Sienkiewicz - Week 6 Notes

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Stephanie Sienkiewicz Week 6 Field Notes excerpts - Land Issues, Politics

Researched 10/14/99, Typed 10/14/1999

Summary

I performed one life history interview today with a woman in my village named Adi Laite. Her main focus was motherhood. I also interviewed an Indian man named Murat Singh who lives on King's Road just outside of the village. I asked him questions about living near the village and also about land and political issues.
Murat Singh's views on living near the village and leasing land from Fijians
Living near the village:

I asked Murat if he liked living near the village. He said "Yeah, yeah. I stay here, I was born here." He told me that he goes to the village and sometimes goes around and "[he and the Fijians] sit down and drink grog together." Adi Laite told me that Murat was the boss of men in the village who cut cane. I asked him about this and that, as Adi said, he had to come into the village at times to round the men up to come to work if they weren't coming. He explained to me how "it is a gang, it's a harvesting gang...After three weeks, the men get paid for cutting." Every three weeks during the harvesting season the cutters get paid. I asked Murat if he liked being the boss and he said, "yeah." He told me that he had a farm as well. Murat told me that this was his own land but I found out through the course of the interview that he leases this land from one of the mataqalis in Narewa.

Murat told me that the sugar corporation comes to "break the cane" which means that they check for the sweetest cane among all the fields that the gang has to cut and the sweetest one will be cut first. This is the farm which will be cut first then. The men cut until they have 50 tons of sugar and then move onto another field. They come back to this first field once they are done with the first round (50 tons) at all of the fields they have to cut. The gang of cutters includes Murat and then some villagers; my impression is that no other Indians work in the gang.

Murat told me that his farm is near the Sudhar Bhartiya primary school. He told me he has two farms. (I couldn't make out the location of this second farm as I listened to the interview tape.)

I asked Murat if he ever had problems with people not coming to work. He replied, "Yes [but,]...Very frankly, we Indians stay together [with Fijians] and have our grog...there's no problem between us...If you are frank to them, they are frank to you." I pointed out that I have seen Murat visiting one of the houses in the village (across the street from the main part of the village). "We never hated each other...we just sit down...If they have some kind of celebration, we give donations." I asked if any of the villagers visit Murat's home. He said yes, "We Indians can have our celebration and they give."

Murat has always lived in the house he lives in now. It was his parents' house. He told me that they have now both passed away. There were five brothers and three sisters. The two eldest brothers have died. The third one is in America. The fourth one is in Australia. Murat is the youngest brother; he said, "last one I am here...last one down (laughing)." Of his three sisters, two have passed away. The eldest moved to Australia but has died as has the one who moved to America. The third sister is married and lives in Suva. Murat's parents had always lived at the house he lives in now. His father's father also lived there, a "long time." Murat told me that his parents' parents came from India. I asked Murat if they ever told him why they chose to live there. He did not know. That is just the place where they settled.
Political opinions:

I asked Murat's opinion about the last election for prime minister, if he was happy that there was an Indian prime minister. He told me that he felt it was "no problem...because he is helping the poor people." Murat said, "the biggest problem is, at this stage, is the land situation...If the land situation is solved, everything is solved." Murat told me that he has two years before the lease on his land is up. I asked Murat if he thought that Fijians in general would renew the leases to Indians. He told me that if the Fijians "don't want to settle any land, the government allows you $28,000...of your own...to do your business or whatever." Whoever's name appears on the lease will receive this money. I asked Murat if he thought the government would be able to do this (remembering that Va told me that Indians were becoming dissatisfied with Choderey (spelling?) because he wasn't going to be able to keep this promise). He told me, "Ya, they have already passed that thing...So if that money comes, that is something we can get back. If someone just does not [do] the land lease, if the land lease is over, and we have to give the land and the government won't give anything for us...that is our biggest worry...no land, no food, no money, nothing, how we can survive?...The government is taking time and doing one thing that is good for everyone. I asked Murat if he was personally worried about losing his land. He said, "No, that's nothing. Just work it out. Everybody is afraid ,but just go on. We just hope that everything is going to be fixed.
Land issues:

Murat started to tell me about Crown Land. There is schedule A and schedule B Crown land. Rabuka (the former prime minister) wanted to turn this Crown Land into Native Land, which means owned by the mataqali. Murat was saying how all the revenue from this Crown Land goes to the government and "if this goes to the Native Land, then this money will not go to the government. The government is losing revenue." The Fijian mataqalis would gain land then. Murat agreed that he wouldn't want that to happen. "But that is the government problem, Native Land problem...but we [,Fijians and Indians,] stay together, talk together, everything. Whatever becomes what is right and what is wrong, it's after a few years time.

