Fiji Profile
BBC NEWS
Date Written: November 8, 2013
Date Written: November 8, 2013
Indigenous Fijians and Indo-Fijians still do not like each other because of their different cultures. The groups are separated on different islands. With Fiji's tension between the two ethnic groups, they have needed to be aided by other countries to get by. In 1987, racial and political tensions reached a high in Fiji. A group of local Fijians overthrew the elected, Indian-dominated coalition. This would be the first of a series of events that would occur over the next couple of decades. In 2000, the first Indian Prime Minister of Fiji and his cabinet were held hostage by a wealthy business man. This event would hurt Fiji's economy and tourism. Rancour over the 2000 coup persisted, and eventually led to a bloody military takeover in 2006. In 2009 Fiji was suspended from the Commonwealth because the country failed to try to become a democratic state. In 2012 it was declared that free elections would be held in 2014 so that their ties with Australia and New Zealand could be restored.
This article fascinated me because it involved conflicts between two groups of people with different cultural backgrounds. I have learned a lot about conflicts similar to these recently which helped to give me a background on why ethnic groups fight and what has been a result of these feuds. I observed that the main cause of the two groups fighting was because of racial and political tension. Since Indigenous Fijians make up the majority of people, their is an even larger amount of tension as each group fights for political dominance. This is upsetting to here because many people are being affected by the disputes in Fiji. Although it is disheartening to hear about countries in these conditions, it is occuring in many different countries around the world.
This article tied into the political life of the country as it showed how the ethnic groups have argued and fought over the past two decades. Their disagreements have led to much tension between the two groups which has affected their economy greatly. Fiji's economy is made up mainly of tourism and sugar. Since both political parties have fought against each other in many coups, the tourism has been greatly affected since people do not like to travel to places with political instability. This has cause Fiji to have the largest per capita recipients of aid. If the different groups will mingle with each other, the economy in Fiji could benefit greatly.
This article fascinated me because it involved conflicts between two groups of people with different cultural backgrounds. I have learned a lot about conflicts similar to these recently which helped to give me a background on why ethnic groups fight and what has been a result of these feuds. I observed that the main cause of the two groups fighting was because of racial and political tension. Since Indigenous Fijians make up the majority of people, their is an even larger amount of tension as each group fights for political dominance. This is upsetting to here because many people are being affected by the disputes in Fiji. Although it is disheartening to hear about countries in these conditions, it is occuring in many different countries around the world.
This article tied into the political life of the country as it showed how the ethnic groups have argued and fought over the past two decades. Their disagreements have led to much tension between the two groups which has affected their economy greatly. Fiji's economy is made up mainly of tourism and sugar. Since both political parties have fought against each other in many coups, the tourism has been greatly affected since people do not like to travel to places with political instability. This has cause Fiji to have the largest per capita recipients of aid. If the different groups will mingle with each other, the economy in Fiji could benefit greatly.