Reddit mentions of Tears in Paradise: Suffering and Struggles of Indians in Fiji 1879-2004

Gather round my child, have you got your sippy cup?
Today we’re going to talk to you about Indentured Labourer history together with
a quick lesson on communication and understanding. After that you can have a little nap
and I’ll call your mother to tell her what a great job you’ve done today.

>Come off your high horse, not only you had ancestors that migrated. Maybe your ancestors were tricked but documentation has proven that some ancestors came after for work and they WERE PAID and WELL COMPENSATED more than they ever could be in India.

Yes, thank you for agreeing with me. My ancestors were tricked, there is no better evidence that
first hand accounts. Don't worry I've also got some written sources for you down the line.
I'm also glad to see you went out and did some research yourself by talking to a Jamaican.
I think you’re on to something here my friend.

Well paid and well compensated?
You’re understand of this history is laughable.

>Wy would one recommend it without reading it? Please do some reading and educate yourself.

Education, aaah, it should always start with spelling, nonetheless let’s ignore that because it’s semantics.
You’ve obviously misunderstood what I said, let’s take a trip down memory lane.
I said: ‘What sort of rebuttal is that? Have you read it? Do you know it?’
This was in reply to your: ‘I suggest you read a much better book…’

Now because of your misunderstanding, it is very evident that basic communication is not your forté,
we’ll forgive you because everyone deserves forgiveness and chance to right their wrongs.

When I wrote my aforementioned sentence, I was merely pointing out the fact that you haven’t read the book I’ve told you to read.
Therefore, your proposition of a better book is much maligned.
You can’t quantify if it’s better, you don’t know of the book I’ve asked you read.

So by that logic, if all you have is the account of one book, would it not occur to you to get a larger picture of the story?
Or does one book and one interview satisfy your education on indentured labourer history?
How about the account of a person—like myself for example—who’s studied this in-depth and also is apart of the history?

From what I understand, you are saying that my book and my first hand account doesn’t qualify as history for you because it doesn’t match the knowledge you have, thus we should throw it out.
I think from that alone, we can suppose that the idea of education, which simply means receiving information or knowledge about a particular subject, is not what you’re familiar with, or is something that you are unable to grasp.

>You need to learn to stop feeling sorry for yourself. A lot of the ancestors of the indians in the Caribbean came and made a lot of money. Some went back to Indian and some stayed and their descendents are much better off today than if they would have stayed in India.

Just quickly, less than 10% went back to India.

>Maybe your ancestors were tricked but don't go labelling everything with your victimhood.

>I even talked to someone from Jamaica today and she said her ancestors came from India to the Caribbean for a better life and there is no way in hell that she would ever go back to India. I talked to several people from Guyana and Trinidad that said the same. I am mixed and also have ancestors that came to the Caribbean for a better life. They were well paid and given land and some went back to India.

>Get real and stop the victim mentality.

Aha, this is the gold.

Please point out at which point I insinuated any victim stance or victim hood?
You’re inference shows your lack of cognisance. As a matter of fact, had you asked me, you know, perhaps took the socratic approach,
you would’ve known that my stance on the matter is similar to ‘your one Jamaican friend’.

I’m incredibly happy that I was born where I was.
Irrespective of that, I’m able distinguish fact vs fiction vs my feelings, something I’d meditate on if I was you.
It might help in your day to day communication and understanding that when we talk facts, we’re not all talking feelings.
I know it’s hard for little snowflakes like yourself but I’m hoping you can see the light so you can do better.

Listen more, argue less, be a better person.

You don’t know everything and sure you might’ve read a book and interviewed some people, and yeah you have some of the right ideas,
but I can tell you off the bat, you’re not informed on the subject and you lack true understanding of it.

At the end of the day, you’re sitting behind a computer desk and you haven’t lived it and you surely haven’t read your history on it, in depth.
Mostly because it probably doesn’t matter to you, but know this, I have because it matters to me where I’m from, because my history matters to me.

And because I’m kind, I’ve written a list of sources for you so you can understand this yourself, this is good education.

And while you’re out reading books, go pick up Crucial Conversations (Patterson, Granny, McMillan, Switzler), this will help in your communication skills.

>It has been proven that some indians were paid, were given land and they were NOT SLAVES. There is a huge difference between the African slaves and the Chinese and Indian "coolies" that came to work.

The fact that you use the word coolies so nonchalantly shows that you don’t understand it’s etymology.
It’s a racist term.

I’ll on concede on one point alone, you’re right they were not Slaves like African slaves, but they were very close to it.
As I mentioned earlier, In terms of payment, a lot of indentured labourers were not paid what they were owed.
This if fact, theres no way around this.

Just a quick FYI: The indentured labourer system came as a result of the abolition of Slavery.
The British had a problem, they wanted the same outcomes as Slavery but could not
go about it the same way, the indentured system was an improvised solution.

The greatest testament to my people is that they had courage, ingenuity and a lack of victimhood.
They held their ground and worked hard.
My grandmother alone worked till she was in her 60s as a single mother, selling dried peas on the side of the road.

Don’t ever call me a victim, I will slap that smug face of yours back to the screen behind your computer.

Now, here a list of sources that will help you understand this better:

https://academic.oup.com/ahr/article/119/5/1439/44606
http://girmit.org/?page_id=1152
https://www.amazon.com/Tears-Paradise-Suffering-Struggles-1879-2004/dp/0473171147
https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007%2F978-3-319-52748-2_3
https://www.bl.uk/reshelp/pdfs/indiansoverseas.pdf
http://www.georgetownsvgrevisited.co.uk/indentees-who-were-they.php
https://books.google.co.nz/books?id=jpqoAwAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false
https://books.google.co.nz/books?id=Rb4pDwAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false
https://books.google.co.nz/books?id=4JgxpL4FCNUC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

There are many more where that came from.

I’ve taught you enough for now.
Go do some more reading and get further educated.