The Benevolent Dictatorship

Lautoka. Fiji Islands. July 2012

July brought the opportunity to escape the wind and rain of NZ. Captain Shane had managed to sail his yacht "The Dealer" all the way from Auckland to Tonga and then on to the Fiji islands. Phoning from Vuda point marina near Lautoka, he said "Why don't you guys come up here for a week?" Shizuka is always keen for a tropical island holiday and I was keen for some sailing and swimming in warm water so tickets were booked and we checked in at Auckland international Airport for the 3 hour flight to Nadi.

We have been to Fiji before, in 2003, when we stayed in the south of the main island Viti Levu. To be honest, my impressions of the place were not good. It was like a 3rd world country with highly visible poverty and run down infrastructure everywhere you went. In the countryside some people live in really primitive conditions. Add in some obvious ethnic tension and you get a depressing image of what should be a paradise. Think Africa rather than South Pacific.

Fiji has an interesting population mix. The indigenous people are melanesian and have that relaxed island way of life. Fijians are friendly....almost disconcertingly friendly. They are very helpful to the tourist's and most of the resort or hotel staff are Fijian. Just like the Polynesians, they make great rugby players and they like to eat and drink and sing. You won't find a more chilled out, laid back people. When the islands were part of the Empire, the British imported thousands of labourers from India to work the sugar plantations that are still a major export earner today. Indians are generally hard working and ambitious and before long had became established in commercial sector of the economy. Indians also tend to be very astute with money and don't encourage their children to marry outside of their own culture. Fast forward a hundred years and the Indians have thrived to the point where the demographic is split evenly between the Fijian native and the Indian communities. They live side by side fairly peacefully but you wouldn't really say they are integrated. This has caused a lot of friction between them as the Fijians hold most of the land while the Indians own most of the businesses. Democracy has lead to ineffective governments as no one can obtain a clear majority. Corruption was rife and there have been several military coups as the mostly Fijian army has stepped in when ever they felt threatened by an Indian controlled government.

 Before the 2006 takeover Fiji was a divided, under performing nation which had never lived up to its potential. Now, from my own experiences, I would say the country is on an upward course and things do look like they are improving. Of course NZ and Australia have played their role to perfection, moaning and complaining bitterly about martial law and subversion of democratic process and censorship and all that other crap that politicians do when they see their counterparts in other countries unceremoniously booted out of power and privilege. The press also howled and bitched to the extent that some of them were deported and told not to come again. Fiji, as one of our closest neighbours, has always been aligned with NZ but our government's sanctimonious behaviour has caused a rift. This is something that hasn't escaped the notice of China. Eager to purchase allies and influence in the South Pacific, the Chinese have wasted no time in replacing NZ and Australia as Fiji's best friend. China's "soft power"  is very visible on the streets of Nadi with a notably expanded Chinese community and on Lautoka's commercial wharves which are piled high with containers filled with Chinese goods. From the Chinese fishing boats in the harbour to the Chinese funded development projects there's no doubt about it...China is Fiji's new BFF.

 So the army set out to do what was good for the country and wasn't prepared to listen to any dissent or opposition. For this they were roundly condemned and isolated by the western world. The people who actually live in Fiji see it a bit differently however. Of all the people I have asked, Indian and Fijian, here in NZ or in Fiji itself , all have said that they approve of and support their military government and all agreed that they are better off for it. Corruption is under control, foreign investment is increasing, tourism is growing, living standards are improving and people actually seem to be happy. Military government has worked for Fiji.

There's an interesting conclusion to be drawn here...in a country that's split right down the middle, be it on ethnic, religious or ideological lines, democracy will produce ineffective, impotent governments. This is bad for a country. All the developed democratic countries now produce mediocre governments who are unable and unwilling to make real progress. In Fiji I see a genuinely popular government that makes things happen. At the same time I see NZ and Australian governments moralising and condemning, while all the while they do nothing to halt our own decline. If Commodore Frank arrived in Wellington with a gun and threw out all the useless riff-raff that inhabit our parliament I don't think I'd be at all unhappy.