0:00:04 > 0:00:09East-ender Mason McQueen drives one of London's 22,000 black taxis.
0:00:11 > 0:00:13The London Cab driver
0:00:13 > 0:00:15is naturally a nosey bastard.
0:00:15 > 0:00:17We're the eyes and ears of this city.
0:00:17 > 0:00:21Last year, he left London to live and work as a cabbie
0:00:21 > 0:00:24in Mumbai for a BBC documentary.
0:00:24 > 0:00:26Whoa, whoa, whoa. CAR HORN
0:00:26 > 0:00:29It's chaos, it's like Mad Max meets the Kumars, or something.
0:00:29 > 0:00:31SCREECHING BUS HORN Big bus, big bus, big bus.
0:00:31 > 0:00:34What have I got myself into here, eh? DISTANT CAR HORNS
0:00:34 > 0:00:38Now, Mason has accepted the challenge to drive a taxi
0:00:38 > 0:00:41in three very different cities around the world.
0:00:41 > 0:00:43Can it get worse than Mumbai? I don't think so.
0:00:46 > 0:00:48In the far north of Canada,
0:00:48 > 0:00:52he'll be battling some of the worst conditions on the planet.
0:00:53 > 0:00:56Whoa, whoa, whoa.
0:00:56 > 0:00:58It's losing control, this vehicle.
0:01:01 > 0:01:04And meeting a lost people.
0:01:04 > 0:01:07Would you rather have today's life, or would you like to go back?
0:01:07 > 0:01:08I rather go back.
0:01:10 > 0:01:12HE CRIES
0:01:12 > 0:01:16He'll be setting off for the paradise islands of Fiji...
0:01:16 > 0:01:19- ALL: - Bula!- Bula!
0:01:19 > 0:01:21London, where's that?
0:01:21 > 0:01:24..and an unusual local cuisine.
0:01:26 > 0:01:31200 years ago, be an Oxo cube up the bum and that'd be me in the pot.
0:01:31 > 0:01:34Where am I going? Straight?
0:01:34 > 0:01:37And, in the capital city of Cambodia...
0:01:37 > 0:01:39CAR HORN
0:01:41 > 0:01:45..Mason will be getting to grips with a very different kind of taxi.
0:01:45 > 0:01:48You have got to keep your eyes open 'ere,
0:01:48 > 0:01:50otherwise you ain't going to make it.
0:01:50 > 0:01:52Ooh, my God.
0:01:55 > 0:01:58It's one London cabbie's journey to find out
0:01:58 > 0:02:01how people live in some of the most extreme
0:02:01 > 0:02:03and exotic parts of the planet.
0:02:04 > 0:02:05It's the same the world over,
0:02:05 > 0:02:09if you want a lowdown on a place, speak to the cab driver.
0:02:16 > 0:02:21Fiji. An archipelago of lush, tropical islands
0:02:21 > 0:02:23in the South Pacific.
0:02:24 > 0:02:27It's an iconic holiday destination,
0:02:27 > 0:02:29famous for its sunshine and friendly welcome.
0:02:29 > 0:02:32- ALL - Bula!
0:02:32 > 0:02:34But there's a different side to Fiji.
0:02:35 > 0:02:38More than a third of the population lives in poverty
0:02:38 > 0:02:41and the country is divided by racial tension.
0:02:41 > 0:02:44Half a million tourists arrive here every year
0:02:44 > 0:02:48to enjoy the palm-fringed beaches and crystal-clear waters.
0:02:50 > 0:02:53Most of them don't know that this troubled country
0:02:53 > 0:02:56is now ruled by an unelected government
0:02:56 > 0:02:58following a series of military coups.
0:03:00 > 0:03:03Touching down after a 25-hour journey,
0:03:03 > 0:03:05London cabbie Mason McQueen
0:03:05 > 0:03:10is blissfully unaware that there is a dark side to paradise.
0:03:10 > 0:03:11Epic journey.
0:03:11 > 0:03:14Really long haul.
0:03:14 > 0:03:18Totally worth it, as you can see. It's just absolutely beautiful here.
0:03:18 > 0:03:20And lush, and the sun's out.
0:03:20 > 0:03:23Really looking forward to getting to know Fiji more, you know?
0:03:23 > 0:03:26And he's about to receive a traditional Fijian welcome.
0:03:26 > 0:03:29THEY SING IN FIJIAN
0:03:29 > 0:03:34- Bula, Mason.- Ah! Bula, bula. How are you?- Pleased to meet you. - Nice to meet you.
