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Anit Singh OPPOSITION WHIP Ratu Isoa Tikoca would do well to include in his list of human rights abused victims those who took refuge (from violence) at the Girmit Center in Lautoka, from June 2000 to Nov 2001.
These were the Indo-Fijian victim families (55 families, 355 humans, children and elderly included) of rural villages of the Naitasiri Province, Fiji, subjected to some extreme and severe human rights abuse. Victims of racist and hate inspired violence, beatings, looting's committed by the thugs –rebels who backed Laisenia Qarase's Interim Government (IG) and later members of the SDL party.
These are the very victims whose promised (by the present President Rau Epeli Nailatikau) compensation money was used for the “agriculture scam” for the ‘vote buying’ purposes by a racist Qarase led SDL. The plight of these victims was ignored by the SDL for 6 long years and then Bai/Kai for 8 more years. The very victims who’s “Girmit Heritage Party”, which was later named ‘Fiji First Party’ was STOLEN by Bainimarama and Aiyaz.
These victims- who suffered like thus:
“This time, however, the ‘attacks’ were more merciless and violent. Also more ‘rebels’ were involved, armed with cane-knives and crowbars. There were forcefully breaking and entering houses. The victims; farming families with children and elderly, had no choice than to flee from their homes - left to be ransacked at will by the thugs. Anyone who resisted was beaten-up. At times there were simultaneous attacks on three or four houses. Some ‘rebels’ rode a red ‘Twin-Cab Toyota 4X4’ which was loaded with all the ‘loot’. Three houses were also razed in fire on this night.
The women, often with tears, described to me the state of their houses when they went back -when things went quiet again. Every drawer, boxes and bags, in every room were rummaged through and valuables; jewelry, money, clocks, camera, radios, ornaments, music and video tapes, batteries, cooking utensils, cooking oil and gallons of kerosene– stolen. Stolen also from outside tool-sheds were the farming implements; forks, spades, knifes, files, spray pumps, hose-pipes, water-pumps, electric generators and yaqona, cigarettes and liquor.
The worst were the damages the thugs had left behind; some recalled their beddings, pillows and mattresses were ripped and torn, so were their curtains, any ornaments not stolen were broken.
One woman showed me a framed black & white photo of her deceased parents which was damaged by being ‘crow-bared’ in the middle. The partitioning walls were also often damaged by hammers or crow-bars. In many kitchens, glassware, chinaware, porcelain plates were senselessly smashed and thrown about the floor together with flour, rice, dhal and spices and bottles of achaar (pickles) – all messed-up and stepped on.
The children who spoke, mostly mentioned, their injured pet dogs with names like ‘ranger / rover / and doggy’.
Two days later, a truckload of Fijian youths arrived accompanied by a police carrier van and helped them-selves to harvest at random farmed produce; ‘tero’, bele, tomatoes, paw-paws, bananas from around the farms in the village. A few farm animals (bulls / calves) were savagely slaughtered, on their farms, in broad daylight, and loaded into “police” vehicles and taken away. The Police and the thugs seemed one and the same.
Fear was written on the faces of people - intense, real and spine-chilling fear. A group of families, with children and elderly, fearing random repeat attacks started taking shelter in bushes, at nights, not far from their homes.…”
[Extracts: Anit Singh - Report to Fiji Human Rights Commission – The Reason for Fiji’s First “Refugee Camp” June 2000].
These were the Indo-Fijian victim families (55 families, 355 humans, children and elderly included) of rural villages of the Naitasiri Province, Fiji, subjected to some extreme and severe human rights abuse. Victims of racist and hate inspired violence, beatings, looting's committed by the thugs –rebels who backed Laisenia Qarase's Interim Government (IG) and later members of the SDL party.
These are the very victims whose promised (by the present President Rau Epeli Nailatikau) compensation money was used for the “agriculture scam” for the ‘vote buying’ purposes by a racist Qarase led SDL. The plight of these victims was ignored by the SDL for 6 long years and then Bai/Kai for 8 more years. The very victims who’s “Girmit Heritage Party”, which was later named ‘Fiji First Party’ was STOLEN by Bainimarama and Aiyaz.
These victims- who suffered like thus:
“This time, however, the ‘attacks’ were more merciless and violent. Also more ‘rebels’ were involved, armed with cane-knives and crowbars. There were forcefully breaking and entering houses. The victims; farming families with children and elderly, had no choice than to flee from their homes - left to be ransacked at will by the thugs. Anyone who resisted was beaten-up. At times there were simultaneous attacks on three or four houses. Some ‘rebels’ rode a red ‘Twin-Cab Toyota 4X4’ which was loaded with all the ‘loot’. Three houses were also razed in fire on this night.
The women, often with tears, described to me the state of their houses when they went back -when things went quiet again. Every drawer, boxes and bags, in every room were rummaged through and valuables; jewelry, money, clocks, camera, radios, ornaments, music and video tapes, batteries, cooking utensils, cooking oil and gallons of kerosene– stolen. Stolen also from outside tool-sheds were the farming implements; forks, spades, knifes, files, spray pumps, hose-pipes, water-pumps, electric generators and yaqona, cigarettes and liquor.
The worst were the damages the thugs had left behind; some recalled their beddings, pillows and mattresses were ripped and torn, so were their curtains, any ornaments not stolen were broken.
One woman showed me a framed black & white photo of her deceased parents which was damaged by being ‘crow-bared’ in the middle. The partitioning walls were also often damaged by hammers or crow-bars. In many kitchens, glassware, chinaware, porcelain plates were senselessly smashed and thrown about the floor together with flour, rice, dhal and spices and bottles of achaar (pickles) – all messed-up and stepped on.
The children who spoke, mostly mentioned, their injured pet dogs with names like ‘ranger / rover / and doggy’.
Two days later, a truckload of Fijian youths arrived accompanied by a police carrier van and helped them-selves to harvest at random farmed produce; ‘tero’, bele, tomatoes, paw-paws, bananas from around the farms in the village. A few farm animals (bulls / calves) were savagely slaughtered, on their farms, in broad daylight, and loaded into “police” vehicles and taken away. The Police and the thugs seemed one and the same.
Fear was written on the faces of people - intense, real and spine-chilling fear. A group of families, with children and elderly, fearing random repeat attacks started taking shelter in bushes, at nights, not far from their homes.…”
[Extracts: Anit Singh - Report to Fiji Human Rights Commission – The Reason for Fiji’s First “Refugee Camp” June 2000].
Indo-Fijian victims must not give up the fight for compensation, they have been abused and used by coupists, beginning with Rabuka's 1987 coups; the march for JUSTICE must be fought on all fronts:
MARCHING FOR JUSTICE AGAINST RABUKA'S 1987 COUPS IN LONDON: Victor Lal (right) and gun runner Mohammed Rafique Kahan (left); Kahan had escaped extradition to Fiji after shipping tons of weapons to overthrow the Rabuka government. Lal was forced to seek political asylum after being implicated with Kahan. There is, we say, no easy walk to freedom from tyranny and oppression
