Permanent Secretary for Foreign Affairs, Yogesh Karan, said that there are no casual- ties involving Fijians residing in Papua New Guinea (PNG) following the recent election-related violence the country is currently facing.

The confirmation follows what is currently happening in PNG where Fijians are caught amidst the up- heaval.

For the past few days, the capital, Port Moresby, had witnessed election-related violence with reports of people being stabbed, assaulted and the extensive destruction of property and infrastructure are also evident.

Taina Rokotabua, a Fijian woman residing in Port Moresby and who has lived in the country for over 30 years, says that Fijian communities are close when such instability happens.

“We get our updates via the group chat and the Fijian community page telling and alerting each other to drive safely, but currently there are no Fijian casualties, no deaths for us,” she said.

Ms Rokotabua said that instigated violence that surfaces on social media is something she has grown accustomed to.

“What happened in the past few days is not new to me. I’ve seen worse during the Bougainville days.”

She said that Fiji should reopen its Embassy in Papua New Guinea so that they are taken care of when such crises occur, especially since there are many Fijians who go to PNG for work purposes.

“We need the embassy to re-open. It will be good of the Government to reopen its Embassy here again because it will help,” she said.

Feedback: jone.salusalu@fijisun.com.fj