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Opinion Pacific rugby Expolited islanders: P29
Aviation Fleet review: P32

SPORTS OPINION

From colonialism to democracy, coups and a fight for the Earth

Winds

of

change

By Archbishop
Peter Loy Chong

I WAS born when Fiji was under colonial
rule on January 30th 1961; nine years
before Fiji gained her independence from
Great Britain.
During the years leading up to her inde-
pendence Fiji experienced an atmosphere
of racial mistrust between iTaukei’s and
Indo-Fijians. Soldiers stand guard during Voreqe Bainimarama’s 2006 coup in Suva. Today, he leads Fiji and the world in the
I recall my childhood days walking in fight against climate change at COP23 in Germany(Inset). Photos: File.
the night either to church or the store and Egyptian protectorate. In 13th Century BC had little to say or saw nothing wrong
we would jump off the road and hide in Moses leads Israel from Egyptian domina- against colonial rule although there were
the grass at the sound of an on-coming tion and oppression and established the occasional protests against abuses and
vehicle. Kingdom of Israel in 1020 BC. In the year gross injustices. The Church made little
At that time Indo-Fijians owned most 931 BC Israel was divided in two, Israel attempt to challenge the policies of the
vehicles. Our folks told us that Indo- the northern kingdom with ten tribes imperial powers. The Church like its
Fijians would readily use knives to attack and Judah the southern kingdom with contemporaries thought that colonial-
people. Despite the racial mistrust and two tribes. Between 722-720 BC Assyria ism was there to stay. Church theology
prejudices between the iTaukei and Indo- (today’s Iran, Iraq and Turkey) conquered justified colonialism as the civilisation of
Fijians they shared a common historical Israel while in 586 BC Babylon (north peoples and discovery of new lands and
reality, namely British colonialism. Iraq) conquered Judah. It was during the resources for human use. Church leaders
Fiji Independence Day celebrates our time of Israel and Judah’s conquest that like Pope Piux XI failed to support the
nation’s history, hope and commitment. most of prophetic writings of the Old Tes- struggles of the native-colonised peoples
Internationally influential Roman Catholic tament were written. The prophets spoke who were fighting against domination
Biblical scholar Raymond Brown states against the injustices of the time. and oppression.
that God writes on the crooked lines of The Roman Empire (63 BC-313AD) Archbishop Desmond Tutu illustrates
human history. Theologians now con- conquered Jerusalem in 63 BC and hence well the colonial-Christian campaign.
sensually agree that there is only one Israel became a Roman colony. Scripture He said, “When the missionaries came
history of salvation and it takes place in scholars argue the patron-client relation- to Africa they had the Bible and we had
human history. This perspective opposes ship between Romans and Jews under the land. They said ‘Let us pray.’ We
the former dualistic view that there is a Roman colonial rule set the social and closed our eyes. When we opened them
human history separate from salvation historical context of the New Testament we had the Bible and they had the land.”
history. Fiji Independence Day is therefore writings. Church leaders and European theologians
is time to reflect on how God is working during the colonial era did not seem to
and speaking to us in the Fijian history. European colonial expansion and realise that the liberation struggles of the
Christianity (1450-1950) colonised peoples would soon come to the
Colonialism in the Bible The era between 1450-1950 marked centre of the world’s stage.
Colonialism forms much of the socio- the 500 years of European colonial expan-
political and historical context of the Bibli- sion. The Church’s missionary movement Fijian colonial history
cal writings. In the 17th Century BC Israel accompanied European colonialism. The Fiji became a British colony in 1874.
migrated to Egypt where she became an Church in the 19th and early 20th of- Unlike most colonised nations Fiji was
ten sided with the colonial powers and not colonised by conquest. Instead our

26 Islands Business, November 2017