At 35 years old, Henry Peter, the name my father was called, faced the end of his long battle with intestinal cancer.
It was a disease that ran in the family and had killed his brother and three sisters.
He lay motionless in bed, perhaps with a montage of excerpts from his life’s story flashing before his pair of pallid eyes.
His loving wife and children stood by his side.
It was his dying wish to be buried back on Qamea Island, where he was brought up as a child and where his mother, Savai, had buried his umbilical cord under a coconut tree, with the hope that he would remain connected to the land.
Suva was not where he wanted to enjoy his eternal sleep.
The city was only a place to work and search for better opportunities, not to die.
He wanted to rest by the beach, under swaying palm trees and near his favourite sibling.
A few days after Father’s Day in 1984, dad bid this earth goodbye.
He was buried according to his final wishes and with dignity that he so rightfully deserved.
Whether you like it or not, everyone has already or will one day be faced with the tragedy of having to bury a parent or both.
This is a sad reality of life.
Therefore, fulfilling a loved one’s dying wish is a symbolic way of paying one’s respects or making up for lost time and a wrong committed.
It is more an honour than a duty.
As absurd as the wishes may turn out to be, honouring the deceased simply means following instructions.
The task is not to ask why because the motive of the dead is just theirs and theirs alone.
Sometimes a dying wish may be to get cremated instead of going six foot under, or to talk about a family heirloom that must be kept and passed on or to donate a kidney or eye to someone needing organ donation.
Sometimes death is sudden and hurtful — no time to say goodbye, no time to get closure, no time to say “I’m sorry” and no time to say “I love you”.
Other times death is a gradual decline, just like my father’s slow but sure demise in the 1980s.
Loved ones may have the capacity and time to reflect on life, confront their spirituality and make amends with their maker.
Spiritual wishes come from a very personal and enlightened level.
They should be respected.
A few months ago, a son of Fiji was dying and his wish was to return home to where he was born.
He was Professor Brij Vilash Lal, a harsh critic of PM Bainimarama’s government.
Professor Lal had strongly condemned the political overthrow that deposed prime minister Laisenia Qarase’s government back in December 2006.
He was later indefinitely banned from returning to Fiji in accordance with the Immigration Act because his actions were considered “prejudicial to the peace, defence, public safety, public order and security of Government of Fiji”.
He was officially informed of his exile twice in 2015, to which he said the government’s decision was ludicrous and vindictive.
Following his death in December last year, fresh attempts were made this year to bring Prof Lal’s ashes over to Fiji to fulfil his last wishes of returning to the sugarcane fields of his beloved Tabia, a few kilometres outside Labasa in Macuata.
Government’s persistent refusal to accept Prof Lal back, even after his death, has continued to spark public debate and political uproar.
Whether our leaders will grant Tabia’s most famous son his dying wish remains to be seen.
Allowing his ash and family to come home would be entirely government’s prerogative.
Talking about a dying man’s wishes, the Christian Bible teaches that over two thousand years ago, a man called Jesus did the impossible — he rose from the dead.
Hence, Christians call today Easter Sunday.
Jesus, a leader in his own right, temporarily gave up his divine status by volunteering to be born and to finally die a human.
He forfeited his place in the royal courts of heaven to live among mankind.
It was through his death and the shedding of his precious blood that he redeemed the human race, a race that had severed its connection with its creator when sin entered the world at the Garden of Eden.
Like my dad and Professor Lal, Jesus had a dying wish, or rather wishes.
He wished that one day humans bought through His blood would be together with Him in his eternal kingdom.
This kingdom would be one without billion dollar debts, no poor service delivery and no corruption.
He also wished humans would learn from the last few words he uttered as he hung from the cross on Mt Calvary.
When he said “forgive them father” as Roman soldiers did their best to torture him, he had actually wanted humankind to forgive their enemies and those that commit wrong against them.
A place where there is no forgiveness is a place where there is no tolerance, respect and peace.
It is a place where anger, bitterness and animosity persist and prevail.
When he said “woman, behold your son” and “John, behold your mother” he wanted to teach the importance of taking care of each other and the place of family in society.
Furthermore, he wanted to demonstrate that the family should be a place where love reigns.
While Jesus’ death on the cross was necessary to salvage the human race, on the other hand, it demonstrated how the political power that existed during his time was used to cause pain, torture and death.
Today these are called human rights abuses.
Politics was at the centre of the story of Jesus.
His treatment by Jewish leader, his unfair trial and ultimately his crucifixion were influenced by politics.
His life ended by political execution.
Eventually, Jesus’ resurrection, which saw the victory of good over evil, suggested that the values of nonviolence, tolerance and goodwill would always overcome oppression, abuse and vindictiveness.
Jesus’ leadership contrasted with the brand of decision-making and political leadership in place when he was alive.
The true meaning of Easter, not the falsehoods promoted by Easter bunnies and eggs, teaches one to stand up for the truth, for what is right, for justice and fairness, and for compassionate leadership.
It also requires the search and demand for a world of justice, a society where everybody has the basics to live dignified lives and a community of peace and goodwill.
Until we meet on this same page same time next week, stay blessed, stay healthy and stay safe!
Happy Easter!
