A replica of the Leonidas, the first ship to bring indentured labourers to Fiji will be unveiled today as the University of Fiji commemorates Girmit Day.
UniFiji Department of Language, Literature, and Communication head Dr Kamala Naicker says the replica will be 2 metres long, about 700 to 800 centimetres wide and about 1.3
metres high.
While speaking to fijivillage News, Dr Naicker says about 498 people departed Calcutta on the Leonidas on the 3rd of March and arrived in Levuka on the 14th of May.
She says by the time they arrived, the number decreased to 463 because of smallpox and cholera and whoever died were thrown out of the ship.
Dr Naicker says because of illness on the ship and fears of a wider outbreak, especially after a recent measles epidemic that had killed around 40,000 people in Fiji, the medical officer prevented landing at Levuka.
She says instead, a temporary rehabilitation centre was set up on a reef outside Levuka to treat passengers, although it could only accommodate a small number of people.
The academic says Leonidas made many voyages to Fiji, and more than 60,000 people were brought to Fiji on Leonidas and other ships to work on sugar farms.
She says Girmit is not part of the school curriculum, so many young people grow up unaware of its history unless it is commemorated during observances.
The head of school stresses the importance of including cultural elements like songs in these events, as they reflect the struggles of indentured labourers.
She say the Girmitiyas were misled about Fiji, faced harsh living and working conditions, overcrowded and unhygienic housing, food rationing, and extreme hardship on arrival.
Dr Naicker says many were forced into gruelling early morning labour, and some even took their own lives due to the suffering they endured.
INSERT: Dr Naicker on remembering 13 may
HINDI INSERT: HINDI Dr Naicker on struggles 13 may
UniFiji will be commemorating Girmit Day at their Saweni Campus today where they will unveil the replica of the Leonidas.
