Girmit- the Story of My Ancestors

Girmit- the story of my ancestors

Girmit is the story of Indians in Fiji, a community now referred to as Fiji Indians or Indo Fijian. Girmit means agreement, the agreement under which the Indians came to Fiji as indentured labourers which they signed with Colonial Sugar Refinery referred to as CSR. It is a word that represents the struggles and opportunities that Indian men, women and their children faced on their voyage to and in Fiji. It represents the people that died and the people that were separated from their homeland and their families.

History has it that migration from India to Fiji was started by Sir Arthur Gordon the first substantive governor of the colony of Fiji who was ruled by the British from 1874, to meet the shortage of labour in Fiji because the plantation owners refused to employ Fijians in their sugar plantations and the cost of recruiting Polynesian labourers was much higher therefore it became imperative to look elsewhere for a labour force. In the 19th century India was a colony with a large population that lived in poverty which was viewed by the CSR as good a source of labour but not only for Fiji but also for countries such as Mauritius and Trinidad where sugar trading occurred.

There were many reasons why Indians came to Fiji. Some came because of poverty looking for a better lifestyle. Others were tricked into coming often referred to as black birding. My great grandmother has often told us stories of very young ones being entice for few pennies and being told that they could return in a few weeks. On the other hand some others were searching for better jobs and would travel around India to make money for a prosperous life. Therefore each came with they own motivates and dreams. Some knew where they came from and where they were going and others knew neither. Some didn’t even know they were going out of India.

Whatever the category all were told the same story by the traders agents mainly that they would live a better life, have better pay, have good living conditions and they would be able to come back to India once their contract had expired. This sounded like a good opportunity even though they would be parted from their homeland and their families.

Two thirds of indentured migrants who migrated to Fiji came from Uttar Pradesh. There were three main reasons given for the people of UP to move from their homes. One was the economic conditions which were affected because of the British. The unaffordable revenue demands meant bigger debts for the peasants and more power for the landlords. Also the indigenous handcraft industry was being destroyed. The second reason was the establishment of labour intensive colonial enterprises in India such as tea plantations in Assum and jute mills in Calcutta. The British couldn’t rely on the local labourers and so had to get immigrant labourers which meant less work for the poor Indians. The third reason was that internal migration was occurring because the railways were cheap and readily accessible and Indians were on the move because the British were changing the economy in these rural parts. The Indians were indentured to Fiji from 1879 to 1916 with over 60,000 labourers that went to work on the sugar cane plantations. There were eighty-seven ships that sailed to Fiji carrying the labourers. The average trip for sailing ships to go to Fiji was seventy- three days and for steamships it was thirty. During the long voyages the labourers had to deal with diseases that occurred on ships, sometimes it was cholera and sometimes it was such disease as smallpox which was exactly the case on the Leonidas, the first of the eighty-seven ships to set sail for Fiji.

Just three days into the journey, smallpox and cholera broke out and 19 people were dead. The labourers had never been on a ship before and were still getting used to it so with the diseases that broke out not only were they shocked but scared for their own lives and for their relatives. When the labourers arrived in Fiji they were not openly welcomed, the reason being that the colonial planters opposed that Indians should work on the plantations because the planters thought that it would cost a bit but later on as the industry grew bigger and the alternative means of labour were gone they accepted them and the Indians did not disappoint them as the Indians were fast workers. The labourers were a community (the Jahagi’s) as they all grew strong friendships with each other while on their voyage to Fiji and so even when separated to go and work on different sugar plantations they would go and visit their friends to see how they were doing. These relationships often were as close as blood relationships and till this day the ‘Jahagi’ bond remains.

Syria was the 5th sailing ship that was bound for Fiji. It left Calcutta on the 13th March 1884 carrying four hundred and ninety seven indentured labourers. It sadly crashed on Sunday 11 May 1884 at 8:30pm on the Nasilai reef. Despite attempts to salvage the situation the boat crashed but the authorities were quick to respond and many were saved but fifty-six people died. Another eleven people died a fortnight later which meant that all up sixty-six people died. Of those sixty-six people that died ten could have been saved but unfortunately those ten were left out to sea because the boats were too full to fit them and although there were crews that went to look for them the next day they were gone. Although many lives were lost, the response and salvation of the people was very quick and it was all thanks to Dr William MacGregor chief medical officer and acting colonial secretary of Fiji. This was a tragic event for Fiji Indians and the families of the labourers back home in India. It was one of the worst sea disasters that Fiji had seen and still is a very significant event in history of indentured labourers.

It was hard work on the plantations, getting up at 6:00am and getting the whip and sometimes being unfairly treated based on what the relationship there was between the labourers and the supervisor. Sunday was the only free day the workers had during Girmit and while working under Girmit the labourers were sometimes tortured particularly for crying from being parted from their families.

When the contract expired and the labourers were free people some people went back home to India but there were a few that stayed in Fiji. Many reasons existed for staying on but some felt a sense of freedom and saw new opportunities and although they stayed on some still hadn’t accepted Fiji as their new home. Some of these families started growing their own farms and getting into the commercial area to earn a living other then farming.

The next generation that grew up were introduced to the same lifestyle of farming and helping out. Some families were then rich enough to send their children to school but their were others that grew up with no education and were determined to send their children to school so that they would have a good education and grow up and become successful people who would not have to live the hard lives that they had.

These values and drive to better themselves were carried through the many generations and now it is my parents and other people’s parents who work hard, a trait learned from our ancestors to make the best of our lives and to give us as children a better lifestyle, a stable environment and that is why others like me have grown up with a much easier life. We as children of these descendents are very lucky knowing we are fully provided for and have opportunities that our forefathers could have only dreamt of.

It must be remembered that if it weren’t for the indentured labourers and the Girmit most of us would not be here today. Their efforts have not gone to waste. Fiji Indians are now visible throughout the world many doing extremely well, internationally holding prominent positions such as our current governor general His Excellency Anand Satyanand who is of Fiji Indian descent and of whom we are all very proud.

The Syria figurehead that is now in the Fiji Museum was very important to the Fiji Indians and the fact that it was retrieved from the Fiji waters was an important historical event as it meant a closure, it symbolised the Girmitya’s era, our ancestor’s struggles and a historical monument. One of the people instrumental in the initiatives surrounding the rescue of the Syria figurehead was my great grandfather Mr Chandar Prakash Bidesi and this was done to celebrate the 125 years since the indentured labours came to Fiji. He was awarded the Girmit Ratna from the Indian Government for his service to the Girmit cause. This figurehead ensures our history remain for viewing for the many generations to come without the danger of history being misrepresented.

I can only imagine what the journey of the Girmitya’s must have been like and how hard life must have been for them and what they must have gone through. I salute them, their efforts and their perseverance. I can only be grateful for the efforts of the Girimitya’s and am proud to be a descendent of them. As a Kiwi of Fiji Indian descent I hope to live the same values displayed by my forefathers and make a difference.