WHO WE ARE :
Young Peoples Concerned Network FIJI is a group made up of strong minded and strong willed young people of Fiji who are concerned about issues that affect them and are willing to stand up for these ideals and make their voices heard.
WHAT WE BELIEVE IN :
We are a group of young people dedicated to the ideals of democracy and where our beliefs and vision encompass the principles of free speech, human rights, the rule of law and the basic tenets of our constitution.
We believe that everyone is born free and equal in the world and thus everyone should have the same opportunities in education, healthcare and employment.
Every Young Person in Fiji needs to be empowered through the dissemination of information, the provision of opportunities and the realisation of their goals so that they in turn can pass this on to the next generation and thus build a positive, vibrant and an empowered Fiji.
OUR CONCEPTION :
In it's early conception in 2005, YPCN Fiji realised that the ideals of good governance and the survival of true democracy was under threat. This threat came from the Commander of the Military Forces. YPCN took to the streets trying to bring this to the attention of Fiji's leaders.
While this early demonstration did not deter the course of Fiji's history, it went a long way to empower the members to be vocal again about the 2006 takeover. YPCN Fiji will go down in the History of Fiji as the only group in Fiji who openly protested about the the death of Democracy in our Island immediately after the takeover.
Ours was a young voice of reason. It was a young voice of plea.
It was a voice that in turn went on to capture the attention of many from Fiji and around the globe.
LOOKING FORWARD ....... OUR GOALS , OUR VISION, OUR JOURNEY :
YPCN Fiji then realised that ...yes..we had arrived, we can make a difference, and making a difference is what matters.
YPCN Fiji is a group that is positive about the future of Fiji and is prepared to dream big.
We envision a generation of empowered Fiji Islanders working together and achiving a durable democratic economy.
We envision a future where young people get access to information, education, healthcare, work opportunities, basic needs and a future free from the shackles of poverty, strife, uncertainity and greed.
YPCN Fiji remains steadfast in it's endevour to make our voices heard and our opinion count.
Please email us you support and talk to us so that we can make these goals happen.
There is also provisions ensuring that females conform to a dress code and limits marriages. Students who live in villages also have a curfew and are required to study till 8pm.
All citizens in the Fiji Islands have Human Rights that are theirs no matter where they are or where they live, the fact that rights are limited when you live in a village is a total violation of the universal rights.
I believe these new bylaws are aimed at young people especially, where recently young people have been highlighted in the media as been abused by Village Headman for not conforming to Village Traditions. This new bylaws if chosen by villages will eventually hurt the Fijian Cultural system and tarnish the little respect many young people have for tradition, culture and village authority. I can only imagine the great bias and vulnerability young women will find themselves if these new bylaws are passed. These laws will definitely hurt youth and women’s progression and contravene Fiji’s commitments to the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women and the Convention of the Rights of the Child.
I can now predict an exodus of youth and young families from villages into urban centres in Fiji. Already there have been complaints that our villages are filled to capacity with older persons, these bylaws will ensure that our village and traditional system disintegrates and cease to exist. If our Chiefs and traditional leaders who are deciding on the bylaw, have foresight, than they should see that their authority and existence depends on winning the hearts and minds of young people. instead these bylaws, are set to isolate many younger people and push them out of the village system. This not good for Fiji’s urban centres that hardly can control the social ills (crime, unemployment, and poverty) caused by the urban drift.
In this same light, the Prime Minister unelect has promised a return to Democracy by 2014, and this is supposed to touch the whole of Fiji and not just Fiji's urban centers. Such a system proposed by the Government is in context, truly undemocratic and inconsistent with the rights of every human being in Fiji. I can’t but feel that this bylaw, is an attempt to murder our traditional chiefly and village systems.
We should commend that provinces and villages that will reject the ‘Sharia type’ laws that have been given to them by the Government and maintain the dignity of their villagers.
As a Indigenous young person in Fiji, I reject the limits and penalties in this new bylaw, I will reject it to wire if i have to - and i do this to save my culture. We as Citizens of Fiji must make our views heard on this matter to the relevant council and bodies as soon as possible. I hope we can move forward as a nation and not accept pockets draconian laws to exist in our Fiji.
Vinaka