On May 17, 1982, India Fiji Day was commemorated at the Suva Civic Centre. An article in The Fiji Times the following day reported that the Minister for Labour, Industrial Relations and Immigration, Tomasi Vakatora, delivered the keynote address at the event, stating that “Fiji ensures multiracial peace and harmony by accepting race as a fact of life.”
Earlier in the day, the Royal Fiji Military Forces band led a youth march through the city to Sukuna Park.
Vakatora mentioned that during his travels overseas, people often inquired about Fiji’s multiracial society. He noted, “How is it possible, they ask, for Fijians and Indians, who are roughly equal in number, to live side by side with each other?”
“The answer is simple – we accept race as a fact of life. We don’t hide from it or attempt to suppress it. We recognize it in our Constitution, and since independence, the Government has actively promoted the concept of a multiracial and multi-religious society, with each of us enriching the other through our diverse cultures, traditions, and religious beliefs. When we look at the violence and bitterness in the world stemming from racial tensions, it has been a remarkable achievement.”
Vakatora also referred to American civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., who, shortly before his death, delivered his famous “I Have a Dream” speech envisioning a nation where children would not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. He remarked, “Fiji has realized that dream, not by accident but through deliberate policies grounded in goodwill and a sense of justice.”
“Living in a multiracial society is akin to being on the sea in a small boat – if one person decides to row in a different direction, we risk getting lost or capsizing. We have to trust the navigator – does he have the experience to guide us through rough waters and bring us home safely? Anyone can steer when the sea is calm, but it takes courage and skill to lead all of us to the same destination.”
“To excel beyond the past, we must remain in contact with it, feeling it under our feet because we have raised ourselves upon it.”