Narsey- MIDA, kerosene and water flare up: "What about other racisms?"

7/4/2014

[The MIDA incident and the national discussion of “hate speech”, ethno-nationalism and the implied racism against Indo-Fijians, needs to be balanced by discussion of Indo-Fijian racism, which has been rarely discussed in public, yet is pertinent. This post has two parts: Part I Raising indigenous concerns is not necessarily racism; Part II: What of Indo-Fijian racism against Fijians? The third part follows in another post: Part III Internal Indo-Fijian racisms are also “a fact of life”.] Click HERE to read Wadan Narsey's commentary.

1 Comment

Queenie

7/4/2014 06:29:19 am

Wadan Narsey does not know the difference between 'racism' and 'prejudice'. USP's Sociology 101 is recommended.

Every ethnic group is likely to favour its own members and may look down on other ethnic groups. That is 'prejudice' which is common, though objectionable.

But 'racism' is a different concept. Racism is defined as 'prejudice' that is permitted, facilitated and implemented by the nation state where the government uses state power and control to transform human prejudice into state policy (eg apartheid in Sth Africa or Nazism in Germany). That is why after World War II the UN drafted its 'Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD)'. Fiji signed CERD and has to abide by its tenets. If prejudice is expressed by a dominant group that holds political power in the state - defined as either the traditional state (the chiefly system) or the modern state (parliamentary system)- that is 'racism' and unlawful. Vesikula and Kotobalavu are included in the 2nd category. These are are sentiments they held when they were officials in the Fijian state and implemented such policies; they obviously still think the same. They should have been prosecuted in the past and should be now. 'Hate speech' is prohibited by international law- defined as 'speech inciting hatred towards any minority group'. If anti-semitism can be seen as racist, so can anti-Indian speeches whether by Caucau or Vesikula. Vesikula's speech and MIDA's response should be seen for what they both are. There is no excuse for being ill-informed and under-educated about these things in election year.

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Narsey- MIDA, kerosene and water flare up: "What about other racisms?"

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