All our communities have to make the effort to reach out to each other rather than waiting passively for gestures that may never be made. We need to … - Joni Madraiwiwi

It is easy to decry the nature of ethnic politics in this country. We are hostages to history and the ethnic compartmentalisation that began in the colonial era.

When national leaders address the people of Fiji in specifically Christian terms, whatever the occasion, nearly half of our people are excluded. When prayer in mixed company is uttered in terms of a purely Christian God, we unintentionally omit and diminish others present of different faiths. When we use Christian symbolism to promote reconciliation, forgiveness and unity, we discount the contribution and equally rich traditions extant in other faiths and cultural traditions.

The (racial and cultural) difference is to be celebrated, not fried or criticised, and we are so much richer for it.