He has risen! That’s why Christians around the world celebrate today. Not because Jesus died but because he now lives, forever. Yes, today is a day of victory over death and condemnation and in many parts of Fiji and the world.
But despite the theme of unification and life dominant in the Easter narrative, the holiday is a story of contrasting ‘worlds’.
That is, Easter is not only a time of deliverance and a promise of life. It is also a time marked by hardships and death.
Jesus the Messiah had to die a painful and shameful death before he could conquer and claim eternal life for mankind and allow humans to reunite with the divine.
By the time you read this, I’d be in the old capital attending a reunification of sorts and celebration of life, in the true spirit of Easter.
I left the Suva bus stand at 3pm on Friday, the very hour Jesus was believed to have died on the cross of Calvary over 2000 years ago.
The story of the commemorative family reunion at Levuka Vakaviti, on the island of Ovalau, finds its roots in the Christian holiday, specifically the Easter weekend of 1964 when the cutter Kadavulevu overturned and descended to her water grave in Lomaiviti waters, about eight few hours after she left Waitoga Village in Nairai.
Eighty-nine men, women and children who were onboard died in that tragic sea disaster.
After days of frantic search, only three people survived, two women in their forties and a 14-year-old Lami teenager, Viliame Qelo. Today the father of two lives to tell his amazing survival story.
Every Easter reminds him of two intertwined forces – life and death. During an interview on Wednesday, Mr Qelo spoke about the 1964 ordeal and the three and a half days he spent drifting at sea before he was rescued by authorities.
If you’d like to read about that survival story, read it in next’s week’s issue of The Sunday Times (April 7).
“I was saved on that tragic night by a light,” Mr Qelo said, tears of emotion welling in his eyes.
“I was with my mum at the bottom of the boat, my dad was on top. When the boat capsized I saw a light.”
“All I remember was that I swam towards the light…There were cries of horror all around me and it was dark…Both my parents died in that tragedy.”
That weekend turned out to be one of the darkest Easters in Fiji’s history. Aside from the tragedy, Mr Qelo’s rescue shows the other side of Easter — deliverance from death and life.
His survival story, as well as those of Nina Nareba and Seini Wakesa (other survivors), shows the strength of the human will to survive, the psychological force that compels us to continue living and striving despite adversity and the impossible.
That will also enabled Jesus to go through many hours of physical, mental, emotional and spiritual hardships. It kept him alive while hanging on the cross.
Yesterday, Mr Qelo’s close family members attended a church service in the village followed by a huge feast that allowed everyone to have fun despite commemorating such a very heart-rending event.
It was indeed a time of love and connection, when relatives got the rare chance to share the heartaches and reconnect with each other.
The contrasting sides of Easter emerged on Thursday when former prime minister Voreqe Bainimarama and suspended Commissioner of Police Sitiveni Qiliho avoided custodial sentences.
However, following an immediate appeal by the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, the two will appear before Acting Chief Justice Salesi Temo on Wednesday.
Today, I am also reminded that this week many Suva residents were without water for days and some may still be waiting for the first gush of water to come through their taps.
Such is the uncertainty of life in our towns and citizens. One minute we may enjoy treated water at the turn of a tap, but the next minute we might have nothing at all.
And while resurrection Sunday may bring us the promise of life and a permanent reunion with the heavenly family, we still live in an unfair and cursed world where struggles and misery haunt us every day.
As we go through another Resurrection Day, we note the barriers to celebrating Easter in places like Gaza.
As of March 25, 2024, the number of Gazans killed in the war had surpassed 32,000 — 70 per cent of them women and children, according to Gaza’s health ministry.
Christian Palestinians in the West Bank suspended Christmas celebrations in 2023 with the hopes of focusing attention on the spate of death and suffering in Gaza. Now the situation has worsened.
It is believed that an estimated 1.7 million people in Gaza, which represents 75 per cent of the population — had been displaced since March 2024.
About fifty per cent of them are on the verge of famine.
Whatever has happened in Gaza and continues to happen, demonstrates that the duality of both good and evil exist within us and in the world.
We are capable of performing acts of compassion and respect. We are also very capable of committing heinous acts of violence.
We have great strength and can do good but we also have many flaws and can say and do bad things. Between these opposites, we have the power to choose.
May we choose wisely when we are given the opportunity to do so. Each time Easter arrives, Mr Qelo is always filled with deep sadness beyond his control.
He thinks of his loving parents and misses them dearly. He may never stop missing them.
While this weekend may bring tears of pain to him, just like the past 60 Easter weekends have, he will find love and happiness in his supportive family and loving wife.
Mr Qelo’s family reunion on Ovalau, like Easter, is both a time to rejoice and a time to feel vulnerable and cry. It is a time when we are reminded that we are mere humans and we need help.
Until we meet again on this same page same time next week, stay blessed, stay health and stay safe! And Happy Resurrection Sunday!!
