Public Address | Cafe | Random Play: Fiji or not Fiji, that is the question https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/ en-us Copyright (c) 2026 Public Address BenWilson https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/random-play-fiji-or-not-fiji-that-is-the/?p=172899#post172899 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/random-play-fiji-or-not-fiji-that-is-the/?p=172899#post172899 Sat, 10 Jul 2010 00:33:24 +1200 Kyle Matthews https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/random-play-fiji-or-not-fiji-that-is-the/?p=172895#post172895 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/random-play-fiji-or-not-fiji-that-is-the/?p=172895#post172895

They're more than a symbolic gesture when they impoverish an entire nation. I see them as pretty cruel.

There's a counter-argument, if you believe that sanctions have a point. Better to bring about change quickly than be part of dragging it out longer via providing economic support for its current…

]]> Fri, 09 Jul 2010 22:09:22 +1200 Sue https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/random-play-fiji-or-not-fiji-that-is-the/?p=172858#post172858 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/random-play-fiji-or-not-fiji-that-is-the/?p=172858#post172858 I would never travel to Fiji under the current regime

to start off with i wouldn't feel safe, it doesn't feel like a safe country any more. I'm concerned that one day i could be ok as a visitor and the next the powers that be decide to do something…

]]> Fri, 09 Jul 2010 16:50:52 +1200 tim kong https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/random-play-fiji-or-not-fiji-that-is-the/?p=172768#post172768 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/random-play-fiji-or-not-fiji-that-is-the/?p=172768#post172768 Having family in Fiji as I do makes the issue of travelling there problematic. It's never been a tourist destination for me – although I've visited the white sand beaches and been on the odd Captain Cook cruise.

A relative had to fly to India for cardiac treatment, as he…

]]> Thu, 08 Jul 2010 17:47:16 +1200 BenWilson https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/random-play-fiji-or-not-fiji-that-is-the/?p=172703#post172703 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/random-play-fiji-or-not-fiji-that-is-the/?p=172703#post172703 Does NZ sell weapons?

I see no great harm in partaking of the scenery of other communities but once you get into receiving services from those with less economic opportunity, it all gets pretty slippery pretty fast.

That's pretty much 95% of the services I partake of right here in…

]]> Thu, 08 Jul 2010 13:10:23 +1200 Bruce Thorpe https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/random-play-fiji-or-not-fiji-that-is-the/?p=172700#post172700 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/random-play-fiji-or-not-fiji-that-is-the/?p=172700#post172700 Selective trade boycotts can make a lot of sense, and certainly there are moral issues in selling weapons, but most tourism is pretty tacky from an ethical point of view.
I see no great harm in partaking of the scenery of other communities but once you get into receiving services…

]]> Thu, 08 Jul 2010 13:05:08 +1200 BenWilson https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/random-play-fiji-or-not-fiji-that-is-the/?p=172689#post172689 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/random-play-fiji-or-not-fiji-that-is-the/?p=172689#post172689

Yeah this is the argument against boycotting Fiji as a holiday destination and I'm sensitive to it.

Tourism is only a small part of their economy. Every sanction hurts them, drives them deeper into poverty and misery. Every business that has to shut up shop due to sanctions is a…

]]> Thu, 08 Jul 2010 12:37:33 +1200 Bart Janssen https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/random-play-fiji-or-not-fiji-that-is-the/?p=172668#post172668 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/random-play-fiji-or-not-fiji-that-is-the/?p=172668#post172668

I'm curious as to how you figure that.

I figure that in a dictatorship much if not all foreign exchange gets directed into the hands of those with the guns. I accept that some money may end up in other hands but my expectation is that little or none of…

]]> Thu, 08 Jul 2010 12:00:46 +1200 BenWilson https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/random-play-fiji-or-not-fiji-that-is-the/?p=172664#post172664 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/random-play-fiji-or-not-fiji-that-is-the/?p=172664#post172664

Nope. But the only thing my presence in Fiji could achieve is transfer of my wealth to the dictatorship of Fiji, with some small fraction going to the Fijian people.

I'm curious as to how you figure that. Most of the money I spend on vacations goes directly to whoever…

]]> Thu, 08 Jul 2010 11:41:56 +1200 Kumara Republic https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/random-play-fiji-or-not-fiji-that-is-the/?p=172661#post172661 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/random-play-fiji-or-not-fiji-that-is-the/?p=172661#post172661 Thu, 08 Jul 2010 11:19:56 +1200 Bart Janssen https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/random-play-fiji-or-not-fiji-that-is-the/?p=172659#post172659 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/random-play-fiji-or-not-fiji-that-is-the/?p=172659#post172659

given the opportunity, would you have been?

Nope. But the only thing my presence in Fiji could achieve is transfer of my wealth to the dictatorship of Fiji, with some small fraction going to the Fijian people. That isn't worthwhile and any pleasure I might have on the holiday isn't…

]]> Thu, 08 Jul 2010 10:58:37 +1200 BenWilson https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/random-play-fiji-or-not-fiji-that-is-the/?p=172658#post172658 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/random-play-fiji-or-not-fiji-that-is-the/?p=172658#post172658 In your shoes, I'd go. My gut feeling is that you'll come away rather surprised by what the Fijians think, if you are able to talk to a wide sample. I certainly am, every time I talk to Fijians, which is most weeks.

