Each Pacific country is dealing with its own issues, but one of the major issues is corruption.

A preconference of the Journalism Education and Research Association of Australia (JERAA), AUT Pacific Media Centre (PMC) and Media Educators Pacific (MeP) in partnership with Transparency International (TINZ) gave a platform yesterday to discuss the corruption in the Pacific and the role of the media to deal with it.

Pacific director of TINZ and facilitator for the session, Fuimaono said: “Corruption is very much like cancer. It has to be treated early otherwise it would be massively expensive.”

He said the world has become intensively interested in what is going on in the Pacific.

The European Union, World Bank and Asian Development Bank are taking interest in the Pacific. The numbers of international treaties have been signed but “where all these resources are going?”, he said.

“Corruption is fundamentally crucial to successful development in the Pacific.”

Root cause
Kalafi Moala, publisher and broadcaster of Taimi ‘o Tonga group, said: “Corruption in Tonga is worse now than it has ever been.”

After spending 12 months in the prime minister’s office as a media advisor he decided it was totally useless and waste of his time.

“I found out that despite all the reforms we were doing and who were in charge, corruption continued to grow and to be dealt with,” he said.

Moala said the impact on the poor people with such corruption was extremely severe in small island nations like Tonga in the Pacific.

“We have in Tonga today a population that is broken hearted because their hope for something different in the society has been wounded. This government has not been able to deliver [on promises they made].”

He said there were causes for the corruption and there were questions that we needed to ask in the Pacific because every aspect of our society — at least in Tonga — we see the effect of corruption.

“First, we have to first find the cause of corruption and then we have to deal with it.”

Investigative journalists
Dr Shailendra Singh, head of journalism at the University of the South Pacific, said: “Politicians are not taking corruption seriously in Fiji.”

However, journalists with the lack of education and skills, were also major issues.

According to his PhD research in 2012, only 32 percent of journalists have more than 3 years of experience that is well below the global average and at the same time only 55 percent of the journalists have less than 6 years of experience.

In addition, Dr Singh said experienced journalists were not out in the front line. They were running newsrooms. Journalists who were reporting on field had less than 3 years of experience.

Oonly 49 percent of Fiji journalists had any formal academic education.

“You need experienced reporters with some investigative skills to analyse and report corruption systematically, which is lacking in Fiji,” Dr Singh said.

He said geopolitics and political correctness could be a further contributor to corruption.

Ask hard questions
Alexander Rheeney, editor-in-chief of the PNG Post-Courier, said Papua New Guinea was going through an economic and global political crisis at the moment.

“Any journalist would love to work in PNG because we have best stories in the world.”

He said journalists need to start asking hard questions now in PNG, as reporting and fighting against corruption was always a work in progress [situation] for PNG.

It is challenging for the PNG journalists to hold the leaders accountable and they are being the “meat in the sandwich”, said Rheeney.

“We have got people passionate about holding government accountable on one side and on the other side leaders want us to cover other issues in Papua New Guinea.”

However, he said as a journalist he and his colleagues were not only the defender of truth but also the defender of freedom of expression.

“The journalists should defend Papua New Guineans’ rights to express themselves,” he said.

Listen to TJ Aumua’s podcast on corruption and the role of the media.

Archived live feed

Migrants from Gujarat who are living in Auckland have set up a theatre and literature group to celebrate their mother tongue.

The group’s treasurer, Rupesh Parikh, says it was formed to provide a formal structure to make things happen.

Gujarati Sahitya Mandal (Gujarati Literature Group) consists of 15 core members who enjoy Gujarati literature. They launched the mandal or group on April 30.

The president of the group is Shailesh Prajapati.

“It is essential for our next generation to know their mother tongue. Therefore, we decided to start the Mandal to spread, promote and teach Gujarati language,” he says.

“We are also planning to teach Gujarati to the younger kids so they know the importance of the mother tongue and can feel proud of that.”

The group plans to organise workshops, readings, festivals and literary events, seminars, exhibition, symposiums, community and various social events alongside encouraging aspiring contemporary and new writers with a prize.

Hosting overseas artists
Brijesh Oza, Gujarati Sahitya Mandal’s secretary, says there are also plans to invite and host overseas artists and visitors.

