Girmit was an extremely degrading and dehumanising experience for our forefathers – Chaudhry

Fiji Labour Party Leader Mahendra Chaudhry says the Indenture system or Girmit as it came to be called, was an extremely degrading and dehumanising experience for our forefathers.

In his message for Girmit Day, Chaudhry says their suffering, the unspeakable hardship, humiliation and the indignities they suffered under an evil and cruel system are now well recorded.

He says while it was fully brought to an end in 1920, the bondage did not end there.

Chaudhry adds our cane farmers in particular continued to be subjugated to control and exploitation under the CSR system.

He says liberation for them did not come until 1970 when the Denning Award was implemented giving them recognition and equity as major participants in the sugar industry.

The former Prime Minister says in itself, the Girmit experience is not something one can celebrate or be proud of.

He further says on occasions such as this, we need to focus on the achievements of the Girmityas and pay tribute to the spirit, perseverance and endurance of our pioneering forefathers.

Chaudhry adds today as we observe 144 years of our domicile in Fiji, he prefers to look ahead to what the future holds for our people here.

He says we need to ask, have we finally achieved the recognition and acceptance that our forefathers worked so hard to gain.

Chaudhry says this is an honest and valid question considering the three coups specifically targeted against our community in 1987 and 2000.

He highlighted that they created a feeling of rejection and alienation that drove thousands of our citizens to settle overseas in search of a better and more secure future.

He further says it is true that Indians had begun moving out of Fiji in small numbers in the 1950s when many of them moved to the UK and then later in the 60s to Canada and the US adding this exodus, however, accelerated after the coups as Australia and New Zealand opened their doors.

Chaudhry adds we now have a significant Fiji-Indian diaspora which may be larger than our own numbers here where we constitute just one-third of the population.

He says it is more than likely that being a landless community, many of whom are trapped in poverty and struggling to survive, the outward migration will continue.

The Labour leaders says maintaining close ties with India is also very important as India has much to offer Fiji in terms of trade, technology and cultural exchange.

He also says despite the adversities of the past, we must remain focused on the future.

Chaudhry adds let us ensure our youngsters learn from the resilience and determination of our forefathers to succeed in building a bright future for themselves.