MAJORITY of the Buksh family may have migrated abroad, but their love for Fiji will always bring them back home.
A sixth generation of the family, Azeem Buksh, 16, was in the country yesterday with his grandfather Rocky Ali Buksh, the CEO and publisher of The US Fiji Times, and other family members for a short visit.
It was an important moment for the family, who once had a huge property at the Damodar City Centre in Suva.
Mr Buksh, 62, said they still had fond memories of the place where hundreds of cousins, all descendants of the Buksh family, used to live and engage in family business.
The family is still very much closely linked to Fiji because they still have properties in some places in Suva which they believe would be for their younger generations.
“I want all my generation and families born in the US to know Fiji and to know there is a special place Fiji in their heart,” Mr Buksh said.
“My grandfather came here to Fiji from India in 1901.
“When we used to be here, we used to have big trucks here and we had everything, my grandfather bought this land for rice farm and he ended up in dairy and goat farming….we even had the Lateefs Store situated at where Cost U Less is now.
“We also used to have the Civic Taxis and Civic Football Club which is still very much a lively football club in the Suva district.”
While it may be hard for the family to track down families back in India, Mr Buksh, who left Fiji for the US in 1979 said he did not want this to happen to his younger Buksh generation and it was important for them to understand Fiji would remain a special place in their heart.
He is also the owner of The US Fiji Times, a monthly newspaper which operates in the US and have copies distributed to about six US continents including New Zealand and Australia.
