Today is an important date in Fiji’s history.
It’s when we look back into the annals of history that we realise its importance, and the value and appreciation we must have for many people who had a hand in how our young nation was nurtured over the years.
It is important to know and learn about the hisÂtory of Girmitiya.
Over the years, historians and experts have documented their arrival.
They have discussed, raised, and touched on the sacrifices, their suffering, the lives of the girmitiya, and the circumstances they lived under.
History tells us of a period of great sacrifice, hardship, and how an industry grew to become an integral part of our economy.
Girmit Day should give us an insight into the lives of the girmitiya, their background, history and the context and reasons for them coming to Fiji.
When Fiji was ceded to Great Britain, and we became a Crown colony on October 10, 1874, finding labour to sustain our economy was a massive challenge.
Over the years, far removed from the hardship, and backbreaking work, we can now look back, and acknowledge the work and contribution of the girmitiya, and their effort to boost our economy.
Sometimes we need a jolt to appreciate the importance of history, and what it means to us as a nation.
Today should be about reflection. It should be about appreciating the role history has in shaping our future.
We live in a country that was shaped through hard work, through blood, sweat and tears. Tightly woven in there is the history of our girmitiya.
It was on May 14, 1879 that the first group of indentured labourers arrived from India.
Without a doubt we have grown as a nation, and we must be appreciative of the place of the girmitiya in our history.
We will never be able to truly appreciate the sense of uncertainty, frustration, fear and shock the first lot of indentured labourers had when they sailed away from their motherland.
They were headed for a new beginning. Life would have been very different from what they were accustomed to back home.
They had the weather to contend with, food, and an environment they weren’t familiar with. But they survived, and adapted to the new life they were forced to live.
We acknowledge their sacrifice, hard work, and contribution.
History can reinforce our appreciation of who we are as a people, and as a nation.
The girmit era should invoke in us a sense of appreciation of the early years of our economic progress as a nation.
We remember the sacrifices made by every indentured labourer.
History teaches us values. Thousands of people had an impact on the birth of our nation.
Many of them left an indelible impression on our nation’s history.
We remember the girmitiya.