Prajapati has been working in the media, arts and entertainment industries for 35 years. He is a part of Auckland-based Rangmanch of NZ, an organisation for Gujarati drama.

“We are also planning to present stage-plays, musical functions and recitations of Gujarati culture and tradition,” he says.

“We want Gujarati people to come forward and help us to keep alive our language. We want them to become a member of this mandal and support us so that we can pursue our goal together.”

The group plans to invite Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is Gujarati and was a Chief Minister of Gujarat for more than 10 years.

Oza says that such activities play important role when people are living in another country.

“Such mandal keeps you connected to your roots, culture and values. It helps you to establish your own identity.”

The group has annual membership fees and wants support from the Indian community of New Zealand. The group may also needsome additional funding from the government or private companies as well.

“Don’t be embarrassed to speak your language and be proud of being Gujarati,” says Prajapati.

Ami Dhabuwala writes for Asia Pacific Report and this article was first published by Te Waha Nui, both journalism publications at AUT.

By Ami Dhabuwala, recently in Fiji

Fiji was the first country in the Pacific to ratify the United Nations climate change deal agreed on in Paris on February 12, and fulfilling the promise by signing the agreement on April 22.

According to The Guardian: “Under its national climate action plan, Fiji pledged to generate 100 percent of its electricity from renewable sources by 2030. It also promised to cut overall emissions from its energy sector by 30 percent by 2030 compared to business-as-usual, conditional on it receiving climate finance from industrialised nations.”

Asia Pacific Report recently spoke to young climate change advocates and researchers at the University of the South Pacific’s Pacific Centre for the Environment and Sustainable Development (PaCE-SD) in Suva about the Pacific’s response to the COP21 outcome in Paris. Here are the views of two of them:

‘Great news’
Diana Salili, a climate change masters’ student from the University of South Pacific, says: “The signed agreement is GREAT news. This is a positive step forward; although there is much that remains to be done.”

Salili was a part of the Vanuatu delegation coordination team during the COP21 Paris conference last year.

“Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) remain voluntary, and it’s difficult to know if or how nations will be penalised if they fail to live up to their promises.”

‘Issue of accountability’
Jenny Jiva was a member of the Fiji delegation at COP21.

“The agreement is voluntary and it is up to the individual countries to abide by the agreement.”

In the Paris conference, the countries agreed to reduce the carbon emission for holding the increase in the temperature well below 2 degrees Celsius.

Jiva says INDCs currently submitted are “leading us to at least a 2.7 degrees Celsius temperature rise, not the 2 degrees that was agreed to in Paris.”

There is a major issue of accountability and transparency, says Salili.

“There is still no process to independently verify all 195 countries’ greenhouse gas inventories, or progress towards their targets.”

She says this could pose serious problems in the years to come as INDCs have been calculated and presented to the UN in many different ways.

“The lack of a common or comparable format will clearly make national emissions reductions even harder to assess and track. A solution needs be developed urgently.”

‘Loss and damage’
Jiva followed the “loss and damage” track during the COP21 Paris conference. She says ratifying the agreement is two-pronged.

“At least 55 parties need to ratify and they also need to make up at least 55 percent of emissions. This means it is crucial for developed countries and newly industrialising countries to be a part of this process and ratify the agreement. ”

There are 14 Pacific parties which contribute only 0.03 percent of emissions. “Therefore, it is a complex process and that will require collective action.”

Jiva says climate change is happening now. If we continue with ‘business as usual’, it will affect people all over the world.

“It is not just an issue for the future, it we don’t take action now, whole countries could disappear and their culture as well.”

Youth all over the world need to be encouraged to hold their leaders and governments accountable she says.

‘Positive action’
“If great numbers of young people collectively show they want positive action on climate change, I believe our leaders will listen.”

Salili says the youth should be pro-active in this movement. They should engage in community adaptation and excel in climate change in the Pacific.

“Why do they need inspiration?” asks Salili.

She says youth from the neighbouring countries are close enough to all the smaller Pacific Island countries to be aware of what is going on in the Pacific in terms of climate change.

“If they need to be inspired to do something about climate change; something is very wrong somewhere!”

• Video: Jenny Jiva speaks out on climate change

The global offshoot of the climate change movement 350.org, called Break Free, has been waging a campaign against the fossil industry for the past two weeks climaxing this weekend.

