Outrage over call to end street meals in Lautoka

A recent call by stakeholders in Lautoka City to stop the public feeding of street dwellers has sparked widespread criticism and concern from faith-based groups, community leaders, and humanitarian advocates.

The stakeholders, citing disruptions to business and the growing presence of homeless individuals in the city, urged meal providers to redirect their efforts to shelters instead of distributing food on the streets. 

However, the move has been met with strong opposition from those who say the call lacks compassion and fails to address the root causes of homelessness.

Fiji Evangelical Fellowship Church general secretary Reverend Simione Tugi condemned the proposal, saying it undermines the moral duty of citizens to care for the underprivileged, including the homeless or the urban dwellers.

“Feeding is one of our duties,” Rev Tugi said. “I was hungry and you never gave me food. That’s not the Fiji we should be building.”

He pointed out that Fiji lacks proper shelters and rehabilitation programmes for street dwellers, making the call to stop feeding them not only impractical but unjust.

“They sleep in shelters at night and return to the streets by day. There are no proper programmes to help them reintegrate,” he said. 

Rev Tugi said small churches must be applauded for continuing to feed these marginalised group.

He called on the Government, churches, and institutions to invest in building shelters and rehabilitation centres that offer job placement, family reunification, and mental health support.

‘’I attended a lot of conversations and dialogues, very little action has been done, and the number keeps on increasing,’’ he said.

One Nation Our People Youth Foundation (ONOPYF) founder Abdul Zorhab echoed the sentiment, calling the stakeholders’ proposal “deeply inhumane.”

Mr Zorhab, who has worked extensively with the homeless across Fiji, said many of these individuals are victims of a broken system and rely on free meals to survive.

‘’As someone who has spent years working on the ground with the underprivileged, homeless, and disabled across Fiji, I find this call deeply inhumane, insensitive, and disconnected from the reality faced by those living in extreme hardship,’’ he said.

He raised concerns that labelling them as “lazy” or “refusing to work” is not just unfair, it’s cruel.

‘’These are Fijians who have fallen through the cracks of a broken system, and that ignoring their rehabilitation is the problem and feeding the hungry,’’ Mr Zorhab said.

He said that the religious groups, non-governmental organisations, and volunteers who cook and serve meals do it from the heart and step in where the system has failed.

He urged the Government to work with community groups to provide:

• Mental health and addiction support
• Rehabilitation and counselling programmes
• Skills training and employment opportunities
• Affordable housing and expanded social welfare

 "If the Government believes this is a problem, then show us the solution. We can’t just move plates of food around and call that progress lives are at stake," Mr Zorhab said.

He said he personally met mothers, the elderly, and youth sleeping hungry on the streets in Lautoka, Suva, and Labasa.

“Without these meal providers, many would not survive another night. If the Government believes this is a problem, then show us the solution,” Mr Zorhab said. 

 “To all Fijians reading this, stand up for humanity,” Mr Zorhab said. “Your voice matters. Let’s build a Fiji where no one is left behind.”

The public response has been overwhelmingly supportive of continuing street feeding, with many calling for a more humane and inclusive approach to addressing homelessness.