Murat leases from the Yavusa Tabua mataqali in Narewa. He did not know this name without thinking about it. He told me, quietly since my sister and cousin had followed me to the house by that time, that one Fijian man came and posted something on Murat's house which said that he had one month to leave his land. Murat went to the man who he thought was in charge of the mataqali's land to straighten out the situation since the man who posted the notice was not this same man. He had to go around and get signatures in the village, "I went to every mataqali, eight, and they sign it," stating who the real owner of the land was. Then he had to give this to the land office "they are satisfied and said 'o.k.' this land must belong to this." This was approximately six months ago. "So they told me, don't worry about it...because we have to slowly, slowly, slowly."

He said that the government wants everybody to be satisfied. "There's a lot of things, they want to help poor people...everybody, Fijian, Indian, who." The government helps the poor people if bills, food items, medical expenses, school prices come down.

Murat keeps reading the paper and listening to the radio to hear the latest news about the land issue.

I asked him if he thinks that Native Land should be allowed to be sold, as mataqalis are not allowed to sell it presently. He said that if this happens, "within few years, all the land will have gone out from the Fijians...That is the problem, you can't sell that land...They can just renew the lease. "If they take this land to mataqali, and put me out, at that time they can't sell it." I pointed out that they can lease it to other Fijians rather than Indians. I asked Murat if he thought that many Fijians would just keep the land rather than renewing the lease. He replied, "A lot of Fijians, they need to renew this lease. They need money...And second thing that is a big problem...If the land goes to Fijians, they will just lie down. Because Indians just cultivate this land, pay the rent, everything goes to the Native Lands" and they get some money and Fijians then split up what they get. "And now they'll get nothing [if they take back their lands.]" "They have to do it, otherwise they can't get anything...Indians are very hard workers, very hard workers. In the field and cane they are very hard workers. And Fijians, they can't do it. I've seen Fijians, they can't do it. Some of them, they can. But most can't." Murat was saying that if the Fijians take back their lands, they will not produce the crop that Indians produce. The Fijians will make no money then.

Murat is out in the fields at 6:00 in the morning. He doesn't cut. He "goes and has a check." He sees if the laborers are there and working. The truck comes to pick up the cut cane and Murat has to make sure everything is running on time to get the cane to the truck. I asked him if he ever has trouble with people that do not come to work. He pointed out that Indians work seven days per week and that the Fijians take Sundays off. "Indians, they are very hard workers."

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Asking Adi Laite about politics and land issues

I asked Adi what she thought about having an Indian Prime Minister. She said it was good to have change. "We'll she how he works out. Rabuka was with us for five years. We'll see how this one keeps his promises." I told Adi that I heard that Chodery (spelling?) promised to relocate Indians if their land leases aren't renewed. She said "Because the land belongs to the Fijians. The land lease if over in 99 years. It's over now. It is our land" I asked Adi if her mataqali was going to renew their land leases. She said that she didn't know, that her brother would know. The mataqali must get together to decide on the issue. "If they want the new lease, they'll give. If not, they can't do anything about." I asked Adi if she thought they should renew it or not. She said she thought they should renew it. "Because [Indians] have to work on the land. If they do not renew the lease, the land will just lie there like that. [The Fijians from the mataqali] will work it but not all of them. They can't work on that land. There is plenty land here. The Indians can. We know them, they are hard working, even now. So, we are waiting for Choderey's promises. If it's true then it's ok." I asked Adi if she thought that the Indians would work harder than the Fijians would. She said "Yes, in my opinion. I see that. We Fijians say 'this is our land, it's our land.' But, we can't work on it like Indians do. But it is up to the mataqali to decide."

Researched 10/15/99, Typed 10/15/1999
Summary

Today I performed one life history interview. Also, in the evening, an Indian man came to my house wanting to drink grog.
An Indian Guest in my home

An Indian man showed up at the door of my house this evening. He was invited inside and my family told me he wanted to drink grog. They were laughing because my three year old niece ran out of the room when she saw him. They said that she was scared of him (which she really was). The man brought two bags of yaqona to drink with the family. A woman who was visiting the house (a Fijian) got the man a cup of tea right after he entered. My Nana mixed the grog. She used a large plastic bowl rather than the talanoa I've seen used at every other grog-drinking occasion. My Tata stayed seated in his chair in the sitting room rather than sitting on the floor. He stayed and watched rugby on television with my family and the other villagers that came over.

My Nana told me that this man goes from house to house in the village and from village to village asking for work. He does farm work but doesn't want to be paid in cash. He wants to be paid in "silver" she said. This means that he wants food and clothing in return for his labor. He is presently working on one farm in the village (the one on the hill across the road). When he is done, he is going to 'suit up', as my Nana said, and go to town in his new pants and shirt.

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