CoveragePost
April 29, 2026
By Christina Persico, RNZ Pacific bulletin editor A woman whose great-grandparents — all eight of them — were Girmitiya labourers has put their stories into her debut novel. The result is Banjara, a novel partly based on what she found, which is told through the eyes of two women more than 100 years apart. Author, ... <a title="Girmitiya ancestry the inspiration behind Fiji writer’s debut novel" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2026/04/29/girmitiya-ancestry-the-inspiration-behind-fiji-writers-debut-novel/" aria-label="Read more about Girmitiya ancestry the inspiration behind Fiji writer’s debut novel">Read more</a>
CoveragePost
November 1, 2024
By Lydia Lewis, RNZ Pacific presenter/Bulletin editor Fiji Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka says that as far as Fiji is concerned, Fijians of Indian descent are Fijian. While Fiji is part of the Pacific, Indo-Fijians are not classified as Pacific peoples in New Zealand; instead, they are listed under Indian and Asian on the Stats NZ ... <a title="Indo-Fijian ‘listen to us’ plea to NZ over Pacific ethnicity classification" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2024/11/01/indo-fijian-listen-to-us-plea-to-nz-over-pacific-ethnicity-classification/" aria-label="Read more about Indo-Fijian ‘listen to us’ plea to NZ over Pacific ethnicity classification">Read more</a>
CoveragePost
June 11, 2023
By Blessen Tom, RNZ journalist A new production called Coolie: The Story of the Girmityas is shedding light on the lesser-known history of the Indian indentured labourers. Poet and music producer Nadia Freeman’s latest work gives life to the hidden voice of her Indo-Fijian ancestors through electronic music and theatre. “I just felt like I ... <a title="New NZ theatre production highlights Fiji Girmityas’ struggles" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2023/06/11/new-nz-theatre-production-highlights-fiji-girmityas-struggles/" aria-label="Read more about New NZ theatre production highlights Fiji Girmityas’ struggles">Read more</a>
CoveragePost
May 8, 2023
By Rachael Nath, RNZ Pacific journalist The Methodist Church of Fiji is seeking forgiveness from the descendants of Indian indentured labourers, or Girmitiyas, for the transgressions of the last 36 years. The racially motivated violent coups of 1987 and 2000 and the military coup d’état of December 2006 have left a permanent scar on race ... <a title="‘Time is right for reconciliation’ – Fiji’s Methodist Church seeks to mend race relations" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2023/05/08/time-is-right-for-reconciliation-fijis-methodist-church-seeks-to-mend-race-relations/" aria-label="Read more about ‘Time is right for reconciliation’ – Fiji’s Methodist Church seeks to mend race relations">Read more</a>
