Bati Game

Manoah Kaleca, Suva

We are behind you all the way

Keep on lifting Jesus Name in all your games.

In turn He will exalt the team in due time and season.

Jesus is the winner man. Toso Bati Toso!

Haka vs Hymn

Savenaca Vakaliwaliwa, Suva

When the New Zealand Rugby League team perform its Haka as it challenges the Vodafone Fijian Bati team before their quarter final match, our boys will simply huddle and lift up their eyes, hearts and voice to praise the Almighty Creator with a hymn.

On paper, New Zealand is a Tier One nation and is the second top Rugby League team in the world and their defeat by Tonga last week was the first ever for a Tier Two nation to defeat a Tier One nation in the history of Rugby league.

Having lost on home soil and knowing that New Zealand is a Rugby crazy nation; they will not allow a repeat defeat at home.

On the other hand, our Bati team is more like a Christian Youth team who are mixing international rugby competition with their personal Christian faith and belief.

We have witnessed first hand in the last three matches how the Bati performed and we all believe that if they continue to put God first and prepare well, nothing is impossible.

New Zealand plays the same style of rugby as the Bati and it is a joy to see a mixture of rugby league and open sevens rugby by both teams.

On the books, New Zealand should win this quarter final match against Bati.

But, faith can move mountains and we have seen how they have performed in the last three games.

The Haka versus a hymn reminds me of David versus Goliath and we all know how God placed that stone right on Goliath’s head through a gap in his helmet and how he ended up falling face down as in worship at the feet of David.

Go Bati go!

Racial Profiling

Dewan Chand,  Suva

Reference is made to a letter titled: “Racial profiling “(Fiji Sun 14/11/17) by Joan McGoon of Nadi.

I strongly support this view because it has a lot of common sense reasoning and merit.

Recent television and radio advertisements have been pushing the concept that there should be no racial profiling because we are all Fijians and we are one.

No one doubts the sentiments behind these advertisements in promoting national unity.

However, there is a hollow ring to it as it fails to realise the reality of race and ethnicity.

The names of people are racially profiled.

As soon as we call someone by name the inbuilt mechanism in the name does the racial profiling.

We come to know a person’s gender, ethnic grouping, religion, and sub-cast he or she belongs to and perhaps the area they come from.

We cannot run away from this reality and this is where the race becomes the fact of life.

I totally agree that the sacredness and uniqueness of each group must be preserved for the posterity and for the sake of cultural identity.

We can still be proud Fijians united behind our leaders and the nation and still maintain our cultural or religious identity.

We in Fiji can identify our individual cultural groups and still be very proud Fijians.

I think the common name for all Fijian citizens enforced by Bainimarama Government is perhaps the biggest single achievement of our times.

However, this does not mean we dilute our individual religious and cultural identities.

Fight the stigma

Wise Muavono, Lautoka

Suicide is a national health problem that takes an enormous toll on families and friends.We should no longer remain silent about the stigma of suicide and we should fight those stigmas while raising awareness within our communities.

Learn how to recognise warning signs and risk factors such as depression and changes in behaviour.

Suicide is an unnatural way to die.

For the loved ones left behind, there is more guilt, more “what if” and more “I should have.”

It leaves feelings of rejection and abandonment along with the sorrow and pain.

To all those people who have ever lost a loved one to suicide, my deepest, deepest sympathy to you.

As I have said in past letters, those thinking of committing suicide, please seek help.

You deserve every joy the world has to offer.

I’m sorry for what life has thrown at you, but it will get better.

You should be around to enjoy it.

Feedback:  jyotip@fijisun.com.fj