Page 26 - IB Sept-Oct 2020

Fiji@50

A VIEW FROM FIJI’S FUTURE

By Ernest Gibson often results in a multilingual sentence. Fiji is aunty that
walks from office to office with the best curry and roti parcel
In my family, October 10 marks the day that my grandpar- you’ve ever had. Fiji is momo that carts around mana with
ents started their life together. Some 61 years ago, on a little freshly squeezed miti, just in time for lunch.
island seemingly in the middle of nowhere, a young man and Fiji is also the family that struggles to put food on the A 21st Century University
woman made promises to love and support and care for each table. Fiji is the young girl that opens her books to study by
other, no matter what. the light of a kerosene lamp. Fiji is the school that still uses
In the years that followed, they brought life into this world, tarpaulins for classroom walls.
raised children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Fiji is pockets of workers that protest and strike against We are simply the best!
They opened their home to family and friends. They laughed, injustices.
they cried, they experienced joy and they experienced un- Fiji is the homeless man that wanders the streets, giving
imaginable pain. the occasional outburst of some colourful words. Fiji is the
Life happened. young lady that feels she needs to work twice as hard and
But the one thing they never did was do it alone. be twice as fierce as her male counterparts. Fiji is the youth
They raised children, who in-turn raised grandchildren to group awaiting to have their registration approved so they can
believe that this is the standard by which life is to be mea- work in their communities.
sured. Success, or however you want to call it, is to be mea- This and so much more is what constitutes Fiji.
sured in the moments we choose to hold each other up, to Our identity as a nation is not like some designer wardrobe –
support each other, to take responsibility for our own actions, we don’t get to pick and choose the parts we like and quickly
to unapologetically allow ourselves to experience the full roll up and shove the things we don’t, somewhere in the bot-
spectrum of human emotion, and it is tested in the moments tom corner. We must embrace all of who we are.
we choose solesolevaki over flying solo. This does not mean that we endorse and sensationalise the
Naturally, when I was asked to reflect on Fiji at 50, my bad parts, but that we acknowledge them as things we need
benchmark was pretty high. So, my dear reader, if you’re to change, together.
looking for a pretty story that focuses on the peaks and shies When we come together to celebrate our 50th Anniversary
away from the valleys, I’m afraid this maybe isn’t the one for as a nation, we must ask ourselves what it is we are
you, and I would advise that this is the point to do a full 180. celebrating, because there is a lot to celebrate. But at
In the time that Fiji has moved from being a British Colony the same time, we must also ask ourselves what we aren’t
to the Independent nation that we are today, generations of celebrating, because this is tough-stuff. These will be the
Fijians have been born, raised and others have aged grace- things that once the food coma, the grog doped-ness and the
fully. Lives have been transformed (for better or for worse), aching ankles from dancing to some classics have all worn off,
families have grown, cultures have intermingled, homes have will be lingering.
been destroyed and rebuilt: suffice to say that fabric of Fijian
society has morphed, and continues to. editor@islandsbusiness.com
This is Fiji.
Fiji is every bula smile that we see on the roads. Fiji is the Ernest Gibson is a USP Gold Medallist and a member of the
market the vendor tells you how beautiful their produce is UN Secretary General’s Youth Advisory Group on Climate
and encourages you to just ‘buy that extra plate.’ Fiji is the Change.
melting pot of iTaukei, Hindi and English speakers that very

International School Suva

World Class Citizen - Life Long Learner APPLY NOW Physical and Virtual

fftititifftititititititi titititititi titititi titi titi tititititititititititi tititititititititititititi titititititi tifftifftitiff tititi fftititifftititititititi titititititititifftitititi titifffftitititititi titiff titititititititi tifftiti Classrooms
ti titi titi tititiffti titititi
tititititititi titi titi tifffftititititi ti titititititi tititiff titi titiff titititititititiff tititititititititi tititi tititi titiff titititifftititititititititi fftititifftititititi tifftifffftititititi tititifftiti fftifftiti titiffti
titi tititititi tititititi tititiff titi tititititititititititi tiffti fftitifftititititititi titi titiff tititititititi tititi tititiff titititititititititi titititi titititititi tititititititiffti titititi titititititiffti tititititifftiti
You can study on campus or from
fftiti titititi titi tititititititi ti tititititititiff titititi titi tititifftititiffti tititititititititi tititititifftitiff tititi tifftititititi titititititiffti tititi tiffti tititititititititi titi fftititititi titititititi tititi fftitititi titi
titifftiffti titi tititi titititifiti tititi tititititititi the comfort of your home or
ff fftititifftititititititi titititititi titititi titi tititi tititititititiff tititititititititititi titiff tititi tititiff titititititi titi tititititi the convenience of your office.
email admissions@iss.school.fj | call +679 339 3300 | website www.iss.school.fj

26 Islands Business, September/October 2020