Former coup convict Jo Nata has told the Fiji Truth and Reconciliation Commission that despite more than 150 years of living side by side, indigenous Fijians and Indo-Fijians continue to live largely separate lives.
In his testimony before the Commission, Nata said meaningful reconciliation and stronger race relations would not be achieved through politics alone, but through deliberate efforts by ordinary people at the grassroots level.
“Fijians and Indians, despite living together for over 150 years, are, by and large, still living parallel lives,” Nata said.
He acknowledged that there are examples of strong inter-ethnic relationships in places such as Levuka, Savusavu, and parts of Labasa and Ba, but said these remain exceptions rather than the norm.
Nata said he had often asked Indo-Fijian friends whether they had a close indigenous Fijian friend whom they regarded as family, someone whose children moved freely between homes, whose families regularly ate together, shopped together, and attended family or village functions.
“Regrettably the answers were all negative,” he said.
“And there is no controversy when I say the mirror reflects the same story on the Fijian side as well.”
Nata told the Commission that Fiji needs intentional and deliberate collaboration at the community level to bridge the divide.
“It needs work. Intentional, deliberate collaboration at grassroots level. Politics will not do it. The people are to do it.”
He said Fiji does not have to choose between remembering its history and moving forward as a nation.
“There should be a willingness to come together. Our ethnic and collective identity and openness are not necessarily opposing poles. It could be the vehicle to bring us together.”
Nata also warned against becoming trapped by the past, saying true reconciliation requires confronting difficult truths rather than ignoring them.
“The worst thing is the illusion that we honour our history by being trapped in it,” he said.
“To ignore what ails us in the past, or to fear what we might unravel, or to pretend that there is nothing there, or to focus only on moving forward, is to be trapped in our history.”
He urged Fijians of all backgrounds to confront unresolved issues together and build a stronger future.
“We should revisit, untangle, rebuild and move forward together,” Nata told the Commission.