0:03:34 > 0:03:36I am Lasaro, welcome to Fiji.
0:03:36 > 0:03:39Ah, this is fantastic. This is great.
0:03:39 > 0:03:42What a welcome. This is beautiful.
0:03:44 > 0:03:48- Bula!- Bula! Thank you very much, gents. Thank you.
0:03:48 > 0:03:51Fiji's economy is built on tourism.
0:03:51 > 0:03:54Thanks, guys. Bula. Bula.
0:03:54 > 0:03:57- How long you been working here? - 26 years.
0:03:57 > 0:04:0026 years? Wow. You're the man, then, right? You know everything.
0:04:00 > 0:04:03A third of the working population, like doorman, Lasaro,
0:04:03 > 0:04:06are employed in the tourism industry.
0:04:06 > 0:04:08- This is paradise, right? - This right here.
0:04:10 > 0:04:12Five-star luxury, Lasaro.
0:04:12 > 0:04:15- ALL:- Bula!
0:04:15 > 0:04:18My mother-in-law's old bullmastiff was called Bula!
0:04:18 > 0:04:20HE LAUGHS So strange.
0:04:20 > 0:04:24"Bula, come 'ere!" But it means something different here. It's lovely.
0:04:24 > 0:04:25- ALL:- Bula!
0:04:25 > 0:04:28- Bula!- Bula! Bula.- Bula. MASON LAUGHS
0:04:28 > 0:04:32- Long beach, long beach. - Ah, look at the beach.
0:04:32 > 0:04:34You just spend the rest of your days here, couldn't you?
0:04:34 > 0:04:37HE SNIFFS Just breathing it all in. Fiji.
0:04:37 > 0:04:42Tomorrow, Mason's going to begin his life as a Fijian taxi driver.
0:04:42 > 0:04:46But for now, he's got a bit of time to brush up on his board skills.
0:04:54 > 0:04:58It's like bath water in there, it's baking hot. Really nice.
0:04:58 > 0:05:01Now, for a drink and a nice sit down, I think.
0:05:01 > 0:05:05Starting to unwind now. London? Where's that?
0:05:06 > 0:05:09Fiji time!
0:05:09 > 0:05:10HE LAUGHS
0:05:16 > 0:05:21Next morning, and Mason's leaving the luxury tourist life behind.
0:05:21 > 0:05:25For the next ten days, he's going to live and work as a taxi driver.
0:05:25 > 0:05:28His host will be Dharmendra Kumar.
0:05:28 > 0:05:32- Bula, bula!- Bula, Mason. Welcome to Fiji.
0:05:32 > 0:05:35- You're going to be looking after me, yeah, is that right?- We are.
0:05:35 > 0:05:36I'm no trouble, honestly.
0:05:38 > 0:05:40- You're Hindu, yeah?- Yeah, Hindu.
0:05:40 > 0:05:42Fantastic.
0:05:44 > 0:05:47There are less than a million people in the whole of Fiji
0:05:47 > 0:05:51and many of them, like Dharmendra, are of Indian descent.
0:05:51 > 0:05:53DISTANT DOG BARKING
0:05:57 > 0:05:5940%! That's a lot.
0:05:59 > 0:06:01That's a lot of people, isn't it?
0:06:03 > 0:06:05So, where we going, Dharmendra, to your house?
0:06:08 > 0:06:12Dharmendra lives on the edge of one of the poorer neighbourhoods
0:06:12 > 0:06:13of the capital city, Suva.
0:06:13 > 0:06:16Yeah.
0:06:16 > 0:06:20Things have changed a bit from where I was staying.
0:06:20 > 0:06:22Bula.
0:06:22 > 0:06:23Bula.
0:06:26 > 0:06:29Everyone seems happy...
0:06:29 > 0:06:33- Still.- Yeah, still, still they enjoying it.
0:06:33 > 0:06:36- Bula.- Bula.
0:06:36 > 0:06:37DHARMENDRA LAUGHS
0:06:37 > 0:06:39I'm the bula king of Bethnal Green!
0:06:39 > 0:06:41MASON LAUGHS
0:06:41 > 0:06:45This is your place, yeah? Ah.
0:06:45 > 0:06:46Let's meet the family.
0:06:46 > 0:06:49DOG BARKS
0:06:49 > 0:06:51Dharmendra lives in a small rented shack with his wife
0:06:51 > 0:06:53and two teenage daughters.
0:06:53 > 0:06:55- Hello!- Hello.
