INDIAN WONEN IN FIJI.

White Ribbon, Volume 24, Issue 283, 18 January 1919, Page 1

INDIAN WONEN IN FIJI.

In the December issue of t h«* “W hite Ribbon’ a >hort article on in dentured labour in Fiji was publish ed. We propose now to deal more fully with the subject, in order that our readers may understand something «f the social and moral conditions that obtain aiming their Indian sisters in that colony. The system of indentured labour already referred to was decided to pr< - vide a supply of cheap labour for the mills and plantations in various rolonies. Under thi> system men and women were recruited in India f<-r work in Fiji. Hv a regulation of the Fijian Government the proportion of the sexes was fixed at 40 women to

every 100 men. I he arrangement* made were that the recruits agreed t< work for five years at a fixed rate of wages- is 3d per day for a man, i?for a woman. They had no choice either of employment or employer, but tin their arrival in the colony the\ were allotted to the various planta tions and mills. Naturally in th< course of years reports of the conditions of life amongst these labourer* were carried back to India, and ir IQI3 the Government of India sent ; Commission to all the Crown Col onies employing labour, in order t< make enquiries into the condition o! indentured people. This Commit sion, however, concerned itself more with the economic and material sid« of things than with the inner life ol the people. Certain features of the

report, however, convinced some leading Indian gentlemen of the urgent necessity for further investigation, and in up 5 they deputed the Rev. ( . F. \ndrews and Mr H. \V. Pearson to visit Fiji in order to study the conditions of the indentured labourers. The report issued by these gentlemen made a good impression on the Indian people, and in the following year the Viceroy announced that the indentured system would be brought to an end. In 10»7* however, news reached India that the British Government contemplated a delay of five years, during which time recruiting might still l)o carried on. ft was then that, for the first time on record, leading women from even* province in India went in a deputation to the Viceroy, and asked that the indent 11 r

ed system should l)e abolished without delay. The effect of this action on the part of tla women of India was immediate. The Viceroy announced that .ill further recruiting should be stopped at once. This decision was soon after confirmed, and by November, 1921, there will be no Indian working under indenture. It will be readily understood, however, that the evils arising from the indentured system are not likely to be eradicated for many years, and only then if some special means are taken to accomplish reform in the social, moral, and religious life of the people. It is at just this point that the sympathy and co-operat’on of the women of Australia and New Zealand is asked for. F.arlv last year Professor Andrews made a tour of the Australasian States ac dressing meetings of women that he might arouse their interest and sympathy for their Indian sisters in Fiji. As a result of his efforts a Commission was set up to enquire into the social and moral conditions of Indian women in Fiji. .' The cooperation of all the women's societies in Australia and New Zealand was invited, and the executive of the New Zealand W.C.T.T. decided that our I nion should be associated with the Committee. Miss Garnham, a missionary on furlough from India, offered to visit Fiji and conduct investigations for the Committee. Her offer was accepted. She visited Fiji, and spent over three months in making the necessary enquiries. On her return at the end of November she presented a very complete report, which has since been published. A few extracts from this report will serve to show the con ditions she found. The quarters or “line*” in which Indians working on plantations live are built according to Government Regulations, and consist of long double rows of “apartments” under one roof. An apartment measuring 1 oft. by 12ft. is considered a suitable dwelling for three single men, or fer one man and one woman, with not more than two children. Of the<o lines Miss Garrham says:— “When it is remembered that there are roughly three times as many men as women living in the lines, the danger of this method*of housing will be more fully realised. It is tiue that some planters arrange for single men to live in a row of lines separate from

