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Dear Editor,
I live in London with my Fijian boyfriend who, until recently, was in the
British Army. We had plans to marry next year and he was also due to be sent
to Iraq again.
However, 5 months ago, he was sentenced to 16 months in prison...
for standing
up against discrimination in the army. He and a colleague were discriminated
and abused an altercation ensued between them and a group of British Army
soldiers. While simply defending himself, my boyfriend injured two fellow
soldiers and as a result was imprisoned after, what I consider an unfair
trial. His case is currently on appeal and therefore he can not be named at
the risk of jeopardising his chances of an early release. If the appeal is
unsuccessful his citizenship status will be jeopardized and he will be
deported back to Fiji after seven years of serving the British Army and
risking his life for this country.
Since witnessing the unfairness of the legal system in the UK, the racism
which he has had to endure and the perceptibly racist outcome of the trial I
have become aware that my boyfriend is not the only Fijian person who is
facing hardship such as this in the UK.
I am almost sure that there are many more brave Fijian soldiers who have
been unjustly treated by the army and the British government and who have
been deported back to Fiji. Cultural differences, lack of respect and racism
are a few of the adversities that Fijians have to face when coming to the
UK.
I would like to collect these stories of dashed hopes and create awareness
about what could happen to the Fijian heroes fighting for Britain, in
various war zones of the world, while risking their lives for the Queen.
My intention is it to create awareness about this situation for a group of
people who deserve better treatment than this and to help Fijian soldiers in
trouble by publishing their stories.
I wish to establish a website which can also be used as a resource for
Fijian soldiers in the British Army and soldiers who are applying from
abroad to exchange information. The main purpose of this website is to give
a voice to Fijian soldiers which may help to prevent unfair treatment due to
misinformation. Fijians have a great sense of community and many of the 2000
British Army soldiers and their families do not know what happens to their
fellow Fijians.
I also wish to start a fund to collect donations which can help individuals
in trouble with lawyer’s fees or other ways in which families may be
affected.
I have experienced, first-hand, that there is no support. My boyfriend is
able to work to keep himself busy in jail but, of course, he is not paid for
that work. I have been left to carry the rent, bills, to support him and pay
his share of everything too. I am lucky that I have quite a well paid job
but I am sure that there are other ladies out there who can not afford the
horrendous rents in the UK and will face real hardship. Nobody ever asked
how he will be able to pay his commitments and no benefits are offered after
serving the army for 7 years.
Thankfully, our lawyer is paid for and we receive strong support from one of
the army officers who could not believe what happened to my boyfriend after
serving this country as an excellent soldier and successfully climbing the
career ladder. Other Fijians do not always receive help, morally or
financially. The fund will help to lessen the hardship and return hope to
those in trouble.
After collecting initial letters I am hoping that the popularity of the site
will develop by word-of-mouth and some marketing efforts here in the UK but
at this infant stage, I would greatly appreciate your support by publishing
this letter in order to begin collecting stories from other Fijians who feel
that they have been mistreated. I feel that it is vital to create awareness
around what is happening here as it seems unnecessarily harsh and should not
happen in any country.
Please feel free to contact me at any stage:
Birgit Lahme
172 Fawe Park Road
SW15 2EQ London
UK
Tel & Fax .0044 208 8710966
Mobile 00 44 7704 617181
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
Letters can be emailed or posted directly to myself and I will then post
them on the website.
My boyfriends sister, Alisi, would be the person in Fiji (Suva) to contact
(Tel. 00679 338 2871, Mobile 00679 920 4095). She would be able to meet with
people who would like to participate.
Thanking you in advance for your help and support and I look forward to
hearing from you.
Kindest regards,
Birgit Lahme
UPDATE: Birgit has informed FijiBuzz that the website is up and running. Visit and participate at http://www.pacifikana.com/
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