As part of the campaign, Break Free successfully blockaded ANZ’s flagship branch in central Auckland today, forcing it to close down for the day.

From May 4 to May 15 – on Sunday, activists from all over the world have protested against fossil fuel industries and other corporates and organisations supporting them.

Protesters in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, Indonesia, Nigeria, Philippines, South Africa, United Kingdom and United States as well as in New Zealand have staged “civil disobedience” demonstrations to spread their ideas behind “breaking free” from the fossil fuel industries.

As a part of this movement, 350 Aotearoa has demonstrated in Christchurch, Wellington, Hamilton and Dunedin as well as Auckland in New Zealand.

The climate change activists in Auckland successfully closed down the ANZ Queen St branch today by blockading both entrances in Queen and Wellesley Sts.

The activists launched the “Beach Party” campaign by dancing in Auckland’s ANZ bank in Queen St on May 4.

Wave of direct action
“This can be a launch pad for a wave of direct action to keep the major fossil fuels under the ground,” said spokesperson Alex Johnston at the time.

A group of 15-20 people entered the bank branch dancing with music playing in the background.

Activists in swim suits and scuba diving outfits danced and played with a beach ball in this unique protest. They handed out flyers, saying: “Business as usual cannot continue.”

“Break free is a global wave of action and it is helping to bring a whole movement of people into taking direct action for climate change. This protest is to show the banks that you can’t keep operating like this,” Johnston said.

The demonstration lasted for only a couple of minutes and then the activists left the ANZ bank shouting: “Party is over, Divest now.”

Niamh O’Flynn is the executive director for 350 Aotearoa.

“ANZ have invested $13.5 billion [since 2008] in the fossil fuel industry and there is no legitimacy in that anymore,” says Niamh O’Flynn, executive director of 350 Aotearoa.

‘ANZ has responsibility’
“As the largest bank in the Pacific Islands, ANZ has a responsibility to do its part to prevent further damage to the climate.”

According to the activists, they would not accept corporations profiting from industries which are contributing to climate change.

“The time for change is now and people are getting ready to take serious action,” O’Flynn says.

Apart from ANZ, the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (parent company of ASB), National Australia Bank (Parent Company of BNZ) and Westpac have also invested $10.6 billion, $8.86 billion and $6.33 billion respectively since 2008.

The aim of the “Break Free” movement in New Zealand is to persuade ANZ to divest from fossil fuels.

The activists have demanded that the bank should immediately stop all loans to new coal, oil and gas projects. In addition, they should withdraw all investment in fossil fuel extraction companies within the next 3 years and they should commit to no future investment in fossil fuels.

Alex Johnston says it is the citizens’ collective duty to take action. A proper action plan is needed.

Empowering for action
“It is not just our future; it is also about our future generation. It is empowering that we are taking action. We are pushing for a healthy and sustainable future.”

The young activists said they were contributing to the better future.

Sandy Hildebrandt is a campaigns assistant for 350 Aotearoa.

“We are not asking customers to switch banks yet, as there are no divested banks in New Zealand,” she says.

“While customers are not our targets, we are certainly working every angle to put pressure on banks to divest.”

Almost 100 of people came together today to protest against one of the biggest investors for fossil fuel.

“We can’t see the change in the climate now. The winter has already started but we still feel warmth in the environment,” said a young activist.

Singing and dancing
People were singing and dancing during the protest. Many old-age people also participated in the protest with a great enthusiasm.

Hana and Mathew Blackmore are one older couple taking part. When younger, they participated in the protest against the nuclear weapons and power.

“Our youth have to come forward and fight for it. We are doing this for our children and grandchildren,” the couple said.

The activists sat on the main entrance for more than five hours and managed to block it.

At last, the employees at the ANZ Queen St branch were asked to leave the bank which gave a huge success to the 350 Aotearoa and the protesters.

A media spokesperson for ANZ, Peter Barnao, said the bank respected the activists’ right to freedom of speech and their rights to protest.

Green technology
“ANZ is already expanding into renewable energy. We have also invested in green technology and renewable resources. So the trend is happening.”

O’Flynn said the activists were on the right side of history.

“I think being peaceful and welcoming is the way to involve more people in this moment. Sometimes it is hard and sometimes people don’t always agree with us but I think the future generation will look back and see these people sitting outside of this bank as climate heroes.”

