A Grace Road Church (GRC) member who ran away from the organisation last week is pleading with Government authorities to help her reunite with her young children who are still living at a farm operated by the church.
Speaking to The Fiji Times on condition of anonymity, the distraught mother of two claimed the church had separated her from her children and husband during the eight years she spent in Fiji. She said family time was not guaranteed as they would sometimes be allowed to visit their children only once a week, or after a lapse of many months.
“I came first with my son who at that time, was five years old. A couple of months later my husband came and we’ve been separated for like eight years.
“We’ve never lived together because they separate the families immediately once we get into Fiji.
“They told us that ‘you’re going to get separated and you’re going to work hard. You’re going to work long hours in fields and digging concrete, mixing concrete, you’re going to work hard. Are you ready for it?’
“We thought this is the work of God so yes, we can do this. What the newspapers are saying is true. It’s at least 12 hours (working), if not longer, and for seven days a week. We don’t get any days off.”
The concerned mother, who is a Korean American, claimed that things got worse after she gave birth to her second child — a daughter who’s now four years old.
She claimed she was only allowed to live with her daughter for a year before her daughter was given to the care of ‘aunties’ while she worked in various GRC companies.
The woman said her strained relationship with her family back home, limited access to technology and education for children, harsh living conditions sharing a room with eight to 12 other women, were reasons she finally decided to escape from the farm.
She said she did not want her children to spend their entire life working on these farms like “slaves”.
“I got to be with (my daughter) for one year, which is something not normal (in GRC),” she said.
“For most of the babies, their mothers leave after three months because they have to go work, either in the farm or in the stores. But for me, because I speak English, they let me be with her and all the other little babies in one house because I speak English.
“They wanted me to teach them English. They teach all our young ones English, and they are all bilingual. So, I got to be with her for one year. I only got to see her maybe once a week for like an hour before she goes to sleep, and I’ve had to endure this for three years.”
Contacted yesterday GRC spokesperson said she could not comment on the claims made and referred all queries to the woman’s husband.
Home Affairs Minister Pio Tikoduadua has called on police to investigate these claims and Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Crime Mesake Waqa has confirmed that an investigation was already under way.
