Relevance of Girmit in Contemporary Fiji Results of

Relevance of Girmit in Contemporary Fiji: Results of a Pilot Study International Conference - Indian Indentureship and Girmitiya Descendants: Past, Present and Future (22 -24 th March, 2017) The University of Fiji, Lautoka. By Subhash Appana, Atishwar Pandaram & Shavneet Sharma

Aims of Presentation l Share survey results on the relevance of girmit in contemporary Indo-Fijian youth l To evaluate and discuss the knowledge of girmit in contemporary Indo-Fijian youth l What to do from here?

Methodology l Sample survey in university classrooms among students l 8 research assistants with an approximate timeframe of 60 minutes l Nothing said about the content of the questionnaire except that it had to do with Indo-Fijian students l Respondents not allowed to consult or communicate with each other while filling the questionnaires

Respondents Age 18 -23 24 -29 30 -35 15% 18% 67%

Male Female 32 28

Descendant of Girmitiya? 14% 8% Yes No Note sure 78%

Level of Knowledge of Respondents Level of knowledge of respondents 45, 00% 23, 33% 16, 67% Very poor 13, 33% Average Above average 0, 00% Excellent

Source of Knowledge 7 6 5 4 Source of knowledge 3 2 1 0 Home School Friends Books Newspaper Others:

Seen Photos of Girmit/Girmitiya No 20% Yes 80%

Where have the photos been seen? 14 12 10 8 Where have the photos been seen? 6 4 2 0 Museum Syria Park West Sand dunes Girmit center

Knowledge of Girmit Monuments Yes No Not sure 3% 47% 50%

nt s re pa ra nd G 6 1 3 TV es tiv /re la ve s hi rc l. A na io at 8 N te rn et In 6 Bo ok m eu M us er sp ap ew N e/ in az M ag Girmit Monuments Location 16 4

How Important to Know about Girmit 40, 00% 31, 67% 15, 00% 1, 67% Not important Slightly important Moderately important Important Very important

How Important is Girmit to Fiji 46, 67% 31, 67% 6, 67% 10, 00% 3, 33% 1, 67% Not important Slightly important Moderately important Important Very important No response

Inclusion in School Curriculum No response 2% No 12% Yes 86%

Findings l l l 78% of respondents declared themselves as descendants of girmitiya. 8% said they were not, and 14% were not sure Only 13. 3% declared their level of knowledge of girmit as better than average 0. 05% said that they learnt about girmit at school 80% of respondents had seen photos linked to girmit, while 20% had not seen any girmit-linked photos Most of the girmit photos have either been seen at the Museum or Syria Park (19/60)

Findings l l l 50% of respondents said they had no knowledge of girmit monuments; 3% said they were not sure; while 47% said “yes” Girmit monument location was scattered all over the place with not one respondent saying: Syria Park of Girmit Centre 72% said that it was “important” or “very important” to know about girmit 82% said that girmit was “important” or “very important” to Fiji 87% agreed that girmit should be included in the school curriculum

Where to From Here?

Questions/Comments? Vina’a va’levu Thank you Dhanyavaad Subhash Appanna 22/3/2017