Ami Dhabuwala is an international student journalist from India on the Postgraduate Diploma in Communication Studies and on the Asia Pacific Journalism Studies course at AUT University, New Zealand.

• 350.org Aotearoa
• Break Free

The people of the Pacific have been handed a big challenge over the weekend – mobilise for urgent climate change action and “save the world” through their example.

Bill McKibben, founder of the global grassroots climate campaign 350.org, challenged Pacific islanders to fight for the climate change movement at a conference at the University of the South Pacific.

It is ideal for Pacific people to use solar power, fuel efficient cars, ride bicycles, he argues.

But in the end it would not make any difference to the final outcome for the fight for climate change as there are small populations in the Pacific.

“The Pacific is probably going to play a crucial role in helping to build the movement that changes the politics around climate change,” he said.

“You can make big countries like China, United States and Australia to act fast on it. You have a particular job to build this movement.”

The seminar, organised by USP’s environmental studies programme PACE-SD, focused on climate change action.

“We started the 350.org operation almost 8 years ago to build the movement for climate change around the world,” said McKibben.

‘We need a fight’
McKibben has written several books on the environment, including The End of Nature; The Age of Missing Information; Hope, Human and Wild, Oil and Honey.

“I thought long ago that writing books, discussions, and talks could solve this issue, but I was wrong at that time. We need a fight. We have to fight against the fossil fuel industries and against their money and power.”

To fight against the power of these industries, he explained the necessity of a movement.

“It is a systemic structural problem and we have only a few years to solve it. We require a huge political change. We need to find some source of power other than money to fight against [the fossil fuel industry] and the only other source is to build the movement.”

McKibben said this could be an opportunity for the Pacific people to save the world.

“It is a great burden to be in the Pacific right now. You didn’t ask for climate change and you didn’t cause it – yet it’s happening to you.

“But you can turn this burden into a privilege. You can fight together to save the world from this crisis.”

‘Deep emergency’
He talked about how it was known 25 years ago that the world would face the effects of climate change because of the fossil fuel and other industries, but “we didn’t know how fast it would be”.

“We are in the deep climate change emergency. It is much deeper than we thought,” he said.

McKibben believes that it is not a matter of decades – it is only a matter of years now. The world needs to act fast with the fight over climate change.

“Since the Pacific faces the quickest danger than any part of the world, you have more right, more credibility to stand up and push this movement on the fast track.

“We have to make the world understand about the crisis, which is the most difficult job. We have got to figure out the way to make them understand.”

Professor McKibben has already covered many countries, including Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, China, Ethiopia, India, Pakistan, Russia, United Arab Emirates (UAR) and the US, with the 350.org campaign.

New Zealand approach
This campaign comes up with creative ideas in different countries.

For New Zealand, they took help from the bike mechanics. They went to the people’s garages and helped them to repair their bikes – so they could not find an excuse not to ride their bicycles.

Koreti Tiumalu has worked for the New Zealand government for 10 years. But 4 years ago she quit her job and now is now working with 350.org as the Pacific region coordinator.

“I have heard stories that sometimes I wish I wouldn’t have. It’s not an easy fight. But I can’t just sit there and do nothing.”

Tiumalu believes that young people love their culture and with the help of concerts, music and smart phones, they can become a huge part of this movement.

“We need to get into their music, their sports.”

350.org plans to launch a “Break Free” campaign to target the world’s dangerous fossil fuel projects during May 4-15.

Ami Dhabuwala and Pacific Media Watch contributing editor TJ Aumua are in Fiji on a two-week “Bearing Witness” climate change journalism project with the University of the South Pacific.

• The 350.org website
• 350.org Pacific

Fiji is already struggling to cope with the aftermath from the recent tropical cyclone Winston, other storms and the impact of climate change, but suicide among youth is also becoming a major concern for parents and communities.

Suicide became a national issue in Fiji last year when fresh statistics showed worrying trends. Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama showed his concern for the increasing rate of suicide cases, especially among youth.

Bainimarama said that counselling services and initiatives already existed in Fiji, but he would ask every branch of government to improve its response to youth suicide.

Last year, there were 89 cases of suicide from January to September, which had 10 cases of children aged under 16. Also, there were more than 20 people aged between 17 and 25 years who had committed suicide during the same time.

