Rarawai Ba with coolie-lines in the background - Courtesy of Fiji Museum

The ugly faces of ethnic and religious hatred is still alive in our country says Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama.

This was highlighted by the Prime Minister during the 140th Girmit Day celebrations at Albert Park in Suva today.

Bainimarama says the Girmitiya’s faced hardship, abuse and sexual exploitation by the Colonizers.

He encouraged Fijians to remain vigilant and ensure that those old forces never creep back into the mainstream of our national life regardless of age, ethnicity or background.

“We are not free from the legacy of discrimination that defined that darker era of our history. We are still witnesses to the ugly faces of ethnic and religious hatred in Fiji. Those voices may have been pushed to the fringes of our society but that have not disappeared.”

Bainimarama is advising Fijians to not create and enforce a divide amongst us.

“Let us be inspired by that initial spirit of camaraderie and friendship. That kinship is humanity in its best and rawest form, and what we must be guided by as we move ahead.”

The Prime Minister says Fijians must read first hand the accounts of Girmitiya which have been recorded and forever preserved in books and on the internet.