Special games
The Fiji team to the Special Olympics in Dubai flew into Nadi Airport early Sunday morning with 17 medals from the Games and only a handful of people were there to greet them apart from their relatives and airport workers.
I believe there were no government officials and no special or VIP treatment to our special young people returning from the Special Olympics.
Now that they have returned with all the medals, I wonder whether the Government will reward the gold medal winners with brand new homes and cash incentives for silver and bronze medal winners.
Seru Rokosuka, Evans St, Waiyavi, Lautoka
Heroes return
I’m so thrilled and proud of our athletes who have just returned from the Special Olympics World Games in Dubai with 17 medals (seven gold, four silver and six bronze).
Fiji took a smaller contingent compared with NZ and Australia but we made a statement and I believe this medal haul is by far Fiji’s best and hence, the athletes and officials deserve credit for doing our country proud.
Mr Bishwa Sidal and his brigade will cherish the short time spent in Dubai but they have been great ambassadors and I thank Digicel and all the sponsors for assisting the team!
Vinaka vakalevu to the special athletes for their achievement!
Rajnesh Ishwar Lingam Nadawa, Nasinu
Congratulations in order
Hearty congratulations to our Special Olympics Fiji team for their historic outing and success at the World Games in Dubai.
To their credit, the team won seven gold, four silver and six bronze medals.
What a great achievement.
What an inspiration!
Well done and congratulations Team Fiji!
I also congratulate and thank the parents, guardians, supporters, the administrators and your sponsor Digicel for this great achievement.
Your smiles say it all.
You have made us so proud.
I wish you well in your preparations for the Asian games and the Special Olympics in 2023.
I hope that there will be some TV coverage of such events in the future.
Go for gold Fiji!
Kiniviliame Keteca, Nausori
Thank you
A big thank you to the Lautoka City Council (LCC) for organising a clean up after the rain.
It will surely have an impact on mosquito population since most residents have cleaned up the rubbish and placed them beside the road for easy pick-up.
Once the rubbish is picked up, can the Ministry of Health please spray the area since the mosquito population has increased after the rain.
LCC has done its part so now can the Health Ministry do its part.
Dengue fever has claimed some lives before and I am sure the Health Ministry can help so no lives are lost through mosquito-borne diseases this year.
Narayan Reddy, President – Lautoka Residents and Ratepayers Association
Valuable exposure
Hats off to our Bula Boys for beating international sides and maintaining a winning record during the international friendlies.
While the Bula Boys did not concede any goal, they scored four (Drudru, Rusi and Roy).
After playing New Caledonia and Mauritius, our boys gained valuable exposure and I hope that Fiji Football Association will arrange more quality teams to play the national side.
On the other hand, the national soccer league kicks off this weekend while the “Men in Black” prepare for their O-League campaign.
It was a successful outing for our boys and for Fiji soccer as we made a clean sweep of the Three-Nations championship!
Rajnesh Ishwar Lingam, Nadawa, Nasinu
Good one
Congratulations to team Fiji for beating Mauritius in the friendly international.
I hope this is a sign of better things to come for Fiji soccer.
Good one boys.
Allen Lockington, Kava Place, Waiyavi, Lautoka
Improving soccer
Under the professional guidance of Christophe Gamel, the national soccer team has made tremendous improvements.
The national team has started playing regular international matches.
This has seen the world ranking getting better.
In the recent friendlies, Fiji was able to beat two teams which have higher rankings.
Despite this, Fiji still needs to improve in key areas.
In the two matches, Fiji’s midfield was lethargic.
They were not able to distribute possession and create goal scoring opportunities.
The team was relying on long passes from the central defence.
The team made very few quality crosses into the box.
When it did manage, the opponents heavily outnumbered the Fiji players.
The players will need to work on receiving passes under pressure.
Fiji lost a lot of possession because players failed to keep the ball close to them.
I sincerely hope that regular international matches continue and the world ranking gets better.
Mohammed Imraz Janif, Natabua, Lautoka
Road issue
I use Yasiyasi Rd in Nadera almost every day and I feel it is high time that we have a traffic light at the junction of Ratu Dovi Rd.