However, this issue has some deeper roots back into the 1990s.

Peter M. Forster (UK), Selina C. Kuruleca (Fiji) and C. R. Auxier (USA) published a report named A Note on Recent Trends in Suicide in Fiji in 2007 in the Journal of Pacific Rim Psychology. They collected suicide data from Adinkrah who reported in 1995 and from Booth who reported in the years 1997 and 1999.

They had cited that the “standardised” annual rate of suicide for the year 2002 at 15 per 100,000 population for male and 11 for females.

Current scenario
Government has launched National Child Helpline since last January in partnership with the Medical Services Pacific (MSP).

People in need for counselling are provided a toll free number 1325 to talk with trained counsellors. It is a 24-hour helpline.

“We have got almost 7000 calls since last September,” says Peci Baladrokadroka, a senior counsellor in MSP.

Naina Ragigia, a Fiji Police Force spokesperson, shows her concern because the force receives many calls related to suicide cases as well.

“The Fiji Police Force receives an average of 5 reports of suicide in a month. Most reports of suicide cases received are only attempted suicide, which is much higher than the suicide cases.”

People from different age groups, starting from 5 to 70 are attempting suicide.

“We have noticed young people around the age of 12-23 years are mostly victims of suicide cases,” says Ragigia.

Reasons for suicide
There are so many reasons ranging from child neglect to poverty which are leading people to commit suicide in Fiji.

“In young people, child neglect, sexual abuse and physical abuse are one of the major reasons,” says Peci Baladrokadroka.

Ragigia says that in some cases children are disappointed by his or her own parents.

“A 10-year-old boy was playing outside his home. His mother scolded him to come home and study. But that boy took this in a different way; he locked himself in his room and eventually hanged himself.

“Children from the young ages of 12 years are now committing this offence which is indeed a sad thing,” she said.

Entertainment programmes on television and radio are also contributing.

“Last year we had a case of 12-year-old girl. She was trying to mimic a scene [of a suicide] from the movie, but ended up dead instead,” says Ragigia.

Breaking points
For the young students career and good grade are also one of the major breaking points.

Matthew Galuvakadua works as a volunteer at Youth Champs for Mental Health.

“Family expectations put extreme pressure on young children, especially when exams are a concern,” he says.

Galuvakadua has been working with this organisation for the past four years. The group mainly focuses on suicide prevention for young people in Fiji and tries to reduce the stigma associated with it, especially people living with mental illness.

Apart from this, relationships and family issues are also among major reasons for suicide. Peci says that drugs, alcohol, educational needs and poverty also contribute.

The issue is becoming more serious each year and the government, with the help of local organisations and NGOs, is trying to deal with the suicide cases, but results are disappointing.

Reluctant over information
“When Asia Pacific Report tried to contact different organisations for statistical data and information, they were reluctant to give any details.

Ragigia says suicide is a very sensitive issue and how foreign media might present the scenario is difficult to judge.

“Organisations seem to be reluctant over this particular issue because they don’t want Fiji to be represented in a wrong way.”

Peci says the government is running many awareness programmes with different organisations.

The Fiji police also conducts various awareness programmes for the general community.

They have a fine relationship with the local health authorities.

Frequent check-ups
“The Fiji police is fortunate to have services of our local health authorities for offering a frequent medical check-up for the victims and there are also counselling services offered from local NGOs that we are able to refer to the victims for counselling purposes,” says Ragigia.

However, Galuvakadua thinks that the government should be more involved with mental health organisations.

“Government should work and form better relationships with existing mental health service providers in the community,” he says.

Galuvakadua also shows his concern about lack of rehabilitation centres in Fiji.

“The Community Recovery Outreach Programme is the only functioning rehabilitation programme that refers people at-risk from suicide to people living with mental illness, sending them to St Giles Hospital in Fiji.”

He hopes to see an improvement in the months ahead.

Ami Dhabuwala is a postgraduate student journalist at AUT University. She is reporting on the Asia-Pacific Journalism course and is currently in Fiji.

Fiji’s National Child Helpline – ring 1325

Fiji is gearing up to launch a monitor-and-clean-up project over the predator crown of thorns starfish.

