“Our forefathers may have come to Fiji on different ships, but we are all in the same ship now.”
This was the view expressed by the former leader of the Soqosoqo Vakamarama Lomaiviti Province and community leader Dr Cema Bolabola while speaking at a public lecture on the life of Ratu Sir Lala Sukuna, at the University of Fiji Samabula campus on Thursday.
“Our forefathers and foremothers, whether it be the Kaunitoni or HMS Prince Edward or the Leonidas or the Lomaiviti Princess, but we must remember, we are in the same boat now,” she said.
She also highlighted the term “three-legged stool”, coined by Ratu Sukuna to show the relationship between the three major ethnic groups.
“At the time, they were native land resource owners, the immigrant Indian population and the colonising Europeans.
“Ratu Sukuna made things to make sure that no one was left behind in his work at the time. I won’t go back to how the proverbial stool was treated but I tell you, there must have been a clash of cultures, when you have three groups coming together.”
She said the clash of cultures – or the clash of civilisations – was inevitable as three different groups of people (from Fiji, Europe and Asia) came together.
Thus, they were bound to clash over their roles and their perception of each other.
Dr Bolabola said Fiji was no longer a three-legged, but rather a multi-legged stool which represented many ethnic groups that lived together.
“We should commemorate Ratu Sukuna for being a visionary leader and a statesman. I always think that he was ahead of his time, well he actually worked on making sure that everyone worked equally at the time.
“He advocated for and championed the protection and the rights and interest of resource owners and at the same time, providing opportunities for others to become Fijian citizens and have access to or use these resources. He made sure that no one was left behind.”
She also stated that in today’s modern Fiji, the civil society, churches, other religious bodies and the media, had a hand in building society and it was important to support them.
