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This is one of the guys we met under the bridge. Joe took us to his farm down the road and told us a lot about Fijian life.
He was a really smart guy and we talked for hours. Coincidentally, he was a student at Nadi Primary School (the one you just saw). He was the first Fijian to ever be named Valedictorian of his class.
All those before him were Indians.
Briefly put, there's a lot of strife right now between Fijian natives and Indians who were brought over in the 1800s by the British. The Indians have managed to become very successful in Fiji and the Fijians are tired of being second class citizens in their own country.
In 1999 there was a coup staged by the Fijian military in order to oust the Prime Minister (who was Indian). They had the Parliament barricaded in their Capitol building for over a month, and wound up getting a Fijian appointed.
The tensions remain, but they're not particularly heated. There's definitely some friction, but it's nothing compared to the race issues in most other countries.