If you see the number of vehicles turning into Yasiyasi Rd or coming into Ratu Dovi Rd, it will tell you that any time an accident can happen and I have seen so many near misses.
I would request the Fiji Roads Authority to have a look at this junction in the mornings and that will give them a clear picture of what I am trying to say.
If the traffic light is not possible then I would suggest to have a roundabout to ease the traffic flow.
Hope this matter is looked into and action taken for the travelling public.
Nardeo Mishra, Suva
Oncology challenge
When the common Fijian presents late for healthcare we cannot blame the individual, community or civil society.
Í believe failure of such is a healthcare and education systems failure.
How is it that we have such huge amounts of health literature around yet people fail to respond to the information overload?
Why is Fiji the diabetes and cancer complication capital in the global arena?
Why is our educational literacy 99 per cent without any formal appraisal of four years of classroom attendance?
When was our health literacy scrutinised and targets reset?
Why do we still have no non-communicable health policy yet 80 per cent die of such causes?
I believe naive politicians should do their research before opening their mouth, to ridicule blaming the public for system failures.
Neil Sharma, Suva
Anning’s statement
Fraser Anning’s official statement where he so blatantly held the vast migration of Muslims accountable for the massacre in Christchurch is a stark reminder of the grim realities that a misguided ideology can bring about.
Almost all of the Christchurch victims went to New Zealand in their search for a better, peaceful life.
To hold that against them is deplorable.
Last week, I watched in awe as countries all over the world paid touching tributes to the victims of the massacre a week on.
In the midst of it all was PM Jacinda Arden, who despite heavy criticism led a heavy crowd of mourners while adorned in a hijab.
Going above and beyond the call of duty, we saw a leader who led tirelessly with empathy, all the while reiterating that “they are us”.
For Mr Anning to share such comments from a public platform is upsetting.
I’m beginning to wonder if common humanity might be lost in translation for some.
We may be different colours, but we’re all one people.
Talei Driso, Nailuva Rd, Suva
Fijian emblem
It seems that all our national sports teams wear different emblems when they represent our country.
Let’s have a common emblem that will easily identify our nation.
I would easily identify any national sporting team from New Zealand, Australia, UK, etc, without reading the scribbling below the emblem.
Why don’t we start with the world famous coconut tree that is being used by the FRU for a start?
After all, it identifies Fiji at first glance.
Usaia Tagi, Delainavesi
Super Rugby
Super Rugby just became more interesting with the Australian teams beating New Zealand teams.
And with the Rugby World Cup just around the corner, I wish Australia all the best.
And sadly the Sunwolves will be axed.
How about a Pacific Nations team — Tonga, Samoa and Fiji.
Allen Lockington, Kava Place, Waiyavi, Lautoka
Positive outcome
I believe the emphasis on qualification turns a blind eye on experience and the fact that both need to coexist to bring about positive outcomes.
Dan Urai, Lautoka
Thief in the night
Death is unfathomable, especially when it strikes someone with an unfinished life.
Unexpected grief is horrid and immeasurable.
Experiencing it makes you feel like you did as a child first standing in front of the ocean.
You couldn’t possibly comprehend the magnitude of its size or depth.
You just stood there wondering if it ever really ended, and knowing it would always have the power to consume you.
I don’t believe the human mind is ever truly capable of understanding the sudden loss of a loved one.
Never being able to speak to, see or hold another person is an unrecognisable thought.
We spend our whole lives ignoring the potential of that reality until it confronts us.
And when it does it’s so shocking that it doesn’t feel real.
How could it?
You know these things happen, but they happen to other people, right?
They don’t happen to you, until they do.
Death is a thief in the night.
It steals from us without warning or explanation.
It takes treasures we’ll never replace.
It steals moments and expectations we spend our entire lives compiling neatly in our minds for safekeeping, only to find out they were never really safe at all.
It can steal everything.
Death can take an unfinished life and make it finished.
It’s unfair.
It’s brutally, painfully and sinfully unfair.
Wise Muavono, Balawa, Lautoka
