Joni Madraiwiwi Short Quotes

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It is not easy to remain motivated in the face of widespread apathy and self-indulgence.

Joni Madraiwiwi
Remember that the actions of a few, with commitment, can alter the course of world history.

Joni Madraiwiwi
Who would have planted the cane, run the mills and funded the colony if they had gone to battle?

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

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

Joni Madraiwiwi
There will necessarily be a tension between the church and tradition on one hand and human rights on the other.

Joni Madraiwiwi
To say that power should have been returned to the Fijian chiefs is to ignore what occurred between 1874 and 1970.

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

Joni Madraiwiwi
The (racial and cultural) difference is to be celebrated, not fried or criticised, and we are so much richer for it.

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

Joni Madraiwiwi
We need to try and focus less on ethnicity in this country and concentrate on trying to improve the lot of the marginalized whoever they are.

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
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
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
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
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
It (insecurity) is a feeling that is deeply felt and is shared by most members of my community, irrespective of religion, status, education, background or place of origin.

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
Cadet corps instill discipline in its members, where you are taught basic skills such as survival in the wilderness, unarmed combat, tracking and learning how to strategise.

Joni Madraiwiwi
The critical element is inclusiveness. It is only when the model we adopt and implement is one all can accept, can the prospect of genuine and lasting reconciliation be real.

Joni Madraiwiwi
This was to no doubt reaffirm Indo-Fijian bravery, they suffered greatly under indenture and were often unfairly and needlessly provoked. They bore it with fortitude and grace.

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
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
Indigenous rights are those, which relate to indigenous people, their way of life, their land and their resources. They are connected in nature and the birthrights of indigenous people.

Joni Madraiwiwi
Those who decry the rule of law as a Western principle or an imported construct, misunderstand the concept. It is about abiding by a set of standards for the well-being of society as a whole.

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
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
One wonders whether the ethnic categorization effort at finding solutions to problems that cross ethnic boundaries. Poverty is poverty is poverty. It does not have peculiar ethnic characteristics.

Joni Madraiwiwi
It will be impossible to achieve this (keeping the people together) if the elders and chiefs have their own way and are too proud of their chiefly status to not bring themselves down to the people.

Joni Madraiwiwi