Indo-Fijians are deeply grateful to Government for restoring Girmit Day celebrations.
It was cruelly expunged from the record of our national holidays by the previous administration, which was a cruel blow to the Indo-Fijian historical record.
I am not too sure whether it is a day to rejoice or to recount the drudgery of our ancestors who were brought here as indentured labourers (slaves) by the British Raj.
Britain had annexed the Fijian archipelago some five years prior to 1879 when the first batch of indentured labourers from India were brought to Fiji.
Most of them were poverty-stricken farmers from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh (North India) who came to the cities of the Indo-Gangetic plains looking for a job.
They were trapped by the arktis (recruiters) who peddled all kinds of falsehood.
Once inside the gate, they could not escape.
They were treated like animals, put on ships, and set sail to an unknown destination Fiji.
Three months of the journey by ship was a nightmare for most of them.
This was the experience of ‘kaala pani’ (black waters).
Many died of seasickness, cholera, or starvation.
Caste barriers were broken, and the concept of ‘jahaji bhai’ (brothers in despair) emerged.
Homesickness engulfed them as they realised that there was no chance of going back.
Some even jumped overboard to escape but drowned.
When the indenture period ended in 1916, some 60,000 men, women, and children had arrived in Fiji. For every 100 men, there were only 40 women.
Thus, sharing women during the girmit times became a norm.
Many times women were raped, brutalised, or even murdered in cane fields.
Violence by white overseers, sirdars (supervisors), and husbands was prevalent.
Many women opted to commit suicide by hanging.
Infant child mortality was exceedingly high as there was no maternity leave.
There was no provision for girmitiya children’s education.
The conditions in labour lines were brutal, and infidelity was exceedingly high.
At the end of the first five years indenture contract, some labourers went back, but others opted to stay.
Fiji Sugar Refining Company decided to distribute small parcels of land to these for sugarcane farming.
Thus, the supply of freshly cut cane was guaranteed to the mills in Lautoka, Ba, Rakiraki, and Labasa.
The sugarcane industry became the backbone of the Fijian economy. However, this fell flat on its face as land leases ran out and farmers were evicted from their farmlands.
Many centres will host functions to mark the Girmit Day celebrations: songs, dances, dressings, farm implements will be shown to recall the painful girmit days.
Indo-Fijians want a piece of the Fijian cake, but their population is speedily dwindling.
Mass migration is at its peak as skilled Indo-Fijians look for greener pastures.
May I take this opportunity to wish all Fijians a very happy Girmit Day celebration!
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