus I visited the Suva City Library.
The library staff like all the Fijians I have met are very welcoming.
However, I was very disappointed that the library does not meet the goal in your nation’s Bill of Rights that every person has the right to education. The condition of the book collection is very sad and not current in information.
I understand that the library has received many books. Quite a few are in the library and on the dock but they are awaiting staff time and fiscal support to be added to the collection.
The Ministry of Education web site states that “access to education is essential to be effective and responsible citizens.”
The Suva City Library website encourages visitors to “peruse the library’s shelves.”
As a visitor to your beautiful city and country, I urge you to live up to your goals and provide the needed financial support.
Thank you.
Wananavu!
Jill Jaques, Nadi
It was a joy to see a large group of young men from Ratu Navula College in Nadi picking up rubbish from the drains along Denarau Road, Nadi, on Saturday, July22.
They were all wearing school sports uniform so everyone could identify their school and see what a great job this college is doing to develop their students social conscience.
A big vinaka vakalevu to those young men who gave up their Saturday to help in their community.
I would like to challenge other schools to follow the lead of this excellent example set by Ratu Navula College.
It is time to STOP throwing rubbish out into the roadside drains from buses and vehicles. Take pride in your environment and keep your communities litter free.
Busy Traffic
Narayan Reddy, Lautoka
Every morning and every afternoon Lautoka is just like Suva with traffic congestions. With so many Japenese second hand cars on our road it’s about time something is done to ease the traffic flow in our country.
It’s not just a problem in Suva and Lautoka, I have seen the same problem in Nadi.
It’s about time we have two lanes of road for each way.
To avoid future accidents the roads authorities should start planning!
Complaint by Mohd Hassan on Radio Fiji Talkback
Rajendra Prasad, Labasa
I have been informed by some prominent Cane growers that one Mohd Hassan of Nabekavu, Labasa had criticised me and my other Labasa Sugar Cane Growers Council staff in the Radio Fiji talkback show last Friday for not addressing his problem.
Unfortunately this talkback show is one sided where the person who is blamed is not given a fair chance to defend or explain the truth. I feel that the public needs to know the truth as he has defamed me and other dedicated staff and the Council.
On 5/7/16, Hassan had lodged a complaint that a cutter had obtained $800 from him and was harvesting cane elsewhere. We immediately wrote to the Waiqele Sector and stopped the cane cutter.
The next day the cutter came to our office with his gang sirdar and the grower for whom he had been harvesting cane in 2014 season.
He admitted obtaining $800 from Hassan to harvest cane in 2015 season. He said when he went to harvest cane, he was asked by Hassan to stay in a goat shed and there was no water supply and he was told to drink water from the creek.
He said he then decided to return the $800 but Hassan didn’t accept it.
He said Hassan had now issued a Small Claims Tribunal summons on him and the case was to be heard on 15/07/16 which he would defend.
We then wrote to the Registrar of the Sugar Industry Tribunal and were advised that we cannot stop the cutter from harvesting elsewhere in view of the case pending before the Small Claims Tribunal. Hassan was informed about this and the cutter was allowed to harvest for his previous grower as per the MOGA.
Hassan himself had breached the MOGA condition advancing money to a cutter without first obtaining a release from the previous grower.
He is further frustrated as he was not given a contract to repair cane access roads due to his performance in 2015 season.
He was also forcing us to give him a lorry license concession which is purely given to lorry owners who are engaged in only carting cane and have hauled over 500 tonnes but Hassan had failed to meet this criteria as he had hauled a small amount of cane and his lorry was engaged in other business as well.
I feel sorry for Hassan and have decided to drop the idea of instigating legal proceedings for defamation against him and the Radio Fiji.
However, I feel that the announcer should contact us for clarification during the programme.
A free Fiji
Joan McGoon, Nadi
Travelling by bus gives one an opportunity to observe and admire our beautiful country and it’s people.
Sitting next to an elderly Indian gentleman who was excitedly observing his surroundings, I was immediately interested in a passing comment he directed at me.
He said: “Fiji is changing so much! Now…the Fijian girls are growing their hair long and the Indian girls are cutting theirs…’after which he shook his head in disapproval or confusion, I wasn’t sure.
“Not sure how or whether to respectfully approach this subject with this kind gentle-man, I smiled at him and reminded him that Fiji is a free country.
“Those girls were free to wear their hair however way they chose. For so many years, stereotypes have existed here in our country about how a person should behave, what a certain race should dress like, speak like, behave and even think like and that in essence, had stripped away the freedom of our very own patrons and brought a lot of unnecessary pressure and unhappiness for those free-spirited souls and those they came in contact with.
As I glanced at those ‘girls’ he was referring to, they were just sitting and also enjoying being a part of our amazing country.
With freedom, comes responsibility and these girls seemed to be handling their responsibility quite well.
As our bus passed a nearby wooded park, we saw a couple getting quite romantic and a few chuckles could be heard around the bus.
Yes, we have been given a beautiful country to enjoy and love but…not alone. We were meant to enjoy it together.
May we continue to embrace our freedom, responsibility and each other with open arms.