After 36 years, Yavusa Munia in Vanuabalavu received their original freehold title to their 1,110-hectare ancestral land.
The ceremony was officiated by the Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka.
The sound of drums echoed across Avea Island in Vanuabalavu in Lau as members of the Yavusa Munia gathered to celebrate this historic occasion.
Speaking on behalf of the villagers, 70-year-old Etuate Uni says today’s celebrations will certainly go down in history as their forefathers endured some of the hardest times when they were forced to leave Munia.
Uni says it was a painful chapter in their history.
He adds that what they are witnessing today is the reality of what their forefathers dreamed and worked so hard for.
He says this is proof that their struggles were not in vain.
He expressed gratitude to everyone who played a part in making this milestone possible, including the government and the late former Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase, whose vision and initiative to help buy back our land gave their people renewed hope for the future.
While speaking during the ceremony, Prime Minister Rabuka called on the members of the yavusa to embrace this new chapter and utilise their land well. Rabuka says the return of the island represented more than the restoration of ownership, but the return of identity, hope and responsibility.
He also congratuled Yavusa Munia for fulfilling its obligations under the Government's Freehold Land Buyback Scheme.
Rabuka encouraged the landowners to develop the land into a source of sustainable and productive investment for future generations.
He also urged them to safeguard the island's environment, saying economic development and environmental protection must go hand in hand.ated the Yavusa Munia for fulfilling their obligations under the Government’s Freehold Land Buyback Scheme.
He also took the opportunity to encourage landowners to turn the land into a source of sustainable and productive investment for their future generations.
Rabuka urged the landowners to safeguard the island’s environment, saying economic development and environmental protection must go hand in hand.
