Namaste New Zealand (7) - Series One, Episode Seven

This special episode of magazine-style series Namaste is devoted to the Fijian Indian community and its painful past. Fijian Indian author Rajendra Prasad discusses the first wave of Indian immigrants to Fiji (the girmitiya) indentured farm labourers, exploited and abused by British landowners. Collective shame meant their stories weren't passed down. Krish Naidu from the Fiji Girmit Foundation talks about encouraging the Fijian Indian language. There's an excerpt from a Girmit Day play at Auckland's Pooja Cultural Centre, and Aucklander Sushila Jaduram pays tribute to her great-grandmother.

I am very proud of the fact that Fiji Indian is a very unique identity, and there's a background of Fijian identity together with Indian ancestry. It's this cultural mix that gives us our uniqueness and we should be really proud of it.

– Krish Naidu from the Fiji Girmit Foundation of New Zealand

Key Cast & Crew

Kadambari Raghukumar

Presenter

Aaditya Singh

Presenter

Terri Cavanagh

Production Manager

Lauren Wellbrook

Editor

Lisa Metivier

Producer, Field Director

Felicity Morgan-Rhind

Director - Cooking Segment