FIJI GIRMIT FOUNDATION NZ TO MARK 140TH GIRMIT ANNIVERSARY IN AUCKLAND

The Fiji Girmit Foundation of New Zealand is gearing to mark the 140th Anniversary of the arrival of first Indian indentured labourers in Fiji, which was on 14 May, 1879.

FIJI GIRMIT FOUNDATION NZ will have its commemoration of 140th Girmit Thanksgiving Day at Skipton Hall in Auckland, New Zealand on the evening of Friday 10th May, 2019. You all are invited to come to salute our Girmitiyas -ORDINARY PEOPLE WHO ACHIEVED EXTRAORDINARY THINGS IN EXTRAORDINARY ENVIRONMENT.

It will be a day to commemorate the suffering and sacrifices of the Girmitiyas and celebrate triumph of the human spirit over formidable adversities.

This event will take place on 10 May 2019 at ARST Skipton Hall, 53 Skipton Street, Mangere East, Auckland.

The Foundation was established in 2013 with the sole objective of reconnecting, reclaiming and restoring Fiji Indian history, which has failed to echo in successive generations as it should have. This event is organized to provide opportunity to every Indo-Fijian family to remember and pay respects to their Girmitiya forebears for the sacrifices they made and the legacy they left behind for successive generations.

It is also the Foundation’s fervent hope and desire to bring enlightenment of their foundational Girmit history to Fiji Indians who have all grown in ignorance of their tragic but fascinating history. In addition to this, it is their fervent desire to honour some of the descendants of the Girmitiyas for their achievements in various fields. 

In History of New Zealand, Girmit Remembrance was never marked regularly till the Foundation was established, and held commemoration from 2013 to 2015 inclusive. In 2013, elderly Fiji Indians (those over 80) were recognised, honoured and given Girmit Commemorative Medals.

In 2014, they had most eminent and celebrated son of Girmit, Professor Brij Lal as their chief guest and keynote speaker.

LEONIDAS  -the first Girmit transporting ship which arrived in Levuka, Fiji on 14 May, 1879. But it was not able to dock on that day, and docked into harbour on 15 May. That is why some use the date of 15 May. But officially, we recognize 14 May as the designated date.

In 2015, the then Minister for Foreign Affairs of Fiji, Hon. Ratu Inoke Kubuabola was the Chief Guest at Girmit Remembrance Day in Auckland. The theme for the occasion was “Commemorating the Syria Tragedy”, which included remembering, acknowledging and paying tribute to the Nasilai Villagers who risked their lives to render assistance in the rescue efforts, mounted by Dr William McGregor on that fateful night of May 11, 1884. Hon. Kubuabola led a delegation from Fiji, including staff of Fiji High Commission based in Wellington to honour the occasion on behalf of the Government of Fiji. 

Following this event, the Foundation led a delegation to Nasilai Village on October 15, 2015 to formally thank the Nasilai villagers for the role their ancestors had played in the rescue efforts, which saved hundreds of lives. It was a solemn occasion, reliving a tragic event but provided us an opportunity to meet the descendants to express our appreciation, though belatedly. The villagers honoured the visitors with traditional welcome and subsequent discussions led to undertaking of important renovations and improvements to the village communal facilities, costing us over $80,000. 

Syria Tragedy - the remains of Syria Ship which was wrecked on Nasilai Reef in May, 1884. A delegation from FIJI GIRMIT FOUNDATION NZ made a pilgrimage to Nasilai Village in Rewa, Fiji in 2015 and made improvements worth some $FJ 100,000 to the village hall (See story elsewhere on FIJI PUNDIT),as a show of goodwill to the descendants of the villagers who helped rescue the Indian indentured labourers on the ship. Some 57 Indians lost their lives.

The Foundation is also gearing up to focus on some issues which Fiji Indians need a voice in, playing a wider role by having a closer link with New Zealand Government, the government agencies, political and community leaders.
There is a revamped, passionate, professional and diverse youth executive team who are coming on board, empowered to carry the banner and baton of Girmit and create awareness in the new generation. One may say, like New Zealand Prime Minister, Fiji Indian Millennials  in Auckland have been given an opportunity to take the lead and torch of Girmit. 

