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These accounts of people from the
Girmit area have been kindly provided by Dr. Ahmed Ali
We apologise for any error that occured during the
OCR process (it was a hell of a task).
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Pancham
I had no intention of coming to Fiji, or going away
to any other island. It was the season of cheat, a time of extreme
heat, and the time ...[more] |
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Din Mohammed
I came from Basti in the year 1910. I deliberately
left my mother and father and ran away and came to Fiji, I was lured
away by ...[more] |
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Mahadeo
I was sixteen when I came to Fiji. I was unmarried
and an orphan; my parents had died in some epidemic. In India I had
made a living ...[more] |
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Abdul Aziz
I left India because I was told that I would receive
a shilling a day for work in Fiji and that after five years when my
girmit was ...[more] |
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Govind Singh
I came on Chenab I, from Babalpur and was 19 or 20
years old when I arrived in Fiji. Two or three of us were wandering
around the ...[more] |
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Rahim Buksh
I was young and working on the railroad in India. One
day I went out to do some shopping and I met a Muslim recruiter who
gave me some ...[more] |
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Lotan
I came from Basti when I was 28 years old. I left
India because there was a shortage of work there, so four of us got
together and decided ...[more] |
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Debi Singh
I lived with my wife and mother in India. One day I
decided to visit my aunt in Basvelli. My mother gave me some money
to buy some ...[more] |
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Mahabir
I was about 16 and used to work as a lohar. Then I
met a man who asked me whether I was looking for a job. When I
answered that I was, ...[more] |
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Lakpat
I came to Fiji in the year 1911. I was born in Kanpur,
Madhya Pradesh, but my parents came from Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh.
I was about 15 ..[more] |
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Gafur
I was a student in Bombay and was on my way home when
I met some men who asked me if I were interested in work. They took
me ...[more] |
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Pahalad
I was on a journey to Kanpur to work on the Ganges and met an arkati
who took me in a buggy to a recruiting depot. At that time I was ...[more] |
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Bujawan
My original home was Gonda in India. I was lured by
recruiters when I was about twenty-five years of age. I could read a
little in those ...[more] |
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Samjhawan
I arrived in Fiji in 1910. With others we were sent
to Lautoka which we reached on a night when hurricane winds were
raging. Our first ...[more] |
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Devi Singh
I was working in Calcutta and remitting money to my
village in Agra. In Calcutta I was a watchman earning 4/- per week.
I had been ...[more] |
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Chinsan
I came to Fiji through my own arrogance. There was
trouble at home and I walked out. I met someone and asked him to
give me work. He ...[more] |
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Jagan
I left because of a problem with my marriage. My wife
was 12 years old. Whenever I approached her she resisted my
advances. Hence, I ...[more] |
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Gayadin
I had a quarrel with my brothers and so left home. I
had been in Surinam before coming to Fiji. I worked in Surinam for
about six years and ...[more] |
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Mangaia
I came with another man as his brother. We quietly
fled from our homes. My brothers gave me a rough time so I wanted to
leave India. I ...[more] |
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Ramraj
Maharaj
I was a sturdy 16 year-old on my way to the town
where there was a recruiting depot, and met an arkati who suggested
there was ...[more] |
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Kanan
I am from Malabar. I am not a Hindustani. I served my
indenture in Fiji in Navua. It is difficult for me to relate why I
came. Everyone who ...[more] |
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Hussein
I was an assistant teacher at a school and I hit a
girl who I was to marry in a week's time. We had already bought all
the provisions for the ...[more] |
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Bhagelu
I left India because it was a time of distress in the
country. There was therefore a willingness on my part to accept the
offer of a job. I ...[more] |