Letters to the Editor: Friday, January 28, 2022

Editorial comment: When our young are impacted

Health Ministry permanent secretary Dr James Fong made an important point yesterday. We agree the death of a 10-day-old baby and two children aged eight and 13 who were tested positive for COVID-19 is a sad reminder of what the virus can do in our communities. The deaths of these three children, he said, were...

Opinion: Avoiding each other

Families and flatters are worried about how they will effectively manage self-isolation as Omicron takes hold in the community. The government is predicting hundreds of thousands of people will have to self-isolate at home as Omicron spreads. It is urging people to prepare by figuring out how they can isolate infected flatmates or family members from the rest of the household. It seems for some that is going to be...

Letters to the Editor: Thursday, January 27, 2022

The choice is yours There is no doubt that with the skyrocketing figures, non-communicable diseases (NCDs) is a major killer. Over the years, I believe, not much could be achieved as the country depended largely on processed foods, sugar and salt intake and others. It may continue unless there is a change in policy. Now,...

Editorial comment: Diabetes reality

Jone Nuku Marau is a former police officer. At 57 years old, there is one thing he regrets. He lost his parents and three siblings to non-communicable diseases. So now, with his legs amputated after being diagnosed with diabetes, he lives with his regret. With a career that spanned 20 years, he now realises how...

Opinion: PNG in 2022

National elections will be held in PNG in the middle of this year. Elections are held every five years, and are very popular events. Though voting is voluntary, voter turnout is just below that of Australia, where voting is compulsory. An extraordinary number of political candidates compete for offi ce. The average number of candidates per seat has grown from eight in 1977 to 30 in 2017,...

Letters to the Editor: Wednesday, January 26, 2022

Fighting NCDs The Fiji Times (25/01) revealed that there were 5700 NCD-related deaths in 2020 and that NCDs were Fiji’s number one killer. The Health Ministry’s out-patient data recorded more than 176 thousand patients who were treated for diabetes between 2013 and 2018. Furthermore, head of Wellness Fiji Dr Devina stated that overconsumption of sugar,...

Editorial comment: Creating awareness

The Ministry of Health and Medical Services in its COVID-19 situation update on Monday, January 24, announced the deaths of a four-month-old infant and a 15-year-old child. Both, it stated, had underlying health conditions. They were sad reminders that, “as cases increase to very high numbers in the community, our most vulnerable are at higher...

Letters to the Editor – Tuesday, January 25, 2021

Netters back in action! It was nice to see our netters back on the netball pitch during the Punjas/Digicel Super Club Netball Championship at the National Vodafone Arena as Netball Fiji successfully hosted their competition. The performance and ranking of the Fiji Pearls is far from the sixth place finish at the 1999 World Netball...

Editorial comment – Fighting NCDs

The revelation that Fiji recorded 5700 deaths in 2020 that were due to complications related to non-communicable diseases is shocking. In fact it is scary! The Ministry of Health and Medical Services has also stated that Pacific Island Countries suffered some of the highest rates of NCDs, like hypertension, cardiovascular disease and diabetes, in the...

Opinion: Volcanic eruption reignites communications debate

Communication with Tonga remains intermittent after the volcanic eruption severed the kingdom’s undersea cable connection with the rest of the world. The lack of a backup service has reignited debate over previous government decisions which have been the subject of controversy and court cases. It could be weeks before services are fully restored. The 827km cable between Tonga and Fiji was cut when the Hunga-Tonga-Hunga-Ha’apai volcano exploded. The break...

Letters to the Editor: Monday, January 24, 2022

A voice for all women Heartiest congratulations Tessa Mackenzie for being the recipient of The Fiji Times “Letter of the Year” award. Well done. Thank you for standing up for all women voters. Really absurd, having to switch to original birth certificates, just to vote in 2022. Under the FijiFirst Government, following the Nawaikula court...