The Foundation considers it important to enlist the support of our community to ensure that our tragic but fascinating Girmit history is not lost with the passage of time. Accordingly, public awareness was vital and the commemorative events that commenced some six years ago lit and fanned the spark, which has ignited the desire in our people to reconnect and revive our Girmit history.

At least five commemoration events are planned for Auckland to mark and salute the pioneer Indian indentured labourers who were ordinary people who achieved extraordinary feats. And this is evident in a new breed and race of people, who originated from India, but have created a distinct Pacifica culture, with best of both worlds.

Girmitiyas in front of a sugar mill during those Girmit Days. Note the railway lines in the foreground and railway carts in the background.

There have been requests to Girmit Foundation to join with Global Girmit organisations overseas. However, NZ Girmit Foundation feels first they need to make it effectively work here at grassroots level before venturing overseas. Most of the so-called International Girmit organisations appear to be an academic exercise and some are merely social-media, or paper organisations. 

The Foundation believes that without an effective home-grown tangible and functioning Girmit organisation like the Foundation, it is pointless being part of any overseas paper organisations, which does nothing tangible on the ground. Hence there is a desire to empower Fiji Indians to extend this organisation as an advocacy body for Fiji Indians in New Zealand, who, as stated earlier, while being Indians also happen to be a distinct Pacifica people - Fiji Indians.

The Foundation wishes to work on ground with Fiji Indians in New Zealand, and also create awareness in Canada and USA to arm the new generation with their original identity, and advise them the importance of reconnecting and restoring their Girmit history as a tribute to the Girmitiyas.

Thakur Ranjit Singh, a founding trustee of the Foundation will travel to Fiji later this year to initiate and inaugurate Totaram Sanadhya Vatika, a Girmit Botanical Garden at Fiji Girmit Centre in Lautoka. This will be as a part of DAV Reunion in Fiji, in association with Fiji Girmit Council.

Since its inception in 2013, FIJI GIRMIT FOUNDATION NZ organised regular Girmit Commemoration at Skipton Hall, Mangere, Auckland from 2013 to 2015 inclusive. This was the banner for 2015 commemoration which has Syria Tragedy as its theme. We had Minister of Foreign Affairs of Fiji, Ratu Inoke Kubuabola as the chief guest. We are still awaiting out request to Fiji Government to declare 14 May as a Public Holiday in Fiji in honour of the pioneer Girmitiyas.

The Trustees of Fiji Girmit Foundation are respected member of Fiji Indian community in Auckland. They are Master Shiu Charan, Sardar Harnam Singh Golian, author Rajendra Prasad, Janab Nek Mohammed, Pundit Ram Kumar Sewak, Krish Naidu and journalist Thakur Ranjit Singh. 

The foundation earnestly seeks participation of all descendants of Girmitiyas to show their gratitude to the vision and sacrifice of ordinary people who did extraordinary things in an extraordinary environment.
The request of Girmit Foundation to Fiji Government to have Girmit history in Fiji school curriculum has already been implemented. The Foundation is now awaiting Fiji Government of their request of declaring 14 May as a Public Holiday in Fiji.

More information on the 140th anniversary would come in the next edition. Please reserve the evening of Friday 10th May, 2019 to pay homage to those who made Fiji Indians into who they are today.

[Thakur Ranjit Singh is the founding Trustee of Fiji Girmit Foundation NZ and is a media commentator. He has a passion for his forebears, and has written various articles on them in the past.]

WILL NEW ZEALAND COME OUT SPINELESS IN ITS TROUBLED CHINA RELATIONS?

Thakur Ranjit Singh

Weekend Herald of Saturday 16 February, 2019 carried many revealing articles and opinions on New Zealand’s current karate kick with China.

New Zealand and China Flag respectively, with the Beehive in the background. Chinese flag is higher, it however does not mean China will be allowed to blackmail and push New Zealand lower with bait of trade and tourism and relegated as a lower and weaker partner. 

W.D. Howard of Pakuranga implied a conspiracy theory and asked:

Will somebody please tell us why China is so desperate for Huawei to set up in New Zealand, if indeed it is?

HUAWEI: The apparent source and cause of tension, as it was pushed out by NZ as security concerns. Some raise question about a conspiracy theory as to why China is so relentless to have Huawei's access to NZ's sensitive issues.

