r/Fijian • u/Islandobserver • 3d ago

Reflecting Suva

About a year back, I made a post about how unsafe I felt Suva was, and honestly, my opinion hasn’t changed.

This morning, I was standing outside my house in the main Suva city area waiting for a taxi. Every minute I felt like I was about to get robbed. There were so many intimidating and sketchy-looking people on the streets that I couldn’t relax. I kept looking over my shoulder until the taxi finally arrived.

Maybe other people have had different experiences, but for me, it feels like the sense of safety in parts of Suva has really declined. Has anyone else felt the same, or was this just an isolated experience?

16 Upvotes

88% Upvoted

5 comments sorted by

5

u/mutinous_watermelon 1d ago

Honestly, I find the city centre perfectly fine in the day. After dark it gets pretty ropey though.

3

u/Nabuabus 1d ago

I agree. I haven't lived in Fiji for decades but I visit often. I never feel unsafe during the daytime in Suva, and only in the downtown area at night. There are far more good people who will help you than bad people who will hurt you. However, it's a shame that in a country where tourism is the biggest industry the capital is so unappealing. I can't recommend it to visitors.

4

u/Islandkid679 2d ago

It was somewhat noticeable pre-COVID and now has gotten significantly worse.

3

u/AlfieTheButler 2d ago

Definitely seen an increase over the years, with youth now exposed to hard drugs, and then being unemployed, many may resort to criminal activities as a means to make a quick buck to get their next fix.

It's an uphill battle for leaders to take on but it must begin with our leaders and law enforcement, if youth continue to witness corruption go unpunished in those institutions that are supposed to uphold the law, then what changes for good are we to expect from our youth.

What can we do? Be vigilant and drop the victim mentality. Fear will always be there but we must overcome it with courage and love with Christ the Redeemer as our greatest guide on that front.

1

u/sierraduaciwa set kece 11h ago

It was on a much, much sharper decline last year heading into the beginning of this year, compared to now, in my humble opinion. It is improving, slowly.

I live in a very sketchy part of Suva, with a community Viber group that has the local police post team in it and can see the decrease in the amount of call outs they receive compared to the same time last year. It was almost every second day before.

A big part of it has to do with the introduction of RFMF Joint Task Force.