As Fiji celebrated the contributions of the Girmitiyas, the University of Fiji's Vice Chancellor, Professor Shaista Shameem is calling on the Australian and British governments to consider paying reparations for the exploitation and displacement of Indo-Fijians more than a century ago.
Speaking to the ABC, Professor Shameem says the celebration serves as a reminder of the ancestors who came from India, endured immense hardships, with thousands of families coerced by British authorities to migrate to Fiji between 1879 and 1916 to work as cheap labour on plantations that primarily served Australia's sugar industry.
She says work conditions were harsh, with long working hours, social restrictions and low wages.
Professor Shameem thinks it's time to talk about reparations, as that's the only thing that matters to people, because they suffered monetarily as well.
The Vice Chancellor further says that although the British government decided to initiate the indentured labour system, it was the Australian government and the Colonial Sugar Refinery of Australia that benefitted the most.
Professor Shameem in her message to the Australian government, says an apology must be accompanied by reparation and restitution.
[Source: ABC]