0:06:55 > 0:06:58- Hello, you all right? - This is Kasouma, my wife.
0:06:58 > 0:07:03- Nice to meet you. How are you? - Welcome to my home. - Thanks, darling. Thank you.
0:07:03 > 0:07:07- Hello, girls.- Katio.- Katio, how are you?- Good.- Nice to meet you.
0:07:07 > 0:07:10- And who's this?- I'm Monisha. - Hello, Monisha. Nice to meet you.
0:07:10 > 0:07:11And do you like Fiji?
0:07:11 > 0:07:15Love Fiji. Paradise. Really enjoying it.
0:07:15 > 0:07:17This is your bedroom.
0:07:19 > 0:07:20So, who sleeps in here?
0:07:20 > 0:07:22My daughter and my wife sleeps here.
0:07:22 > 0:07:26- So, everyone... Your girls?- Yeah.
0:07:26 > 0:07:28- Share the room with you?- Mmm.
0:07:28 > 0:07:30Dharmendra, where am I sleeping?
0:07:30 > 0:07:32Oh, you'll be sleeping here, Mason.
0:07:32 > 0:07:36- Will you fit in this?- Course I will. With my slim physique? Yeah.- Yeah.
0:07:36 > 0:07:39MASON LAUGHS
0:07:39 > 0:07:42I look forward to staying here.
0:07:44 > 0:07:46Now he's met the family,
0:07:46 > 0:07:50it's time for Mason to join Dharmendra on his shift.
0:07:50 > 0:07:52- Bye, ladies.- Bye.- Bye.
0:07:52 > 0:07:54# It's off to work we go. #
0:07:56 > 0:08:01- Your family's lovely, by the way. - Thank you.- You're a lucky man.
0:08:01 > 0:08:02DHARMENDRA LAUGHS
0:08:04 > 0:08:07It's a five-mile drive to the hustle and bustle of the city.
0:08:10 > 0:08:16And a long way from the palm trees and sandy beaches of Mason's hotel.
0:08:16 > 0:08:18CAR HORN
0:08:18 > 0:08:20I'm in downtown Suva.
0:08:22 > 0:08:25Yeah, it's a lot more congested and...
0:08:26 > 0:08:29- ..smoky.- Yeah.- Fumes.
0:08:29 > 0:08:31UPBEAT MUSIC
0:08:34 > 0:08:40Dharmendra works for Regent Taxis, the biggest taxi company in Fiji.
0:08:42 > 0:08:44- Bula.- Bula.- Bula.
0:08:44 > 0:08:48It's like an episode out of Taxi, isn't it? Danny DeVito's going to walk by in a minute!
0:08:48 > 0:08:52You've got the controller in the cage, look.
0:08:52 > 0:08:56I want to get friendly with him. I want some cream work out of here.
0:08:57 > 0:09:02Like Dharmendra, most of the drivers at Regent are of Indian descent.
0:09:03 > 0:09:07- We're up. We've got a job. - Yeah, you've got a job. Yeah, go.
0:09:07 > 0:09:09- Vinaka.- Vinaka.- Vinaka.
0:09:12 > 0:09:13Whoa! Whoa, whoa, whoa.
0:09:13 > 0:09:16UPBEAT MUSIC
0:09:16 > 0:09:19Bula, bula.
0:09:21 > 0:09:24- Bula.- Hi.- Bula.- How are you?
0:09:24 > 0:09:26- How are you doing? - Good, thank you.
0:09:26 > 0:09:30- So, driver, we're going to CDC. - Where we going?
0:09:30 > 0:09:33- Narere.- Narra?- Narere.- Ooh!
0:09:35 > 0:09:36Oh, is it?
0:09:36 > 0:09:39FAINT BEEPING Is it on this map?
0:09:41 > 0:09:42It should be.
0:09:42 > 0:09:44Samey, can you check, please?
0:09:44 > 0:09:48No, you can't ask! How can you ask the punter to be looking at the map?!
0:09:48 > 0:09:50DHARMENDRA AND SAMEY LAUGH
0:09:50 > 0:09:54- So, how you doing today? You doing good, Samey?- Yeah.
0:09:54 > 0:09:56You was having a good day till you got in this taxi, weren't you?
0:09:56 > 0:09:58THEY LAUGH
0:09:58 > 0:10:01Some of Dharmendra's work comes through the radio.
0:10:03 > 0:10:05But most of the time, just like Mason,
0:10:05 > 0:10:08he's vying for trade on the city streets.