Editorial comment: Reality on the ground

So a non-governmental organisation in the country that assists in educating needy children is concerned that the recent flooding by the effects of TC Cody, combined with the effects of COVID-19 has laid back students in their studies. Priya Lata, the national coordinator for the Foundation for the Education of Needy Children in Fiji (FENC...

Letters to the Editor: Sunday, January 23, 2022

Thank you The Fiji Times First of all I wish to thank The Fiji Times for being there for us. Bringing us local and overseas news. Thank you for the Back in Time news commemorating the newspaper’s 150 years of existence. Each article I read takes me back in time. Thank you for the $150...

Editorial comment: Switched on

Health Ministry permanent secretary Dr James Fong has made it clear that anyone who is in the high-risk group and develops any COVID-19 symptoms is strongly advised to get tested. He said 16 deaths were recorded from the period December 28, 2021, to January 20, 2022, with 12 deaths reported in the Northern Division, two...

Opinion: Kiss and a bear hug

“Are you a hugger? So when was the last time someone gave you a bubu kiss and a bear hug? Ever since our children were little we would always hug and kiss them and tell them repeatedly how much we loved them. Even though they’re both now in their 40s, we still do it today. And we’ve continued the tradition with our...

Opinion: Big year for Fiji

Fiji took over the chairing of the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) last year, and Fiji’s Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama is hoping to host an in-person Forum Leaders Retreat in Fiji soon. After two years of leaders’ meetings via Zoom, the opportunity to meet in person will be valued. But whether it will go ahead, with the Omicron variant causing a third wave of COVID-19 across Fiji, remains...

Opinion: New ways of stalking

In April 2011, I attended one of the fi rst cybersecurity workshops in the region held at the SPC headquarters in Noumea. It was for both policy and technical stakeholders. A mixed moderate sized group attended from Fiji, with reps from various governments departments, USP, and other regional organisations. I was grouped with this big friendly bloke from Tonga who was with the...

Talanoa: Women trailblazers

Bula readers, this week, I was ecstatic when I turned on the television to watch the BBC World News headlines and there in full view on the screen was our very own Cheerieann Wilson the Fiji TV news anchor, who was describing the effects of the tragic volcanic eruption in the neighbouring Kingdom of Tonga. It was indeed a proud moment for Fiji as...

Letters to the Editor: Saturday, January 22, 2022

The last laugh Lautoka resident Asif Aimud Ali, 36, had the last laugh as he was announced the grand winner of The Fiji Times’ 152nd anniversary promotion, scooping $15,200 in the process. Ali, who started his journey with The Fiji Times some 25 years ago, had been part of the promotion since it started, and...

Regional focus: Volcano rocks Tonga

Volcanic eruption and tsunami wreak havoc in Tonga The Kingdom of Tonga remains cut off from the rest of the world after a huge volcanic explosion on Saturday evening. The impacts of the eruption and the tsunami that followed were felt across the globe. The undersea fibre optic cable that carries Tonga’s communications capacity has been broken in two places and it could be...

Opinion: Tuvunia’s love for the ocean

Give Iliapi Tuvunia a pen and paper and he’d probably write a book about his experiences as a skilled fisherman and seaman. The 43-year-old father of four has known fishing all his life. He hails from the island of Kavewa, in Dogotoki, Macuata, and no, he is not a traditional fisher or Gonedau. Iliapi’s dad is the chief in the village and since he...

Editorial: Learning from Saturday’s eruption

The revelation by New Zealand volcanologist Professor Shane Cronin is interesting. Prof Cronin believes that while data indicates no signs of further underwater eruptions in the past few days, he says the potential for further eruptions are real. The current thinking, he pointed out, suggested two main scenarios were possible. First, the magma present during...

Opinion: One of the greats

The news of the death of Emeritus Professor Brij Vilash Lal on December 25, 2021 sent high voltage shockwaves among his friends and throughout his constituencies – the worldwide girmit studies community, the academic world of current Fiji politics, and imperial and diaspora studies generally. Within hours the tributes were pouring in as we lamented the loss of one of the greats. I don’t remember...

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