Joni Madraiwiwi Quotes

61 Sourced Quotes

It is not our background that will count but our individual actions and initiatives. Education is the great leveller: irrespective of origin, it places everyone on the same footing.

Joni Madraiwiwi
When we exclude part of the community, we deny ourselves the participation and contribution of those left out. We allow the possibility of conflict in some future time, neither scenario we can afford. Everyone, irrespective of ethnicity, has a contribution to make no matter how humble or small.

Joni Madraiwiwi
Should we retain our national flag that conveys historical continuity from the days of the Cakobau government to the period of British Colonial rule, or is it time for a new one?

Joni Madraiwiwi
Ultimately, the best guarantor of the rule of law is not the state and the branches which comprise it but the recognition by people of its value and their willingness to fight for, and uphold it.

Joni Madraiwiwi
It (education) broadens our minds and creates opportunities, equipping us with the skills and the knowledge to participate in the world beyond the classroom.

Joni Madraiwiwi
Inclusiveness is disguised by the ability to offer a sometimes disturbed community a vision of themselves and the means to achieve it together.

Joni Madraiwiwi
We need to move forward and beyond the point where we endlessly pursue the demons bequeathed us by our history.

Joni Madraiwiwi
We all belong to this country, what are we going to call ourselves? Recognizing the sensibilities of most indigenous people here about the term 'Fijian', let us find some other name. But let us not leave it unresolved because it is an important symbol of belonging here.

Joni Madraiwiwi
The politicians pontificate and manoeuvre with eloquent manifestos and pronouncements saying little about the challenges we must confront.

Joni Madraiwiwi
Reconciliation and forgiveness is inextricably linked to the identity and unity we develop as a nation.

Joni Madraiwiwi
It is easy to decry the nature of ethnic politics in this country. We are hostages to history and the ethnic compartmentalisation that began in the colonial era.

Joni Madraiwiwi
However social integration cannot be forced and not proceed at the pace that the community considers uncomfortable.

Joni Madraiwiwi
The issue which concern all of us as citizens of this country, irrespective of our political beliefs and ethnicity, is this: if we are to forbear all legal proceedings against the perpetrators of the events of 19 May 2000 what does that say about our sense of right and wrong? What does it say to those that were directly and indirectly harmed by their actions? Without an accounting, we encourage repetition of this conduct, make light of the pain and suffering people endured and suggest to the impressionable that such conduct is appropriate.

Joni Madraiwiwi
They (Indo-Fijians) came as indentured laborers to this land and were treated harshly. They had little reason to be grateful to their colonial masters and like the indigenous Fijians. The British crown colony of Fiji was funded in part from their toil, yet they were treated like second-class citizens.

Joni Madraiwiwi
The strength of Commonwealth lies in its diversity and it to be mindful of bearing economic, social, political and cultural systems which comprise its membership … Its commonality lies in its connection to humanity, in the main it has provided an invariable forum whose members to open and continue meaningful issues of concern.

Joni Madraiwiwi
I trust you will bear in mind the deeply-held fears and insecurities Fijian have as an ethnic community. This is a subject I dwell on repeatedly because, while I do not share them, I am sufficiently Fijian to appreciate the depths of these emotions.

Joni Madraiwiwi
We have survived bitter divisions in our society. Reconciliation requires us to put aside our differences and forgive the injuries done to us just as justice is essential to that equation. Those who have done wrong and broken the law must be punished. There can be no setting to rights or settling of accounts without that element. Until that is done there will be no finality to our collective nightmare. Until we all accept that simple fact the sense of hurt and betrayal continue.

Joni Madraiwiwi
When national leaders address the people of Fiji in specifically Christian terms, whatever the occasion, nearly half of our people are excluded. When prayer in mixed company is uttered in terms of a purely Christian God, we unintentionally omit and diminish others present of different faiths. When we use Christian symbolism to promote reconciliation, forgiveness and unity, we discount the contribution and equally rich traditions extant in other faiths and cultural traditions.

Joni Madraiwiwi
Our ethnicity is part of us, however, it should not isolate or distance us from the community in which we live. People of different cultures cannot not live peacefully together unless they have respect for each other. I accept that seeking further integration is a challenge and it cannot be imposed or done under duress; the feeling has to come from within ourselves. To create an environment for that to happen, we have to develop situations and opportunities that place people in a position to make choices and this is one of them. And unless we begin to see our neighbours as people, as human beings rather than by ethnicity, it is difficult to shed our stereotypes of each other.

Joni Madraiwiwi
For it is only when we all believe that the Constitution and the rule of law protects all our people and their rights, can these guarantors of rights be assured.

Joni Madraiwiwi
At times some of our leaders send messages that people of one single race are important and they matter only. It undermines the very fabric of our society and hurts feelings and creates a feeling of not belonging for some people.

Joni Madraiwiwi
In order to build a common identity, we must find a name with which all of us are comfortable. While I personally have no problem with the term 'Fijian', I recognize many others in my community are not. But let us not leave it there, let us find other options.

Joni Madraiwiwi
Not five generations distant, Fijians were cannibalizing each other. The missionaries and the colonial administration imposed a veneer of civilization on their native subjects. However, it is not apparent that they imparted to them any profound understanding of the process involved in the maintenance and upholding of the law.

Joni Madraiwiwi
Relationships between our ethnic communities are generally good but we need to continue weaving connections to the point where they are interwoven and unbreakable.

Joni Madraiwiwi
There is some suggestion that the Fijian model ought to be adopted as being the first people, the host culture, the landowners and the majority of the population. I have no issue with that proposition, so long as it is acceptable to all other communities as well.

Joni Madraiwiwi
It is not a matter of who can give the most but rather the spirit in which one participates in nation- building. And I apply that term to whatever useful exercise one is doing at any given time.

Joni Madraiwiwi
Those of us born after that era (of World War II), or with little or no knowledge of those experiences, take freedom for granted. In fact, we give little thought because we are preoccupied with the here and now and yet we owe a debt of gratitude that can never be repaid because you (returned servicemen) paid the price in blood.

Joni Madraiwiwi
This is a small country with limited resources. Can we afford the time spent on endless debates about ethnicity and identity?

Joni Madraiwiwi
When you (Military personnel) serve in uniform, you serve your country, not your mataqali, yavusa or particular vanua. You serve the larger vanua that encompasses all of us.

Joni Madraiwiwi
There is no denying the powerful emotions appeals to ethnicity can arouse. We need to develop linkages that will subdue or weaken such appeals. This will lie in deepening relationships across ethnic boundaries. It cannot be forced but must be encouraged by all in any position to do so. Because we need to expand and strengthen the interethnic connections which already subsist to mitigate the siren calls of ethnicity when they are made.

Joni Madraiwiwi