 Len Houwere of New Plymouth was more forceful and lamented our one-minded obsession with Chinese trade:

..if our only measure of value is selling our commodities and buying the next-flat screen TV as cheaply as possible, we might one day discover we have  bargained  away more than  a trade  and deficit…Independent foreign policy with China  might well become an oxymoron as we bend over backwards  to appease this hyper-sensitive  intolerant regime. Not having a spine might make that act easier.

Indeed, New Zealand needs to show it has a strong spine to stand tall, and heed the Labour Party history.  Ardern’s Labour-led Government is advised to follow the path of dare paved by David Lange in removing “z” out of ‘ANZUS. Lange, as a tiny David challenged USA, the Goliath over nuclear ship visits to NZ.
  

Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters (left) and Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, who collectively are responsible for NZ's external affairs. Would a National Government taken the same stance on Huawei? Should not Opposition work with the Government when it comes to external foreign matters and wider interests of New Zealand is concerned? Why is national Party politicising this matter? Isn't National party breaching a long-established protocol?

We hope Jacinda Ardern has inherited advisors with daring from those days when we stood up to a superpower- and stood tall. We have the same challenge now. New Zealand has a habit of punching above its weight in international scene. Be it rugby, human-rights, transparency, clean-green image, ease to do business with, treatment of original settlers and progressive foreign policies, among others. While trade is very important, losing soul for a few dollars more has never been the character of New Zealand. Now is the time we need to show resolve and not be bullied, otherwise we will be seen to be bargaining away our sovereignty in exchange for a good trade balance with China. 

As for the views of David Mahon, who has lived and worked in Chine for 32 years, hope they are not blinkered and he appreciates China’s cheque-book “colonialism” in smaller, poorer and weaker Pacific nations. Two such, among others are Papua New Guinea and my birth –country, Fiji.  Chinese go with blank cheques to invest in infrastructure, with a provision that they may take over once these cash-strapped nations are unable to pay those debts. They have already “colonised” a few infrastructure with such unethical dealings.

Are relations between New Zealand and China in tatters? Is Opposition National Party politicising this matter which may end up hurting Kiwis?

And their respect for environmental issues is highly questionable, as in Fiji they are currently desecrating mangroves in defiance of law, in building a hotel and tourist infrastructure in Malolo Island, west of Nadi Airport.

One may look in the crystal ball and prophesy how National Party would have acted on Huawei issue if they were in government. FIJI PUNDIT predicts they would have walked the path Labour did. However, Opposition needs to politicise such issues and blow their trumpet to show the government in poor light.

Some National Party politicians are making a big deal, blaming the government for a fall back and decline on Chinese tourists to Aotearoa because of the Huawei fiasco. In fact reduction in some tourist numbers appear to be God-sent temporary reprieve for some of our overloaded tourism infrastructure.

In some areas, the country has more visitors than it can handle. Concerns have already been raised about over-tourism, so a temporary slowdown in Chinese visitor numbers is a blessing in disguise.

Furthermore, Chinese will be shooting in their own feet if they boycott NZ. So many Chinese airlines make a beeline to Auckland Airport. Chinese tourism in New Zealand is a cash cow for them as they net millions. Much is said of Hong Kong Airlines pulling out of Auckland. Such commercial decisions are long-term commercial decisions and not mere knee-jerk reaction just because Huawei was rejected. Many hardly know we had such an airline. Cathay Pacific? Yes, that is the Hong Kong airline we know, and is here to stay.

We know Cathay Pacific as official carrier of Hong Kong. What is the big deal about little-known privately-owned Hong Kong Airlines pulling out of Auckland?

So many Chinese business operators have opened and invested in Mandarin -speaking tourism trade and infrastructure here. They have made a concrete-jungle of China and they love clean and green New Zealand. Chinese still love NZ more than Huawei. So much that they will take travel advisory of the Consulate-General of the People’s Republic of China in New Zealand with a pinch of salt. There have been no concerns in the past and a hastily concocted warning notice on potential risks to Chinese tourists travelling to New Zealand will be taken with scorn it deserves. Chinese tourists have nothing to fear - and history supports them.

