RESEARCH reveals a deeper complexity in Fiji’s Social Fabric, challenging the myth of a simple racial divide.
Presenting her Master’s Research on “Social cohesion or ‘myth of oneness’?”, a seminar series hosted at the University of the South Pacific, Merewalesi Nailatikau highlighted the importance of ethnicity data for policy making and social cohesion, noting that the prohibition hinders progress and transparency.
Her analyses, which use census data from 1976 to 2014 and employ regression and decomposition methods, find a gradual decrease in the role of ethnicity in education and home ownership outcomes.
Despite the ban, ethnicity still influenced socio-economic outcomes.
Nailatikau said in Australia, the Australian Bureau of Statistics announced that it would not be including questions about ethnicity in its next census.
“This has prompted considerable discussion from public health policy advocates who expressed concerns about the potential impact on understanding how different communities experience various social aspects, including health and well-being, as well as access to economic opportunities.”
She added that this concern is relevant to Fiji, where economists and statisticians have discussed the importance of publishing data related to ethnicity, emphasising that doing so is a global standard, not something to be avoided.
“These statistics can inform policy decisions and influence national findings, which is the intended purpose of censuses.”
Nailatikau explains that it is important to recognise that censuses have a long history rooted in imperial projects.
“In many countries, including Fiji, censuses were set up primarily to conscript people for military service and taxation.”
With Fiji, like many nations with colonial histories, is not immune to these influences, she said. The roles and level of detail captured in censuses evolve, as has occurred in Fiji since we transitioned to an independent state.
“Without our significant expertise, the ways we engage with and utilise census data have changed, especially with the political developments that have characterised our country.
“This political context has influenced our public and personal discourse around ethnicity and, subsequently, how we perceive statistics, their collection, presentation, interpretation, and discussion,” she said.
Nailatikau advocated for an integrated national data system to support truth and reconciliation processes, and suggested that social cohesion should be citizen-driven.