Guyanese at International Indentured Conference for Fiji Girmit Day celebrations

May 11, 2023 Letters

Dear Editor,

Kaieteur News – A global indentureship (Girmitya) conference will be held on May 12 and 13 and a number of other activities are also planned to commemorate Girmitya Day or Indian Arrival in Fiji. This year will be the first national public holiday for Indian Arrival or Girmitya Day. Indians activists lobbied the government for a national holiday. The Prime Minister campaigned in last year election on a promise to make it a holiday and has now delivered.

Indians first arrived in Fiji on May 14. The Girmit Day celebration and holiday is on May 15 and will be held at various locations throughout the country. The main attraction will be at Albert Park in Suva, the capital city. The government has allocated funds for national celebrations.

Deputy Prime Minister Professor Dr. Biman Prasad says four days of events are being planned to mark Girmit Day celebration.

Girmit Conference Chair Dr Ganesh Chand says around 150 scholars locally and from and abroad are also expected to arrive in the country to participate in the two day international conference on Girmit Day. This writer, Clem Seecharan, Baytoram Ramharack, and a few other Guyanese are participants. The Fiji government is hosting us. Some Trinis and Surinamese are also presenting papers. The conference will be at USP or University of South Pacific with participants coming from the Caribbean, North America, India, Australia, UK, New Zealand and other countries. Several Guyanese studied at USP. Some Guyanese also taught there. This writer delivered guest lectures in multiple trips to Fiji over the last three decades.

Yours truly,
Vishnu Bisram

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