Ranil Kumar 
In a tragic event that shook Fiji in the late 19th century, the ship Syria, which was carrying indentured laborers from Calcutta to Fiji, capsized on Nasilai Reef in 1884.
The incident resulted in the loss of many lives and had a profound impact on Fiji’s history.
Among the brave individuals who played a significant role in the rescue efforts was the great-grandfather of Joeli Mataka, whose pride in his ancestor and the villagers’ heroic actions is visible.
Audio Player“When he’s about to reach that place, the only thing that he heard that morning was a commotion of a different kind of language. First time he heard it, he went to people with the shoreline and he saw different people, different style, different look, and different language. They have spoken at that time he came back right away after he Guinness. So then go back and ask them what happened and they said that there was a shipwreck of a ship sent by the British colony that left Kolkata, India to come to Fijians an Indian labor system during the colonial era at Fiji.”
Mataka states the rescue operation was no mean feat, especially given the prevailing sentiment at the time that viewed foreigners with suspicion.
Audio Player“The Fijian, when we bury out their loved ones , from the mother side, we have to do the burial right now. One race of people burying another race of people, never related in blood, never related in the way they look. But my great grandfather did the honorable thing and the very elders for my village to bury the dead.”
The Syria shipwreck on May 11, 1884, is remembered as one of the most devastating maritime disasters in Fiji’s history, leaving a lasting impression on the elder’s collective memory.
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