thq married people, or at one end of a row of dwellings, while the married folk live at the other, though even this is not always insisted upon, and the married quarters arc by no means barred to men. 1 had evidence from various sources during my stay on the island that life in the lines is unspeakably corrupt. “Indians speak of the lines at the mill-centres as “prostitution houses," and many men whose period of indenture had expired told me how glad they were to be away from the lines, and to settle in places where their wives were protected. It was quite im|K>ssible, they said, for a woman to preserve her chastity in the coolie lines. “This utter abandonment of morals is unfortunately not confined to the adult section of the community. I have heard little children speak of things which showed an appalling knowledge of vice of the worst kind. Children over three years of age, whose mothers are working on plantations, arc quite uncared for as a rule, while the parents are at work. This neglect of childhood is one of the gravest features of life in the lines. It is scarcely to be wondered, in the circumstances, that Australian women in charge of the Methodist Mission Orphanage find that tiny children brought to them show .1 knowledge of evil that is exceedingly difficult to counteract.” Miss Garnham tnakes it quite clear that this moral degradation arises from the fact that the social and moral welfare of the people have been sacrificed to the interests of ca pital. “It is important to note,” she says, “that under the' indenture system labour units, not families, were recruited. In some cases married couples were introduced, but only because both were labour units. Thus only women who were willing to work in the fields were rec-uited. To b r ing out married couples simply because they were married \ as not ,in the scheme at all; it would have meant greater expenditure in introducing the people into the colony—and so appnr ently the' cheaper method was followed. It is just here that the greatest mistake was made, for clearly the introduction of families would have obviated much of the evil in Fiji to-day. Moral intere p ts were evidently sacrificed to money, and the fact that the prosperity of a colony depends largely on the moral and social welfare of the

people seems to have been disregard cd. “1 was told in Fiji that the colony could never meet the expenditure involved in thus bringing out more women, and was asked how the hnan cial outlay could be met. Since the sugar companies and planters have benefited from the immigration of Indians on a cheap scale, it appears just that they should pay at least a part of the cost, but it is diffic ult to see how it could be recovered from them Those responsible for the introduction of the system should also take* their sh.ire, and it may be possible to work out a scheme by which the Imperial and Indian Governments could assist financially. One fact that needs to l>e emphasised in order to give a true picture of the hopelessness of the present condition of the people, is that a very high percentage of men and women have left wives or husbands and children in India. As everyone knows, most Indian people are married while quite young, and there arc practically 1.0 bachelors or spinsters in t..e coun ry except in Christian and ‘refonneu Hindu communities. “I found that very few women had come out with their husbands. They had been induced by various means to leave their homes and men had for ihe most part come without their wives. A big tragedy lies behind his fact. “Some men and women, althougi already married, form othi'r alliances soon after arrival in Fiji. This is one of the reasons why many men cannot return to their own country. It would rr.ean in most cases that they would be forced to desert Wives and children in Fiji in order to return. “It is very evident that a great deal of fraud and deception was practised by recruiters in inducing Indian men and women to leave their homes in this way. The people themselves told me how they h.id been persuaded to come away, and how little they knew of the distance of Fiji from India, and of the conditions obtaining in the colony. How should they, who only know their own little district, he expected to understand how far they would be taken from their own homes, of the impossibility of return, of the complete change in the mode of life entailed, of the increased cost of living, which would swallow* up all the extra wages they thought they would hr* able to earn ? Many expressed to me their feeling of utter

hopelessness. They said that their honour had been snatched from them, and that since that had gone nothing else mattered. “European people seemed to he under the impression that the Indian immigrant had but brought an immoral mode of life with him into the lolony. As a matter of fact, the home life of the village people in the United Provinces, the district from which most of the Indian people were recruited, is so safeguarded as to warrant the statement that they are more free from social evils than any other people in the world.” The scope of Miss Garnham’s investigations included the provision made for hospital treatment of the women and children and for education. She concludes her report with the following recommendations: — “i. All indentures should be cancelled at as early date as possible. “2. Every possible means fhcVjld be taken to bring -about a normal sex ratio. The evils arising from the unnatural sex proportion are by far the greatest to be contended with. The worst possible feature is the way in which quite young girls are literally sold to the highest bidder. AH sense of decency and chastity is lost where such conditions obtain. “3. The coolie lines are entirely unsuitable for married people. Separate houses should be built for them. It has been shown that privacy is impossible in the lines, and that no proper home life is possible. “4 Women doctors and certificated nurses should be appointed to all hospitals and dispensaries where women are treated. ”5. The hope for the future wellbeing of the colony lies in the children. Every possible means should l*‘ taken to counteract the demora'ising influences of Indian life in the colony. A suitable scheme of education will do much to accomplish this. ”6. The new marriage ordinances should be revised so as to make all Indian custom marriages legally valid.” After full consideration of the re port, the Committee has decided to petition the Fijian Government to carry out the reforms suggested by Miss Gurnham.