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Post by Chris F on Jun 14, 2011 12:08:25 GMT 12
It's such a shame to see this happen to a part of the world that is paradise. And think of the tourist dollars....it's a pot of gold. I really feel for the people there.
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Post by strikemaster on Jun 14, 2011 13:03:31 GMT 12
More in the news today. Looks to be a real mess. I like the way the Foreign minister has said NZ will not intervene between Tonga and Fiji. More likely can't.
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Post by Chris F on Jun 14, 2011 14:06:40 GMT 12
At the end of the day something needs to be done to retore this paradise back to the pot of gold for the tourist dollar it is.
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Post by Peter Lewis on Jun 14, 2011 15:41:43 GMT 12
Unfortunately this will not happen.
With some experience of Fiji, I came to the conclusion more than 10 years ago that the place will eventually descend into a civil war. Nothing I have seen or heard since has caused me to reconsider that opinion.
It is only a paradise if you commute straight to your fenced-off tourist enclave and don't look outside at the real Fiji. For the local population it is a vastly different and much more deprived situation. Try visiting the working-class areas of Lautoka, Nadi or Suva.
Underneath it all, Fiji has seemingly unsolvable race-based problems.
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Post by kiwithrottlejockey on Jun 14, 2011 16:37:21 GMT 12
Personally, I reckon the current NZ government and the last one handled things badly each time Fiji expelled the NZ Consul-General.
I would have handled things differently if I had been the Minister of Foreign Affairs by sending the following letter to the Dictator of Fiji....
Dear xxxx,
I am writing to inform you that the Consul-General you just expelled from Fiji is still the Consul-General for Fiji, but that this person is now based in Wellington instead of Suva.
We are now instituting a new policy.
ALL applications for visas to enter NZ must be personally issued by the Consul-General for Fiji.
The applicant must be interviewed in person by the Consul-General for Fiji before the application is considered.
As the Consul-General no longer is based in Fiji, it will be necessary for the Fiji Government to put up the money in advance for a return charter flight to Fiji so the Consul-General can carry out this personal interview.
If you don't like these new arrangements, then get stuffed. No further Consul-General will be appointed.
Yours sincerely, etc...
That's how you deal with idiots and wankers, but the past and present NZ governments are obviously too gutless to do things that way.
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Post by Chris F on Jun 15, 2011 10:16:36 GMT 12
Thanks guys for the above info.....Fiji is in our back yard and you are very correct the real people outside the tourist areas are deprived and at some point there needs to be some form of action to help....not just talk.
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Post by chinapilot on Jun 16, 2011 4:33:10 GMT 12
In the mid -seventies the country was well run with admittedly some racial bickering.
Tourists were pouring in with many airlines having daily services through Nadi. Air Pacific was a viable airline and Fiji Air also had plenty of work. It was a paradise then.
Ratu Mara held the place together, good standards of health,schooling and employment was high. Also it was a good place for expats to live and work.
Interesting to remember that the Indian led party actually won an election there but no doubt surprised they had a majority dilly dallied around until the Governor General called another election...
I have a lot of respect for the 'Fijians' and it's not their fault that some British colonials imported large quantities of labourers from a faraway land, with a completely different culture, that were supposed to be repatriated home when their contract was up....the result is a total FU...
This doesn't condone or excuse the present attitude there but it goes along way to understanding why they don't have any respect for the people that got them to this stage...
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