Fiji Girmit Council chairman Parveen Kumar said the remembrance of Girmit Day is a significant occasion in Fiji’s history that should be commemorated annually.
“Girmitiya and their descendants played a central role in developing the modern Fiji economy,” Mr Kumar said during the Girmit Remembrance Day celebration in Nadi.
“And contributing to the diverse cultural and social fabric for Fiji that we are all proud of and their contributions were not just restricted to farming.
“It is also significant that we in Fiji mark this event annually to ensure that the lives will live today has a concrete and lasting connection to our girmitiya past.”
Mr Kumar said the girmitiya had suffered a lot during the indentured labour system.
“They came under an agreement that they called ‘Girmit’, but it was unlike any agreement of labour that we find today.”
He said the girmitiya carried a rich history when they arrived in Fiji, 147 years ago.
