Nearly 100 students, including primary school children from Fiji, have been discovered engaging in sex trafficking activities on the dark web. Alice Fong, the Ministry of Education’s Divisional Counsellor for the West, disclosed this alarming information during her speech at the Arya Pratinidhi Sabha of Fiji Women’s Conference in Lautoka on Saturday. This report was the lead story on the front page of The Fiji Times for August 19.
Additionally, Josua Naisele, the Acting Director of the National Substance Abuse Advisory Council, noted that students are increasingly moving from traditional substances like suki and cigarettes to marijuana.
In another concerning issue, road safety remains a critical topic as accidents persist nationwide, prompting questions on how to effectively tackle this ongoing challenge that causes injuries and fatalities. A recent incident involved two cargo trucks colliding on the Queens Highway near Emuri in Nadroga, where five individuals narrowly escaped serious harm. Police Traffic Director SSP Mitieli Divuana explained that the driver of one truck lost control, resulting in the vehicle overturning and hitting another truck.
Both truck drivers were urgently transported to Lautoka Hospital, while three passengers received treatment and were later discharged from Sigatoka Hospital. According to the World Health Organization’s Global Status Report on Road Safety 2023, global road traffic deaths have dropped slightly to 1.19 million. The report highlights that while efforts to enhance road safety are making a difference, the toll of road traffic injuries, which are the leading cause of death for children and young adults aged 5-29, remains alarmingly high.
The report emphasizes that more than half of road traffic fatalities involve pedestrians, cyclists, and motorcyclists, especially in low and middle-income countries. It calls for urgent action if the goal of halving road traffic deaths and injuries by 2030 is to be met.
Reflecting on local driving habits, the piece highlights the lack of common courtesy on the roads, particularly during peak traffic hours. Instances of drivers ignoring traffic rules, such as taking inappropriate lanes to bypass congestion, were noted. The discussion calls for reflective driving behaviors like using turn signals and yielding to traffic.
The urgency of addressing road safety is underscored, with a plea for the acting Police Commissioner and traffic authorities to enhance monitoring during peak times. The editorial also urges authorities to address road marking issues to prevent accidents, emphasizing that improved road safety should be a top priority to potentially save lives.