There is a hysteria created by the National Party. NZ will still have millions of visitors from Taiwan, South Korea, Cambodia, Thailand, India, Malaysia and other Asian countries, and we will still have our hands and facilities full – with millions of them.

And a strong spine to stand tall if we ignore the hysteria created by the Opposition.

[Thakur Ranjit Singh is a Fiji Indian media commentator based in Auckland, and runs his blog, FIJI PUNDIT]

When a Mandir Delivers Beyond the Call of its Religious Duties

Thakur Ranjit Singh

We have multitudes of religious societies and organisations in New Zealand. They are performing commendable duties of religious teachings, promoting their respective Gods, and in doing so, handsomely collecting funds for upkeep of their respective institution. Some have accumulated loads of money. Nothing wrong with that, in fact very admirable, if properly utilised.

Let the walk begin: Devotees and volunteers in front of Mandir before the walk.

However, one among very few, that stands out from the above categorising is SHRI RAM MANDIR at Brick Street, Henderson, Auckland, New Zealand.

Being a Hindu institution, it really stands out and appropriately follows the definition of Hinduism, which is more of a way of life than mere rituals. The spirituality is their priority, which means being good, compassionate, caring, respecting, community -conscious, God-loving and a good human being. And these teachings need to physically translate into practical deeds rather than being confined as theoretical discourse only.

The Managing Trustee of Shri Ram Mandir, Pravin Kumar (extreme right) announcing the fund collected, and Minister of Housing and Transport , Phil Twyford (centre) handing the cheque for $43, 442.60 to Rajesh Chaudhry, Chairperson of Friends of Fiji Health Foundation. Project Manager, Mahendra Sharma (in yellow safety vest), with other Trustees of both the organisations look on.  

And according to our scriptures, the best deed one can do is service to humanity, what we call parr hitt. This is also taught by other religions and well depicted in Abu Ben Adam poem by Leigh Hunt. The bottom line message here is that God loves and blesses those who love their fellow beings.

And that is exactly what Shri Ram Mandir does – it literally walks the talk in loving its fellow beings. And this is done through its walkathon which they call Ram-A-Thon, named after Lord Ram, who walked across India during his exile. Here, the devotees walk and raise funds for worthy causes.

The dedicated and passionate team of walkers take a break for photo in the picaresque Oratia walk in Henderson: From left, Pushpa Adhar, Sunita Singh, Master Shiu Charan, yours truly, Thakur Ranjit Singh, his wife, Shashi Kala Singh and Satish Chand.

The colourful Rewa team of walkers, led by Viren Lal (extreme left), with two Tavua (yellow) walkers as well.

Six years ago, this started as a full day 35 km of marathon walk from Papatoetoe to Henderson. It was later reduced to 20 km walk from Auckland Domain (Museum) to Mandir at Henderson. Since then they have held two other walkathon to help out Starship Children’s Hospital (over $10,000) and Saint John Ambulance (over $16,000)

This year, it was decided to reduce the walk to 10km, but utilise the day to assemble people together in a huge community networking and people wellbeing quest, developing it into a family carnival.

Sport Waitakere conductors were on hand to keep the participants busy. Here a lady coordinator is conducting exercise for Senior Ladies. It was indeed a day of fun and laughter, and all had loads of fun.

As we have said before, since the inception of Ram Mandir in Henderson, it has developed more than a religious institution into a Community hub. There was Ghazal and Bollywood nights, hosted Senior Citizens group, has become a venue for wedding and birthdays and promotes music, arts, culture and history.

The family carnival that was held after the walk at Henderson Park was fun-filled Mini Fiji carnival where we had friendly sporting rivalry between the districts in Fiji like Suva, Lautoka, Rewa, Ba, Tavua, Rakiraki, Labasa and Nadroga.
And we had a bucketful of family and sporting events such as Men’s soccer, Tug of war, seniors lawn balls, seniors ball and bucket, Ladies penalty kicks and Ladies Volleyball.

The friendly district loyalties and rivalries prompted greater efforts to make your team win. The highest funds were collected by Tavua, over $16,000, followed by neighbor Ba, with a distant $6000 and Rewa with just over $5,000 being third.

