Our rich cultural blend 2: Niko Rabuku

For this week's article, I have chosen to write about a youth of mixed ancestry. Niko Rabuku from Suva is part iTaukei and part Rotuman. (This story and that of Steven Shivneshwar originally appeared in the Fiji Times. It is published as 2 separate pieces on this blog.)

A nationwide survey conducted by the Ministry of Youth and Sports in the Central, Western and Northern divisions in October 2015 noted that Fiji's youths lead fulsome social lives and are increasingly interacting across ethnic and religious lines. It is now common for young people of different ethnic groups and faiths to socialise together. One training retreat I was invited to had Muslim, Hindu and Christian teenagers working, learning, eating and being accommodated together.
The survey found that 90 per cent of youths speak more than one language. A large number 91 per cent had mobile phones. Seventy-two per cent had mobile phones with internet connections, 83 per cent had Facebook accounts and 38 per cent had Twitter accounts.
Niko Rabuku said he had never faced discrimination of any kind on account of his mixed ancestry. He saw his inter-racial background as a positive point.
Niko's mum is Rotuman and his dad is an iTaukei from Raralevu Village in Tailevu. I first met him at a home for abandoned children. He was looking emotionally distraught as he held an 18-month-old toddler of mixed ancestry who had been abandoned. It had been a deeply emotional experience and he confided that he had wanted his parents to adopt the child. (That will now not happen as the child will eventually be adopted by close relatives).
Niko admits that one of the positive points of having mixed ancestry is that he can connect socially at a personal level especially with his maternal links. In Rotuman culture, mothers and their children have a cherished place. Niko understands basic Rotuman words and is really trying hard to learn the language.
Niko volunteered for Lifeline, an organisation that works in the area of suicide prevention and counseling. (He has recently found employment with a mobile phone company.)
His experiences at Lifeline have shown him that depression can strike people irrespective of their ethnicity, colour or faith. His background and training has given him an affirming attitude in helping people both young and old to lift themselves up from depressing situations to lead affirmed lives.
I asked Niko if he would prefer a Rotuman or iTaukei girlfriend. He told me politely that if he had a girlfriend, his choice would be based on love rather than ethnicity!
Fiji is a multicultural nation and our Constitution provides an affirming framework to enable better synergies between the different ethnic groups, especially our young people, to work together as one in developing a prosperous nation.