What a year that was! 2024! As we welcome the New Year, today, let’s try to do that with enthusiasm.
A happy New Year to you! It is 2025!
And once again, we celebrate life! We celebrate the opportunity for a new beginning, and we celebrate friendship.
However, let us also reflect on the year that was, and the challenges we faced. There were obviously many on the domestic front.
We had many moments that defined us as a people, and as a nation. As we embrace another brand new year, there is an opportunity for us to start afresh. We have an opportunity to set goals, and processes and strategies, to achieve them. Unfortunately, many Fijians never got to see the end of 2024 and the start of 2025. We will remember those we loved and were close to. And we should also reflect on how the year turned out, what it meant to us individually, and collectively as a nation, and how we can learn from our experiences to make better days ahead.
There are many lessons we can consider as important guidelines for us. So let us be reminded that we live in a multi-racial country, and irrespective of ethnicity, gender, and religion, we live together in peace and harmony.
We keep saying this. We are far removed from the ethnic violence that permeates some societies and nations abroad, where killings are a fact of life. Think about the wars in Ukraine and the Gaza!
Think about the loss of lives, the horrors of armed conflict, and destruction. Think about the fear, and great sense of insecurity.
In the face of all that, we are blessed. We live in a country that brims with people who are tolerant of one another.
We travel on the same buses, eat at the same restaurants, watch movies in the same theatres, and walk the same streets. We live side by side in our communities, and enjoy cultural events together, sharing the joys of tradition and religious events. As much as some people will continue to try to divide us in terms of ethnicity and religion, we are testimony of how much people in many parts of the world want to live, without the loss of lives, hatred, fear and insecurity. We are readily accepting of one another in Fiji and New Year celebrations always remind us of who we are.
We are reminded about the frailties, or the cruelty, or meanness of mankind. We are reminded about how fragile life is, and about advancements in weaponry and technology, and death and destruction.
A lot has happened on the political front. There are governance issues that will bother many of us.
Yet in the face of that, it is great to be able to speak out without fear! It is great to be able to voice an opinion without fear!
It is great to be able to be part of the mechanics of governing our country. We can have a say and force the powers that be to sit up and take notice!
It isn’t easy being ruled by three political parties in a coalition. Yet we still look up to the powers that be to make critical decisions that are good for us all.
We realise the importance of a vibrant economy, climate change and its impact on our nation, and we embrace the fact that life is precious!
We reflect on the achievements of the Flying Fijians last year, and the performance of the Fijian Drua in the Super Rugby Pacific competition and in the Super W, and the effort by our national 7s rugby team, netball, and soccer team.
However 2025 pans out for you, The Fiji Times family takes this opportunity to thank you for your support, and we hope there are good things ahead for you and your family, and for our nation. Hope can be a very powerful motivation for anyone! We wish you all a happy New Year!