  The family fun: Tug –of –War, with father and son in Ba team. Pravaal Tahal,  (extreme right) giving all he can in pulling the rope while his father, Manoj Tahal (third from right) is putting in all efforts to pull for the Ba team in one of the many fun sports event at Henderson Park.

Some individuals were recognized for their efforts. Master Shiu Charan was the best overall fundraiser, who put great efforts in penetrating to the community and donors to raise funds. Bhavishna Dutt from Tavua was the highest fundraiser with $5070 raised. And of course, the Tavua team was also judged the best with overall high points.

The Project Manager of the event, Mahendra Sharma was elated with the overall results and thanked all for their overall efforts. Another reason for his joy was that he had his brother Pundit Dhirendra Sharma and his wife from Surrey, Canada, who participated in the event. While Dhirendra raised over $500 in just a few days and walked the distance, his wife, Punditaain helped in preparing food for the participants.

When two brotherly Pundits meet: Dhirendra Sharma (left) and Project Manager Mahendra Sharma at Henderson Park, Auckland during family carnival. Dhirendra is a practising Pundit in Surrey (Vancouver) Canada and was visiting his brother and decided to help. Within 3 days he was able to raise over $500, and beat two of the district teams in this short time, while walking the full length.

The success of the fundraising and a joyful family day goes to the very kind-hearted sponsors and partners. These, among others were, Sport Waitakere, Cooperative Bank, Northern Football Federation, Oratia Football, Auckland Co-op Taxis, Subway Central (Daven and Babita Maharaj), Roshan Nauhria, Sam Achari, Lotus Foreign Exchange, The Indian News, Apna TV and Apna 990 Radio.

We were blessed with generosity of our sponsors and wellwishers. Here we have owner of Subway,  Deven Maharaj, serving a child, providing free vegetarian subway. His company has been sponsoring food to Ram-A-Thon since its inception.

While having fun, the friendly rivalry between the districts accelerated the fundraising efforts, as amount collected far exceeded what they did previously. This year funds collected went to Friends of Fiji Health (FOFH). Statement by them is self-explanatory:

$43,442.60 was donated by Shri Ram Mandir Trust to FOFH. This was the highest amount by a single donor. Our most sincere appreciation to Pravin Kumar, Mahen Sharma and a large number of their executive members, volunteers, soccer team members, youth groups and community and social workers. A big thanks to FOFH Medical team who provided free basic medical check-up to the general public who attended the fundraiser and family festival. The cheque was presented by Hon. Phil Twyford, Minister of Transport and Housing.

The dedicated doctors and support medical personnel of Friends of Fiji Health (FOFH) Foundation, who dedicatedly spend their time and money to help the needy people in Fiji. There is NO administration cost, and each dollar contributed adds over $18 of value-added service provided in Fiji.

The managing Trustee of Shri Ram Mandir observed that while Ram-A- Thon has been intended to raise funds for worthy charities that is not necessarily their prime objective.

We wish to engage with the wider community, including children, youths, elders, women and people from all walks to life, while enhancing diversity, teamwork, networking and multiculturalism. It has been an effort to create awareness of well-being, healthy living, walking, exercising and keeping fit, while raising funds for worthy causes. In doing so we worked collaboratively with other like-minded charitable, community and religious organisations and obtained corporate and commercial businesses on board as sponsors. 

The unsung heroes of family day: food servers, Rakesh Singh, and chutney expert, Robert Goundar, (in cap, back to the camera) serving continuously for some three hours, from 12 noon to 3pm, feeding all those in the carnival. Very tasty plau and chutney cooked at Shri Ram Mandir, and lovingly served by the smiling duo. Rakesh served plau while  tasty (and Khatta) tomato chutney served by Robert. They made our day.

Indeed, it was a fruitful day, and the general verdict from community elders is that other like-minded religious institutions need to broaden their base and lower their radar to capture many in the community who are normally by-passed by Mandirs focussing on religion only.

As the message from Abu Ben Adam speaks, God loves and blesses those who love their fellow beings. 

And Shri Ram Mandir receives such blessings in abundance for its trendsetting humanitarian and philanthropic deeds.

[Thakur Ranjit Singh runs his blog, FIJI PUNDIT and has been part of Ram-A-Thon since its inception in 2014]