The crown of thorns starfish (COTS), or Acanthaster, is responsible for disturbing coral reef ecosystems in the Indo-Pacific coastal area.

The creature is  also having a bad impact on local communities which rely on the coral reefs for their livelihood.

In 2013, rural communities of southeast Santo in Vanuatu reported severe outbreaks of the COTS in the water.

After a few years of research and requests from local people, the Vanuatu Fisheries Department launched an initiative called the Oceania Regional Acanthaster Network (OREANET) to control the outbreak of COTS in Vanuatu and New Caledonia.

Dr Pascal Dumas, a research scientist with the Vanuatu Fisheries Department, said: “With the help of more than 10 years of reports, we have found that many Pacific islands are affected by the crown of thorns starfish.

“But as we don’t have exact quantitative data, it is a high time to start a small scale monitoring initiative.”

Lethal injection
The project focuses on different methods to eradicate COTS, including lethal injection, electric/physical barrier and asphyxiation.

“We have reports of the COTS outbreak in Fiji from our colleagues in the University of the South Pacific. They were observing outbreaks in some areas of Fiji,” said Dr Dumas.

He said there was some evidence linking the COTS outbreak to climate change.

“Increasing temperature of sea water and enrichment of coastal water are two major effects of climate change that leads to the outbreak of COTS in the water,” he said.

The project is based on the support of local communities.

Dr Dumas is looking for people in Fiji who are willing to go into the water and send reports about COTS “hotspots” in different areas which immediately need to be cleaned up.

“We need students from USP as well to work on this project. The students will be responsible to communicate with local NGOs, communities, dive operators and resort owners.”

Early warning
This project includes a website as an early warning system.

Sylvie Fiat, a data manager and IT engineer from IRD (Institut de recherche pour le développement), has developed a website and a mobile app (for Android and Windows phone) to reach out to the local people.

“Local people have to fill up a simple observation report form about their name, place and the amount of COTS they have observed in the specific region. With this request, a trained team will start the clean-up process of COTS,” said Fiat.

They have launched a website for the Fiji project as well. The website will help them monitor the COTS in different regions and also to develop an effective risk management strategy to save coral reefs.

However, people without internet access may take some help from the key people of the local community or region.

“We had some issues with the internet in New Caledonia. As a solution we appointed a few key persons in the community who can have access to the internet and with their help, people could easily submit the request form on our website or mobile application.”

The team is planning to launch awareness campaigns in Fiji in the upcoming weeks. They will give some information and training about COTS to the local communities.

“COTS have strong and poisonous thorns. So people are not supposed to touch them directly. Last year two men in Vanuatu died because of the poison,” said Dr Dumas.

He is interested in expanding this project to other Pacific Islands as well.

“We have some requests from Kiribati and Tuvalu. So hopefully we will launch this project in these countries soon.”

• The University of South Pacific’s Pacific Centre for Environment & Sustainable Development (PaCE-SD) is hosting a weekly seminar for students during their semester. This week, they invited Dr Pascal Dumas and Sylvie Fiat from Vanuatu to inform the students about their project.

Ami Dhabuwala and Pacific Media Watch contributing editor TJ Aumua are in Fiji on a two-week “Bearing Witness” climate change journalism project with the University of the South Pacific.

• Crown of thorns website in Vanuatu
• ‘Bearing Witness’ project

While the world was busy celebrating Women’s Day on March 8, in Fiji many women from different communities were struggling for their basic needs.

“In my community, I want to see improved infrastructure including proper crossings and bus shelter,” says a woman from Lautoka, Alecy Amua, who is worried about children’s safety.

“I want young people to access the training and support they need,” says Amacy Antonio of Suva, who is concerned about the violence and bullying in the communities that encourages suicide.

The irony is that the voices of these women are unheard and this leads to major issues that women are facing in Fiji.

“Women in Fiji have been recently facing issues related to food security, market economy, health, infrastructural problems — which are long standing — and access to the water,” says Sian Rolls, programme associate media advocacy of the regional feminist media organisation FemLINKPACIFIC.

“Women from significant communities are apathetic to the issues because they haven’t had the opportunity to access to the leadership or communication training or to speak for their family, for the community or for themselves.

“They cannot find a way to reach out to the local government agency.”

Lengthy, tiresome communications
The process of informing the government about the problems is not only lengthy but also tiresome.

