Natalie Raikadroka on fijivillage Straight Talk With Vijay Narayan

Our family broke down when I was about 1 year old, my family was deported from Australia back to Fiji.

Musician, lawyer, and survivor, Natalie Raikadroka highlighted this on fijivillage Straight Talk With Vijay Narayan as she spoke about her very violent upbringing while growing up around her father and mother, and she said she cannot speak about the real violent episodes in the house on the show.

Raikadroka says her father’s family was the first safety net for her and her brother as her father was always in and out of prison.

She says one of the most hardest things to survive while growing up without their biological parents.

Raikadroka says it was the feeling of abandonment, being left and unwanted, and she had a lot of anger.

The show went beyond the music and the stage lights.

From being deported as a toddler, living under a house and studying by candlelight, to facing abuse, judgement, and stigma – Raikadroka has walked through struggles that many in Fiji can relate to but she has also risen, with education, music, and sheer resilience, to carve out her own path.

I appreciate a bed and a loving home more now after sleeping on wooden pallets surrounded with a tarpaulin under a house in Lami when I was in Form 4.

Musician, lawyer, and survivor, Natalie Raikadroka revealed on fijivillage Straight Talk With Vijay Narayan as she spoke about the struggles while growing up, and finding things the hard way after making mistakes.

Raikadroka says after making the mistake, she was determined to continue to school even if it meant studying by candlelight under the house.

She had made up her mind that she needed to continue with her education rather than get involved with a boy and leave school.

Raikadroka also says her schoolmates at Suva Grammar School did not know she was living under a house that year.

From being deported as a toddler, living under a house and studying by candlelight, to facing abuse, judgement, and stigma – Raikadroka has walked through struggles that many in Fiji can relate to but she has also risen, with education, music, and sheer resilience, to carve out her own path.

You can watch the full show on our website, fijivillage.

Enduring physical and sexual abuse and violence was never easy when we moved as children from home to home.

Musician, lawyer, and survivor, Natalie Raikadroka revealed this on fijivillage Straight Talk With Vijay Narayan, saying she is not looking for pity or attention but we need to do a lot more as parents and as a society to deal with neglect and abuse.

Raikadroka says the adults in the house knew what was happening to her when she was a young girl.

Raikadroka says when you are 5 or 6 years old, you do not think much of this bad adult thing that happened to you.

She says growing up, you just pile it up with all the other bad things that happened to you.

Raikadroka says as you get older, you understand more.

She adds this has made her resilient.

From being deported as a toddler, to living under a house and studying by candlelight, to facing abuse, judgement, and stigma, Raikadroka has walked through many struggles but she has also risen, with education, music, and sheer resilience, to carve out her own path.