After six years in the Marshall Islands, Fijian Verenaisi Bavadra says, “I feel to have contributed to the development of education in the Marshall Islands in my own little field.”
The Library Director at College of the Marshall Islands (CMI) was recruited to work in RMI after working in library and information roles at the University of Fiji, Pacific Community and for Fiji’s library services. She is one of hundreds of Fijians working in the country, many of them in the education and health fields.
She did not know too much about the country before she came, although Bavadra says, “Like everybody else, I knew about the nuclear history of the Marshall Islands.”
Her experience meant she could hit the ground running when she started, which was necessary as “there were 120 things to do.”
“They were very clear about it during the interview, that there was a lot of re-strategising, a revamping of services [needed]. We’ve got the building, but we needed to organise it in a more formal way, like what is required for an academic library.”
She was also required to prepare a report for the accreditation body in her first months, as CMI was preparing to introduce a new program. Travelling around the CMI campuses in order to prepare the report gave her a good induction into her new role.
Bavadra says one of the most rewarding things about her tenure has been leading a team that is willing to listen and learn and working with students willing to do the same.
She also appreciates the culture of the country, and the institution.
“What struck me when I first came in, it still humbles me to this day, is the respect and the patience that the Marshallese people have. They have so much patience, they have so much respect. In Fiji, we do practice that, it’s part of our culture, too. But the Marshallese people take it above that, to the next level. And it humbles me all the time.”
She says this requires a different approach. “What I need to keep reminding myself is listen to what they are not saying to me, that’s the key to performing well in the Marshall Islands, especially in this college. Because what they are not saying is really what you need to hear.”
Recent hearings of Fiji’s fiscal review committee have heard a suggestion that remittances be taxed in Fiji. That’s something Bavadra vehemently disagrees with.
“We’re already taxed here three times, three different taxes. So that’s unfair. Whatever we have left, and then we send it to Fiji, and they need to be taxed again, that’s very unkind.”
In her spare time, Bavadra sews and watches films. She says members of the Fijian community have a monthly joint church service and meet “as often as they can.” She is a skilled weaver of Fijian mats, incorporating wool in a unique style that gives the appearance of layered carpets. Bavadra says given Marshallese women are perhaps the best weavers in the Pacific, she is keen to learn the fine weaving style of the locals before she leaves.
She plans to stay for a few more years and encourages other Fijians considering working in the country to do so.
“We have a lot to share, our experience, our skills, our knowledge, and instead of going overseas, we fit in better into the local Pacific community. There is not much difference, just the island is different.
“I’ve enjoyed my stay in the Marshall Islands. I miss home all the time, that I don’t deny. I miss my grandchildren, my children, all my relatives. But if it helps to be outside Fiji, if it’s going to support my family financially in any way, yes… It’s good.”