I don't really think sanctions are a…

]]> Thu, 08 Jul 2010 10:39:32 +1200 merc https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/random-play-fiji-or-not-fiji-that-is-the/?p=172654#post172654 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/random-play-fiji-or-not-fiji-that-is-the/?p=172654#post172654 Thu, 08 Jul 2010 10:06:31 +1200 Russell Clarke https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/random-play-fiji-or-not-fiji-that-is-the/?p=172653#post172653 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/random-play-fiji-or-not-fiji-that-is-the/?p=172653#post172653

I guess I can't complain, having been, inter alia, to Zimbabwe, Singapore, Nepal under Gyanendra and the US under Bush.

Inter Alia is a terrible airline.

]]> Thu, 08 Jul 2010 10:03:08 +1200 Sacha https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/random-play-fiji-or-not-fiji-that-is-the/?p=172635#post172635 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/random-play-fiji-or-not-fiji-that-is-the/?p=172635#post172635

Much better to go and see and talk and leave and tell honestly

I believe the point in the case of Fiji's military dictatorship is that you will be beaten, locked up or expelled if you try that while you are there. Especially if you are a journalist.

The amount…

]]> Thu, 08 Jul 2010 08:31:07 +1200 Bruce Thorpe https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/random-play-fiji-or-not-fiji-that-is-the/?p=172630#post172630 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/random-play-fiji-or-not-fiji-that-is-the/?p=172630#post172630 I seldom support boycotts, especially personal and symbolic.
When the pressure is on, and a system is creaking, then I would not give comfort, but otherwise ....
Isolated and possibly oppressed communities need dialogue and fresh information, which certainly includes full blooded protest, sneaky subversion and all in between.
For…

]]> Thu, 08 Jul 2010 06:02:18 +1200 Islander https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/random-play-fiji-or-not-fiji-that-is-the/?p=172613#post172613 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/random-play-fiji-or-not-fiji-that-is-the/?p=172613#post172613 I no longer fly, so the question is a bit academic BUT
*I did a lot of travelling in the 1980s and 1990s
*I refused to attend anything that was in a country under shariah law
*I would not go to anything that was held in a country under what…

]]> Wed, 07 Jul 2010 20:48:23 +1200 Tom Semmens https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/random-play-fiji-or-not-fiji-that-is-the/?p=172611#post172611 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/random-play-fiji-or-not-fiji-that-is-the/?p=172611#post172611 The governments of Australia and New Zealand should suspend all flights to Fiji, and take away the landing rights of any airline that continues to fly there.

That would make this whole debate an academic exercise.

]]> Wed, 07 Jul 2010 20:30:17 +1200 Rich of Observationz https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/random-play-fiji-or-not-fiji-that-is-the/?p=172607#post172607 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/random-play-fiji-or-not-fiji-that-is-the/?p=172607#post172607 I guess I can't complain, having been, inter alia, to Zimbabwe, Singapore, Nepal under Gyanendra and the US under Bush.

But this does sound like a Potemkin village outing. Really, NZ should be taking the lead in escalating sanctions that will hit the fat cats of Fiji (who presumablybenefit from…

]]> Wed, 07 Jul 2010 19:11:47 +1200 Ian Dalziel https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/random-play-fiji-or-not-fiji-that-is-the/?p=172595#post172595 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/random-play-fiji-or-not-fiji-that-is-the/?p=172595#post172595 if there are still some lawyers left in Fiji...
the locals are very leery of getting a "barracking"...

]]> Wed, 07 Jul 2010 17:21:58 +1200 Russell Clarke https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/random-play-fiji-or-not-fiji-that-is-the/?p=172588#post172588 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/random-play-fiji-or-not-fiji-that-is-the/?p=172588#post172588

What do you pack?

The phone number of a good lawyer. Y'know, just in case.

]]> Wed, 07 Jul 2010 17:02:01 +1200 Kumara Republic https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/random-play-fiji-or-not-fiji-that-is-the/?p=172579#post172579 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/random-play-fiji-or-not-fiji-that-is-the/?p=172579#post172579 Wed, 07 Jul 2010 16:18:14 +1200 Angus Robertson https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/random-play-fiji-or-not-fiji-that-is-the/?p=172577#post172577 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/random-play-fiji-or-not-fiji-that-is-the/?p=172577#post172577 Its middle of cold raining winter with a recession on and someone offers a chance of a paying job that involves flying business class to a tropical island?

What do you pack?

]]> Wed, 07 Jul 2010 16:07:21 +1200 Robyn Gallagher https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/random-play-fiji-or-not-fiji-that-is-the/?p=172556#post172556 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/random-play-fiji-or-not-fiji-that-is-the/?p=172556#post172556 If I had the opportunity, I would travel to Fiji, but I wouldn't squirrel myself away in a resort. My modus operandi for travel is to get out and about, to explore the streets, to find the detail in the ordinary.

I'd want to come away with a bit of…

]]> Wed, 07 Jul 2010 14:28:47 +1200 Idiot Savant https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/random-play-fiji-or-not-fiji-that-is-the/?p=172555#post172555 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/random-play-fiji-or-not-fiji-that-is-the/?p=172555#post172555

The question is: given the opportunity, would you have been?

Nope. I won't travel to a dictatorship. And I especially won't travel to a dictatorship which uses tourism to prop itself up, both economically and politically.

]]> Wed, 07 Jul 2010 14:16:51 +1200 Public Address https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/random-play-fiji-or-not-fiji-that-is-the/?p=172554#post172554 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/random-play-fiji-or-not-fiji-that-is-the/?p=172554#post172554 Discussion from blog post.

]]> Wed, 07 Jul 2010 14:16:51 +1200