Polluted, contaminated drain

Ronnie Chang, Nadi

On a recent visit of the general area towards the Nadi Airport Golf Club and Nadi Airport Boat Club to keep abreast of developments within the confines of our ever-growing township, I came across an open drain-cum-pool of blackish contaminated and polluted unsightly and stomach-churning water.

Its position is at a midway point on the left side of the long stretch of road to Newtown, Nadi between Newtown Shopping Centre and Mid-West supermarket and other businesses. It is certainly unsightly. Unpleasant, to say the least.

Will our senior health inspector care to carry out an immediate inspection and verify my observations, please? Such pollution will not do our vibrant tourism industry any good.

Perhaps, our immediate local authorities might care to seek professional help and guidance from the Ministry of Environment and Mineral Resources Department to check for possible contamination to bring about urgent rectification for a greener healthier surrounding.

I raise this issue as a concerned citizen.

Jubilee of Mercy

Samuela Kailawadoko, Nadi

I am very excited as we Catholics come to the conclusion of the ‘Jubilee of Mercy’.

The motto, ‘Merciful Like the Father,’ is an invitation to follow the merciful example of God, who asks people not to judge or condemn but to forgive and to give love.

Hundreds of Catholics in the West will be scheduled for the closing of the Jubilee of Mercy in 2016 in Lautoka giving pilgrims the chance to celebrate the closing of door with our Western clergy.

Saint Thomas Aquinas (1225—1274) was a Catholic Priest in the Dominican Order and one of the most important Medieval philosophers and theologians. He was immensely influenced by scholasticism and Aristotle and known for his synthesis of the two aforementioned traditions explains that, as far as external works are concerned, mercy is the greatest of all the virtues.

“In itself mercy is the greatest of the virtues, since all the others revolve around it and more than this, it makes up for their deficiencies. This is particular to the superior virtue, and as much it is proper to God to have mercy, through which his omnipotence is manifested to the greatest degree.”

World Rugby nominations

Timoci Gaunavinaka, Nausori

The Vodafone Fijian 7s team’s nomination for the Team of the Year award by World Rugby is a milestone for Fiji and Pacific Island rugby. But we are not all there yet.

Let us celebrate when the awards are in the bag.

The New Zealand All Blacks’ 18 unbeaten run matches this year is a big achievement, but they market it to an audience who are already familiar with rugby. It would hold no significance to an American Football player from the United States, a shooter from Israel or to a cricket player from India.

But Fiji’s victory at the Rio Olympics introduced rugby to a huge world audience who may have heard of the sport, but have never watched it before. That contributed to the internet record breaking search for the word ‘Fiji’ in a single day and boosted the popularity of the sport worldwide.

Fiji’s Rio victory is unparalleled to any world rugby achievements this year, especially when we consider our “Lilliput budget” and the aftermath of the devastation from Cyclone Winston. It was truly a David versus Goliath performance.

Two Fijian names out of the three nominations for Best Sevens Rugby Player in the world award is amazing.

Ratu Peni Latianara Rayani and Osea Kolinisau’s nominations for World Rugby awards are all strong and significant and we wish all of them the best of luck.

Feedback:  jyotip@fijisun.com.fj