For people living in a settlement, they have to take their issues through the advisory council.

Information is then taken to the district level and finally feedback is sent back to the community.

For those living in a village, they need to work through the provincial council.

Both systems still prefer men for communicating about issues.

This means major gender discrimination and ultimately women are excluded from the decision-making process.

However, the Fiji government has shown improvements in some areas.

Women in Parliament
Fiji has the highest number of women in Parliament in the Pacific – 16 percent.

There are also four women in the Fiji cabinet.

But local areas are underprivileged and women from these communities need government attention.

In 2014, the national gender policy was adopted. But such information is not making its way down to the advisory council level or provincial council level — or even to the villages.

Lack of education about the policy at local level means officials need to be reminded to include women in development planning.

In fact, women are facing problems about articulating their issues and fighting against gender discrimination.

Community radio
To give a voice to Fiji women, femLINKPACIFIC launched its own community radio in 2004.

The purpose of the radio was to bridge the gap between young and older women. Young women are keen to learn new technology whereas older women have not been able to present their issues.

The radio is a platform where women can raise their voice together and solve community issues.

FemLINKPACIFIC’S Sian Rolls believes that the more women are invested in, the better off their community is. With the objective of making women self-sufficient, they are willing to create an environment for their voice to be heard.

While FemLINKPACIFIC’s work is not focused on disaster and relief, its Women’s Weather Watch network and campaigns have been reflecting weather patterns. Its advocates say this programme is the only women’s centre information and communication model being used in the Pacific.

“As a leader I want to see myself, first to be a reliable person and well educated. I must work out my time between my family commitments and socialisation,” says Luisa Yalobula.

She is the leader of Bulileka Women’s Group and thinks that tradition, education, sometimes husband, source of income and communications are the barriers for the leadership.

Rolls says: “It is not only about changing the stories, but it is about bringing their voices to the society. Because when a woman shares her story, experiences on a multimedia platform, it makes a lot of difference in people’s mind.”

After Cyclone Winston
Fiji women used to consider themselves secondary to their husband and children. Because of that they are compromising their own health to make sure that their children’s requirements are taken care of, say advocates.

This includes pure water and hygiene issues. Usually dignity packs do not come with the immediate relief supplies, which accelerates women’s hygiene issues.

In Vatani Kaba village, Tailevu, for example, women need to travel a lot to access basic healthcare. Women have to spend almost $200 to get to the nearest main medical centre.

They have to catch a bus to a jetty and then they have to catch a bus for a nearby town and if they have to go to the capital, Suva, then again catch another bus to reach to centre.

Also, women from this village are facing major issues related to pure water. They have one pool in the middle of the village and it is the only source for them to get pure water.

In 2014, the women got vaginal infections for not getting the pure water.

Now far worse
It took 8 months for their recovery but again a dry spell and Cyclone Winston have made things worse for this village.

FemLINKPACIFIC’s programme associate network coordonation Frances Tawake says: “Many families have moved to the mainland because of the poor access to water in Vatani. If this problem is not solved now, no one will be left at the village.”

The government has not taken this issue seriously even though women have been talking about it in their district meetings.

“We will continue to voice our issues about water until it gets fixed. We will not lose hope. Our grandmothers, our mothers have gone through this and now it’s our turn. This water problem should not continue,” says Merewairita Nasiri, 39, from Vatani Kaba, who is determined to solve this issue for her village.

Apart from this, many of the women have lost their homes and now they are facing problems in terms of their shelter.

“Internal displacement is becoming a major issue for the women. Women are forced to move to the urban centre which may lead to the possibility of sexual exploitation. We do have some sexual harassment cases from the evacuation centres.”

Menka Goundan, a research officer from the Fiji Women’s Rights Movement, gave some insights about the women’s condition after Winston cyclone.

“In some cases, because of the economic insecurity, women are forced to provide one meal a day to their families. Also, some of the families are less likely to send their girl child to school,” says Goundan.

Cyclone Winston first struck western Fiji early last month before double backing and devastating the country on February 20 with a death toll of 44. It has been more than a month now since for these women to try to rebuild normal lives again.

Ami Dhabuwala is a postgraduate student journalist at AUT University. She is reporting on the Asia-Pacific Journalism course.