PM BAINIMARAMA VISITS FAMILY OF GIRMITYA DESCENDANTS IN WAINIBOKASI

14/05/2020

Today, as we commemorate the 141st anniversary of the arrival of the Girmitiyas into the country, a family celebrated this special day with the Prime Minister, Honourable Josaia Voreqe Bainimarama at their home in Nakomoco Settlement in Wainibokasi.
 
Mr Ram Rup Lal and his wife Saraswati Lal, both 76-years old, could not contain their excitement when the Head of Government took time out to visit them this afternoon to hear their ancestral stories and life experiences of some seven decades ago.
 
The couple, who have two daughters and a son, were among the majority of the Fijians of Indian descent who are direct descendants of the Girmitiyas in Fiji.
 
For Mr Lal, his grandfather came in a ship called Arno in 1904 from Gonda District in India.
 
Mr Lal’s grandfather was nine-years old at that time and was accompanied by his uncle to Fiji and they came to work as cane labourers.
 
Some years ago, Mr Lal had the opportunity to visit his grandfather’s birthplace in Gonda District. In an effort to learn more about his family roots and culture, he spent five weeks in India.
 
For Mrs Lal, her father arrived in Fiji when he was only two-years old. He came with his mother who found a safe haven in Girmit due to domestic violence she faced in the family.
Mrs. Lal’s grandmother was from Pachaiya, India.
 
The couple told the Prime Minister that in remembering their ancestors, some treasured ornaments and household items brought by the Girmitiyas are still safely kept by them.
 
They added that only a few of the second and third-generation Girmitiyas are still alive in Fiji and being among the few was a blessing for them.
 
They sincerely thanked the Prime Minister for taking time out from his very busy schedules to visit them- an exemplary act that demonstrated how Prime Minister Bainimarama valued the sacrifices and commitment of the Girmitiyas to Fiji’s economy.
 
Prime Minister Bainimarama said each year, on this day, it’s important for us to pause to think about the gruelling trials the Girmitiyas endured, and also to recognise the sense of hope that got them through their suffering.
 
“They were able to find refuge,  and a sense of a better future. By chasing that light and realising that they could find refuge even in the most trying of times - they helped pave the way for the Fiji we know today,” he said.
 
“Girmitiyas supplied much of the hard labour it took to build Fiji’s early colonial economy - toiling in cane fields, building roads and laying the foundation of many of the towns and cities we live in today”
 
“But one of their greatest legacies was borne from the value they placed in education as the ultimate tool for change. Please, honour their legacy by remembering their struggles.”
 
History of the Girmitiyas
 
•  Today, the 14th of May, marks 141 years since the first ship of indentured labourers landed in Fiji from British India.
•  In the four decades that followed, over 60,000 more labourers – who we know as Girmitiyas – would make that same journey.
•  The Girmitiyas were required to work in Fiji for a certain period of time under contractual agreements and after five years of Girmit, they were free to return to India at their own expense.
•  While 40 per cent of the Girmitiyas returned to India, those who stayed did so as they had established new kinship ties, and enhanced economic and social opportunities, to name a few.
 
•  Most of the Girmitiyas settled on the lands as farmers and through hard work and sacrifice, they progressed further in life.