Blog Project 2: Oceania (FIJI)

1) Being Warm in the Cold

The cold spell especially in the evenings is currently causing a few niggling health problems such as coughs, cold chests and a number of other uncomfortable ails for the people in Fiji. Dr Wahid Khan from Bayly Clinic explained that these health problems which are caused by very different temperatures between the days and nights can be prevented by dressing warmly, using blankets and consuming warm foods or beverages. He added that people lose much of their body heat through their head and feet which makes it necessary too to don a warm hat or a beanie and thick socks, besides layering the clothes. He also gave a wonderful and inexpensive tip to stay warm, which is by putting hot water bottles under the blankets. Soups are excellent to keep our body warm, but if they are not your cup of tea, hot pizzas or noodles will do great for you too!

This article may be a useless one right now since it is summer in Korea, but we can apply these wonderful tips given by Dr Wahid Khan to keep our body warm in order to stay healthy especially during the upcoming fall and winter this year. I personally like the amazing idea of using hot water bottles while sitting at the desk or watching TV, and even under the blankets. It is a very brilliant method since water bottles are very cheap, plus we can recycle lots of unused bottles through this method. Being warm and healthy while saving the Mother Nature, what more can we ask for? Actually this method is very similar to the floor-heating system being used here in Korea, so I bet this method will be loved by the Koreans, even the foreigners living here. For the sake of our precious health, let's stay warm in the cold.

Source:

Gibson, Dawn. "Being Warm in the Cold." The Fiji Times ONLINE, 30 June 2014. Web. 01 July 2014.
<URL> http://www.fijitimes.com 





2) Support Overwhelms Grieving Family of Slain Athlete

The grieving family of a Fijian-born athlete named Roy Ravana Jr, 20, who was shot dead at the 48th Street & Baker Avenue in Sacramento County received an overwhelming amount of support from the people both in Fiji and in the US. The family who went all the way to the US to get Roy's body was deeply moved when the US Marist Old Boys created a school flag with Roy's name on it that covered his casket, while people from all walks of life coming or calling to pay their respects during their stay in USA. There was also a short service by a priest in the cargo area of the airport and before the family boarded the flight back to Fiji, the US Marist Old Boys decided to sing the school song around the casket.

This heart-warming article is an excellent proof that humanity still exists in this world. It is indeed a heart-breaking thing for an innocent soul like Roy to leave this world tragically at such a young age. To make it worse, he was staying in the opposite side of the globe, very far away from the warmth of his beloved family. The grief of his family must be enormous, so I think it is a common sense for the people living around them to do their part as a human being by comforting the family members. The effect of the action might be too little to be compared to the hard time they are having, but at least the warm comforting words and actions by the people around them can reduce some of the pain. The good people living in the neighbourhood and the US Marist Old Boys did a great job and they should be set as an example for us. Let's restore the humanity.  

Source:

Tokalau, Torika. "Supports Overwhelms Grieving Family of Slain Athlete." The Fiji Times ONLINE, 26 June 2014. Web. 01 July 2014.

<URL> http://www.fijitimes.com   

3) On PM'S Turf  

The reputation of the current PM of Fiji, Voreqe Bainimarama is exceptionally excellent in the province of Ra despite of the avalanche rhetoric on the pay he is allegedly receiving, or the poverty and unemployment rate in the country. Yes, some very specific needs of the province were not fulfilled during his reign, but the good people of Ra just love him. The secret of this surprising popularity is his understanding of the grassroots and knowing how to appeal to "forlorn" communities whose needs are primordial. A survey conducted by The Fiji Times established that villagers cited roads as the most critical investment needed in the region since they will provide a vital link to the development of the province and provide a way out of rural poverty. Voreqe Bainimarama surely did a wonderful job in winning the hearts of people of the province.

I felt nothing but disgust when I saw this article because it shows how a corrupt politician can gain votes by taking advantage on the innocent citizens of rural provinces. The bad politicians may not be able to fool the educated people in the cities, but they can fool the naive people who live far from the development, wishing to have well-equipped schools, roads and clean water in their village. Since in the countries like Fiji where the population of the rural provinces is larger than the population of the cities, the politicians who use the bad tactic will easily get the majority votes. A good manifesto coated with lies and fake promises is the only weapon they need in order to win the elections. This kind of politicians should stop taking advantage of the poor people of rural provinces. They should play a clean political game if they want to rule the country. These shortcut methods of winning the elections will only lead to series of demonstrations and coups sooner or later.

Source:

Wise, Margaret. "On PM's Turf." The Fiji Times ONLINE, 28 June 2014. Web. 01 July 2014.

<URL> http://www.fijitimes.com