INTOLERANCE

Perhaps the most disappointing aspect of Suva has been the widespread racism throughout the city. In order to understand the racial tensions of Fiji, it necessary to know a bit of the nation’s history: about 40% of Fijian’s population is of Indian decent. The strong Indian diaspora throughout Fiji is actually a result of the American Civil War: in the mid-19^th century, because of the ongoing war, the States stopped producing cotton.

Several British entrepreneurs began to expand Fiji’s cotton industry by employing Indian indentured servants on ten- or fifteen-year work contracts. At the end of these contracts, many of the Indians chose to stay on Fiji, rather than return to India. By staying on Fiji, the Hindu Indians were able to abandon the discriminatory caste system. Although there are no definitive statistics, it can be assumed that many of the Indians that came to Fiji were of the lower or untouchable castes. (What incentive would a Brahmin have to leave India, and lose his high social standing?)

In regards to my research, this history is of great interest: in India, a lower caste Hindu could never be a musician commissioned by a temple. From a traditionalist perspective, if a dalit (untouchable) is spiritually impure and “polluted,” how could that individual perform religious, sacredly pure music? So it should be interesting to see if any Hindu Indo-Fijian musicians know anything about their family’s former standing in the caste system.

Returning back to the subject matter, in the past 48 hours, I have had three encounters with indigenous Fijians telling me never to buy from the Indian or Chinese (they are a very small minority) shops; that these groups are denying the prosperity of the indigenous Fijians. One man showed me his credentials – he was a member of the city council!!! I guess racism and politics have gone hand-in-hand for some time now.

It is kind of crazy how intolerant the indigenous Fijians can be: the Indo-Fijians are full citizens, were born in Fiji, and in the vast majority of cases, have never even been to India. In all honesty, I do understand the frustration of the indigenous Fijians: there is poverty throughout the city, and, at times, it does appear that Indians run the majority of the shops. Nevertheless, according to government statistics I have read, actually the unemployment rate is higher amongst Indo-Fijians than indigenous Fijians. Furthermore, compared to any other indigenous group, the indigenous Fijians have it pretty good: indigenous Fijians own 83% of all of the land. What percentage of American land do Native Americans own? Maybe 0.0005%? What percentage of land do the Incans hold? In comparison to other indigenous groups, the indigenous Fijians situation is not as severe.

(An ongoing political issue is that many Indo-Fijians are living on indigenous Fijian owned land, that was leased on 99-year contracts that were signed about 95 years ago or more. Already, many Indo-Fijians are being kicked off these lands, giving them no place to go).

As you can read, the level of intolerance by the indigenous Fijians is completely unacceptable to me. As a result of recent coups (there have been a handful since 1987), Indo-Fijians are not permitted to be elected as Prime Minister. How can a country call itself a democracy if there is legal discrimination against an individual from one ethnic/religious group from ever being elected as PM?

Before my arrival to Fiji, I was aware of this religious/cultural dynamic. In my cab ride from the airport to the city, I asked Jitan about such tensions, and he said that they are present in Suva, but elsewhere it is not a serious issue. When I asked if he had any indigenous Fijian friends, he said, “Of course! Hindus and Fijians live like this [he put his index finger together with his middle finger] in my town.” Jitan lives in Levuka (the country’s original capital), which is on a tiny island named Ovalau about four hours (by boat) from Suva.

Yet, although it is obviously upsetting to see a resistance to multiculturalism, I have met one man – a taxi driver named Sai – would lamented to me that the discrimination of the indigenous Fijians has hurt the country more than it has helped. Sai, who is an indigenous Fijian, said that both tourism and international economic aid are down because of the political instability. (It should be noted that there was a non-violent coup this past December. Further, the country is very safe, but the politics are quite volatile these days). Sai said he has no problem with Indians, and essentially the indigenous Fijians can’t blame their struggles on the success of others. It was very refreshing to hear an indigenous Fijian declare that he too was tired to the rampant racism throughout the city, and government.

This fellowship permits me to learn, in-depth and through a first-hand account, of two my great passions, music and religious studies. Nevertheless, I have already realized that throughout this year, I will be learning much, much more than the subject of religious studies in ethnomusicology. From conversing with the locals, I already have gained a broad sense of understanding the dynamic of Fijian daily life. It is extremely interesting to learn about all the cultural intricacies and political struggles, in addition to the more light-hearted musical culture.

-JBH