26 refugees living and working in Fiji, minister reveals

Twenty-six refugees are currently living in Fiji, with 18 employed in various jobs or running their own small businesses.

Minister for Immigration Viliame Naupoto revealed this in Parliament yesterday, saying that from 2018 to 2025, Fiji carried out 65 refugee status determination processes, recognising 38 people as refugees.

“Out of these 38, 10 were resettled to New Zealand, two have voluntarily returned to their own country, and 26 remain in Fiji,” Mr Naupoto said.

He said many of the 18 working refugees have found jobs in the service sector which includes housekeepers at the Grand Pacific Hotel, staff at Salvation Army and Extra Supermarket, while others are self-employed, selling perfume.

“One is a market vendor in one of our local markets. One is running a small restaurant and four are students in schools around Suva,” he said.

Four of the refugees are still looking for work, Mr Naupoto added, but are being supported by family members overseas.

He was responding to questions about Fiji’s efforts to support refugees and the recent signing of the Refugee Status Determination Standard Operating Procedures with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) on June 12.

Mr Naupoto noted that Fiji became a party to the 1951 Refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol in 1972, two years after independence.

“Today, 53 years later, we finally have a standard operations procedure for refugee status determination,” he said.

He stressed Fiji’s moral and international commitment to help people fleeing persecution.

“We are determined not to look away when somebody who has nothing, arrives at our borders,” Mr Naupoto said.

When asked by the Fiji Sun for more details about the 26 refugees, including their countries of origin or the reasons they fled — Mr Naupoto declined to comment, saying the information was confidential.