These accounts of people from the Girmit area have been kindly provided by Dr. Ahmed Ali We apologise for any error that occured during the OCR process (it was a hell of a task). Pancham

I had no intention of coming to Fiji, or going away to any other island. It was the season of cheat, a time of extreme heat, and the time ...[more] Din Mohammed

I came from Basti in the year 1910. I deliberately left my mother and father and ran away and came to Fiji, I was lured away by ...[more] Mahadeo

I was sixteen when I came to Fiji. I was unmarried and an orphan; my parents had died in some epidemic. In India I had made a living ...[more] Abdul Aziz

I left India because I was told that I would receive a shilling a day for work in Fiji and that after five years when my girmit was ...[more] Govind Singh

I came on Chenab I, from Babalpur and was 19 or 20 years old when I arrived in Fiji. Two or three of us were wandering around the ...[more] Rahim Buksh

I was young and working on the railroad in India. One day I went out to do some shopping and I met a Muslim recruiter who gave me some ...[more] Lotan

I came from Basti when I was 28 years old. I left India because there was a shortage of work there, so four of us got together and decided ...[more] Debi Singh

I lived with my wife and mother in India. One day I decided to visit my aunt in Basvelli. My mother gave me some money to buy some ...[more] Mahabir

I was about 16 and used to work as a lohar. Then I met a man who asked me whether I was looking for a job. When I answered that I was, ...[more] Lakpat

I came to Fiji in the year 1911. I was born in Kanpur, Madhya Pradesh, but my parents came from Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh. I was about 15 ..[more] Gafur

I was a student in Bombay and was on my way home when I met some men who asked me if I were interested in work. They took me ...[more] Pahalad

I was on a journey to Kanpur to work on the Ganges and met an arkati who took me in a buggy to a recruiting depot. At that time I was ...[more] Bujawan

My original home was Gonda in India. I was lured by recruiters when I was about twenty-five years of age. I could read a little in those ...[more] Samjhawan

I arrived in Fiji in 1910. With others we were sent to Lautoka which we reached on a night when hurricane winds were raging. Our first ...[more] Devi Singh

I was working in Calcutta and remitting money to my village in Agra. In Calcutta I was a watchman earning 4/- per week. I had been ...[more] Chinsan

I came to Fiji through my own arrogance. There was trouble at home and I walked out. I met someone and asked him to give me work. He ...[more] Jagan

I left because of a problem with my marriage. My wife was 12 years old. Whenever I approached her she resisted my advances. Hence, I ...[more] Gayadin

I had a quarrel with my brothers and so left home. I had been in Surinam before coming to Fiji. I worked in Surinam for about six years and ...[more] Mangaia

I came with another man as his brother. We quietly fled from our homes. My brothers gave me a rough time so I wanted to leave India. I ...[more] Ramraj Maharaj

I was a sturdy 16 year-old on my way to the town where there was a recruiting depot, and met an arkati who suggested there was ...[more] Kanan

I am from Malabar. I am not a Hindustani. I served my indenture in Fiji in Navua. It is difficult for me to relate why I came. Everyone who ...[more] Hussein

I was an assistant teacher at a school and I hit a girl who I was to marry in a week's time. We had already bought all the provisions for the ...[more] Bhagelu

I left India because it was a time of distress in the country. There was therefore a willingness on my part to accept the offer of a job. I ...[more]