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Timely Fiji Conference Looks to the Future

01 December 2006

As tensions in Fiji mounted over the threat of a military coup, a major international IofC conference entitled New hope from Fiji: making this a vision possible took place in the capital, Suva, with joint sponsorship from the Fijian government’s Ministry of Reconciliation and National Unity and the New Zealand government.

‘Whatever happens, this is our home; we will need each other, and the strength which comes from our inter-connectedness,’ said Ratu Joni Madraiwiwi, Vice-President of Fiji, speaking at the opening dinner, adding ‘I am the richer and humbler for the experience of reaching out to others.’

Some 150 from Fiji and overseas participated in the four-day conference held at the University of the South Pacific in Suva. As the Vice-President had made clear, in the context of the previous fortnight’s political tensions this theme could not have been more timely. Students, businesspeople and politicians were among the Fijians who took part.

Ratu Meli Vesikula and YP Reddy spoke together, telling the audience of 250 their story of cross-racial reconciliation. Ratu Meli, an ethnic Fijian, had been involved in the 1987 coup and one of the most feared figures in the Indian community. Through engagement with IofC he had a change of heart and later apologized for his actions to YP Reddy, an Indian business leader, and to the wider community.

Dilamawa Vesikula, had recently taken part in IofC’s Asia-Pacific Youth Conference (APYC) in Indonesia: ‘Finding the ability to listen to my inner voice about the changes in my life wasn’t that difficult,’ she said. ‘But finding the courage to take action on those changes was very hard. I decided to make three commitments in my life: to God, to my family, and to IofC.’

Ana Vesikula and Sereani Bainimarama work at the Ministry of Reconciliation and National Unity, and following their involvement in the Brisbane IofC conference in 2005 were key to the unique partnership between the ministry and IofC in hosting the conference. Ana shared from her own experience: ‘Unless God builds the bridge, it cannot be a good bridge; to be a bridge-builder you have to take on the load in your heart. I have to work on the prejudices which have built up in me over the years.’ Ushneesh Yadav, a research assistant at the ministry, was another who attended the APYC in Indonesia; he returned home with decisions to apologise to his wife, spend more time with his elderly relatives, and restore communication with his brother after six months without speaking to him.

The largest overseas contingent were the 22 who came from Solomon Islands, bringing music, drama, stories of change and the experience of conducting a nationwide Clean Election Campaign. Naomi Tate Kelah spoke of her journey, as a mother, to healing and new hope following the death of her husband in the tensions there three years ago. Harry Maesua told of his decision to stop playing in nightclub bands after realising how that lifestyle contributed to family breakdowns.

Other overseas visitors came from near and far. Australians Troy Blow and John Bond shared experience of personal healing and of the Journey of Healing movement. Troy, an indigenous Australian who has battled with alcoholism, said ‘The turning point in my life was when I realised that although I thought my addictions were my problem, they actually weren’t. They were my solution to the problem, which was a deeper lack of self-esteem and self-worth.’

‘We should not forgive and forget,’ said New Zealand-born South African Fr Michael Lapsley. ‘Rather we have to move from destructive memory to redemptive memory, by getting rid of the poison. And the poison lies not in what we think about the events of the past, but in what we feel about those events.’ In 1990, while Fr Lapsley was active in South Africa’s anti-apartheid struggle, a letter bomb destroyed both his hands and one eye. He spoke of his subsequent journey from victim (an object, someone to whom something is done), to survivor, to victor (as someone who shapes events themselves).

Many were touched and spurred to personal decisions by the small group discussions, sharing, and personal conversations. Three days later a team of 11 visited Lautoka Teachers’ College, and after their presentation the two staff members who had participated in the conference both shared apologies which they had decided to make. The following day 45 including the Solomon Islanders on their last day in Fiji attended a follow-up meeting in Suva. Even these initial outcomes make clear that the conference’s vision for Fiji is indeed possible.

Chris Lancaster