Opinion ID: 751154
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Events in Fiji

Text: 6 The population of Fiji is roughly evenly divided between ethnic Fijians (the majority of whom are Christian) and Fijians of Indian descent (most of whom are Hindu). Considerable racial and religious tension exists between these two groups. In 1987 the Fijian military, which consists largely of ethnic Fijians, overthrew the democratic government and established a regime that favors ethnic Fijians. 7 Petitioner is an Indo-Fijian of the Hindu faith. Her life in Fiji became difficult after the coup. All of her family members emigrated to Australia in the wake of the societal upheaval that the coup caused. 1 According to Petitioner, her Indo-Fijian neighbors fled their homes in order to avoid harassment at the hands of ethnic Fijians. This left Petitioner and her daughter as the only Indo-Fijians in their village. 8 Petitioner claims that every night [her] house was stoned by the Fijian natives. (A.R. at 136.) Petitioner reported a stoning incident to the police, but by the time they arrived the perpetrators had departed and the police took no further action. In addition, Petitioner claims that ethnic Fijians loitered in her yard, vandalized her property, stole coconuts from her trees, and occasionally stole items from her garage. (Id. at 126.) Also, Petitioner claims that individuals burglarized her home on one occasion. Again, Petitioner alleges that the police took no action. All of these incidents took place in 1987 except for the burglary, which took place in 1989. (Id. at 25, 126.) 2 9 To escape this treatment, Petitioner sold her home at a loss and moved to an apartment located closer to her workplace and her daughter's school. Subsequently, some of her teenage daughter's Indo-Fijian schoolmates were raped, which caused Petitioner to fear for her daughter's safety. Petitioner contends that she escorted her daughter to school and that her daughter had to return from school in the company of others. Petitioner's daughter then would lock herself in the apartment until Petitioner arrived home. 3 10 In addition to these hardships, the new government banned Hindu religious gatherings. Many Hindu temples were destroyed, including Petitioner's. Also, in 1990 the government enacted a new constitution that guarantees political supremacy for ethnic Fijians.