David and Lili's World Tour

FIJI

June 2008 - Nadi, Navala village, Nalova Bay

Bula! Some German tourists we met in New Zealand warned us about going to Fiji. "It's so dangerous!" they said. No, Fiji is not dangerous. It was dangerous back when the Fijians were cannibals, before the missionaries brought Jesus; now it's a friendly place. Maybe the Germans never saw poor people before; or maybe they were intimidated by the frequent coups and military dictatorships. I don't know. My aunt Wendy happened to be here for both of the last two coups. She said there were roadblocks and curfews. No problem.

Wendy met our plane in Nadi with her step-son Ryan and took us to Martin's house. From there we went to a village in the highlands (Navala) to get some culture. Wonderful, friendly people. Bad food. Later, Wendy and Ryan went on a scuba cruise, while Lili and I went to a lovely beach resort on an island in the Yasawa Group for a week of pure relaxation (with fantastic snorkeling). Very nice! We hung out with a couple from Denmark who just came from Bali. They love Fiji in comparison and I understand why. Bali is nice, but their cultural purity has become corrupted by the desire to make money from foreigners. Not so in Fiji. Everywhere we went we met proud people who welcomed us as honored guests. It's a bit expensive, but worth it.

Fiji's political instability stems from a fundamental racism between the native Fijians (dark skinned, curly haired Melanesians on the main islands - brown skinned, wavy haired Polynesians on the small islands near Tonga) and the numerous Indian immigrants whose families have been in Fiji for five generations. We met people from both sides who complained to us about the other side. By law, native Fijians have ownership rights to 86% of all land, forcing the Indians to make their money through commerce. Every time the Indians have gotten political power, the Fijians, fearing the loss of that land right, have taken power back by force. In my observation, problems arise when a country allows foreigners to buy land; rich foreigners eventually buy all the nice land; but Fiji's Indians are not foreigners. Sooner or later, they must be allowed to purchase land. Meanwhile, Fiji will remain a country divided. But that shouldn't stop you from visiting here as a tourist.

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