Advocating for the availability of financial aid from the government has become one of the key strategies for Pacific youth working towards community resilience.
Our research has found that same independent approach has seen Fijians reinvent the age-old tradition of
solesolevaki – working together for a common cause – for the digital age. As Seattle-based Fijian Taniela Tokailagi explains, social media has enabled support networks to reach beyond the usual geographic or professional borders: “Solesolevaki in the digital era […] is about how deeply we are connected, regardless of where we are in the world.” Dashed hopes While these initiatives are positive, the fact they are necessary has been a blow to Fijians who had been optimistic after a year of being Covid-19 free since the first case was recorded on March 19, 2020.
Lorena de la Torre Parra Lecturer/Pūkenga, Institute of Development Studies, Massey University Regina Scheyvens Sophie Auckram Research Assistant, Massey University
With tourism stalled and the state seemingly unable to resolve the unravelling crisis, there has been a sense of deepening distress in the Pacific nation.
Instead, it has placed its faith and the fate of its population of 900,000 in the vaccination programme, a policy that has seen it accused of putting commercial interests ahead of the health of ordinary citizens.
Some village chiefs have been so dismayed at government inaction they have instituted their own 14-day mandatory lockdowns.
The current serious outbreak of the COVID-19 Delta variant in Fiji is pushing already stretched health and community resources to the brink.
With tourism stalled and the state seemingly unable to resolve the unravelling crisis, there has been a sense of deepening distress in the Pacific nation.
Instead, it has placed its faith and the fate of its population of 900,000 in the vaccination programme, a policy that has seen it accused of putting commercial interests ahead of the health of ordinary citizens.
Some village chiefs have been so dismayed at government inaction they have instituted their own 14-day mandatory lockdowns.
Image: FIJI TIMES ONLINE
Bula vinaka everyone.
The Fiji Times team hopes you’re all staying well and safe with your families and loved ones in your respective bubbles, and practising every COVID-safety measure that have been advised.
And our thoughts and prayers are with everyone, especially families who have had their loved ones and friends battling this virus in their homes, and to those in isolation and quarantine facilities around the country.
Please continue to execute the COVID-safe protocols in your homes and communities, and also help spread the word of these measures for the safety and wellbeing of everyone around us, particularly our littles ones, the elderly and vulnerable members of our families and communities.