How about that? Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs Lenora Qereqetabua makes a strong point about people being reminded about their responsibility to dispose rubbish thoughtfully.
If you have enough money to buy recharge cards, alcohol, cigarettes and grog, then you can afford to buy a rubbish bin!
Her point is pretty straight forward! It touches the very heart of cleanliness, and sense of responsibility.
It takes us back to the need to care for the environment, and for our nation.
It touches on important factors such as taking ownership of protecting our environment and nurturing a line of thinking that accounts for the need to keep our nation clean.
Then there is the bit about having the decency and commitment to care. And for that we reflect on choices, and how much our environment means to us individually.
You can continue to spend money on things you have a right to have, and make choices you feel strongly about. Perhaps you could also reflect on the impact of the decisions you can make for the sake of the environment and whether that is something you’d be willing to commit to.
Ms Qereqeretabua made her remarks at the Pacific Recycling Foundation Roundtable Discussion for Global Recycling Day in Nadi yesterday.
“Again, I say, I do not know what has happened to our civic pride.
“Pride in our own street, in our own suburbs and our own cities.
“I am so sick of seeing piles of rubbish being photographed and published in the media. And I think we just really need to open our eyes and see that is the problem.”
The question is, as she puts it: What are we going to do about it?
We have been talking about this for so long!
The indiscriminate dumping of rubbish is like second nature now.
People are doing it and many of them have no care in the world about the impact that has on our environment.
It is frustrating.
Clearly there has to be some semblance of order somewhere. There has to be accountability and a willingness to do what is right.
Yet we just have to walk along the Suva Foreshore to realise just how bad this is.
There are bins provided along the way, yet people dump their rubbish wherever they are, with no care in the world.
Try kayaking into the Suva Harbour and you’ll see rubbish floating around you.
It’s a sad reflection of the people we have turned out to be.
Ms Qereqeretabua is spot on in her observation.
The onus though is on us to either embrace what she is telling us or continue damaging our environment. We can either take note of her message and take responsibility for our actions, or we can continue to neglect it! Now that’s our challenge!
