Journalist Jeff Fleischer spent 2008 in New Zealand and the South Pacific on a fellowship studying climate change. He sends us this stark look at the state of affairs in Fiji since the 2006 coup.
To those who don't follow current affairs in Oceania, the idea of Fiji usually evokes images of idyllic beaches full of frolicking tourists, jungles rich in volcanic soil, and a laid-back lifestyle perfect for holiday. Unfortunately, for those who do pay attention to that part of the world, the overriding view of Fiji is that of an island of despotism within a generally pacific Pacific.
Run by a military regime that seized power in a December 2006 coup and which has become increasingly oppressive as its power has become entrenched, Fiji now makes headlines for imprisoning editors, expelling diplomats, putting elected leaders under house arrest, and intimidating those who speak out with mandatory visits to a compound ominously known as "The Barracks." Those headlines, however, rarely show up in publications in the West.
What I found during my brief time there in 2008 was that
both images of Fiji are completely true, and nowhere is that more obvious than
in the country's two main destinations Nadi and Suva.
Read more on Fiji's two cities after the jump.
Post originale: http://blogs.nationalgeographic.com/blogs/intelligenttravel/2010/10/fiji-needs-editing.html
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