0:10:09 > 0:10:12Taxis everywhere, Dharmendra.
0:10:12 > 0:10:15It's a very popular profession in Suva.
0:10:18 > 0:10:21There are around 5,000 cabs in Suva.
0:10:21 > 0:10:24That's four times as many taxis per head than in London.
0:10:24 > 0:10:27There's a job there. There's a job there. Hello, there.
0:10:27 > 0:10:30But despite the competition, Mason and Dharmendra are on a roll.
0:10:30 > 0:10:33- Oh, I want to have a haircut. - Oh, you're going to get a haircut?
0:10:33 > 0:10:35I don't make a booking.
0:10:35 > 0:10:38Dharmendra has to rent his cab.
0:10:38 > 0:10:43At 60 Fijian dollars, or £20 a day, it's not cheap,
0:10:43 > 0:10:45but that's not all he has to pay for.
0:10:45 > 0:10:47How much fuel do you need to put in?
0:10:47 > 0:10:49How much a day? 10 bucks? 20 bucks?
0:10:49 > 0:10:53- No. 80, 90 dollars...- 80?- Yeah.
0:10:53 > 0:10:55- 80 dollars.- Dear, oh, dear.
0:10:55 > 0:11:00You're talking like, what? 150 dollars before you make anything.
0:11:00 > 0:11:02- Yeah.- Yeah?- Mmm.
0:11:02 > 0:11:05Well, let's go and seek our fortunes.
0:11:07 > 0:11:11150 Fijian dollars for rent and fuel works out at £50,
0:11:11 > 0:11:16that's what Dharmendra has to take every day before he makes any money,
0:11:16 > 0:11:19which is why sometimes he has no choice
0:11:19 > 0:11:22but to work late into the night,
0:11:22 > 0:11:26as a very jet-lagged Mason is finding out.
0:11:29 > 0:11:31From seven in the morning?
0:11:33 > 0:11:35Jeez.
0:11:35 > 0:11:38Quite often, Dharmendra doesn't take home any money at all,
0:11:38 > 0:11:42which means he struggles to pay the rent on his house
0:11:42 > 0:11:45and in Fiji, there aren't many other options.
0:11:49 > 0:11:51- In Fiji?- In Fiji, yeah.
0:11:56 > 0:12:0117-hour shifts are a fact of life for Dharmendra.
0:12:01 > 0:12:04Luckily for Mason, this one's over.
0:12:04 > 0:12:06Lovely.
0:12:06 > 0:12:08That's the best part of the job, I think.
0:12:08 > 0:12:10Coming home.
0:12:12 > 0:12:15You'd go back out, you would, wouldn't ya?
0:12:15 > 0:12:17You'd go back out there!
0:12:17 > 0:12:19I got friends like you at home.
0:12:21 > 0:12:23They never know when to go home.
0:12:24 > 0:12:26Right, been good today, mate.
0:12:26 > 0:12:30Enjoyed it, spending some time with ya.
0:12:30 > 0:12:33Hello, ladies. How you doing?
0:12:33 > 0:12:38Very kind. Ah. That's better.
0:12:38 > 0:12:41- How was your day? - Oh, it was all right.
0:12:41 > 0:12:44- I've been, it's been a long day, hasn't it?- Long day.
0:12:48 > 0:12:50Oh, this is gorgeous.
0:12:50 > 0:12:54- Have some more to eat, don't be shy. - All right.
0:12:54 > 0:12:56Thank you, my friend.
0:12:56 > 0:13:01- Just imagine this is your home in London.- Thanks very much.
0:13:01 > 0:13:05- Don't be shy of anything. - Dharmendra, that's very kind of you.
0:13:07 > 0:13:09'Where do you start? What a day.'
0:13:12 > 0:13:14I'm absolutely shattered.
0:13:16 > 0:13:22They're crazy, crazy shifts, crazy long hours which...
0:13:22 > 0:13:27..can, they can destroy people, them sort of hours, you know?
0:13:27 > 0:13:29But he gets on with it.
0:13:29 > 0:13:32He didn't want to come home tonight, he wanted to carry on working
0:13:32 > 0:13:33and I'm shattered.
0:13:33 > 0:13:36He's such a honest, gentle guy.
0:13:36 > 0:13:38He's lovely. He really is.
0:13:38 > 0:13:40His whole family are. They're lovely.
0:13:40 > 0:13:42Really sweet.
0:13:42 > 0:13:44Time for some sleep.
0:13:57 > 0:14:02People have been living on these islands for more than 3,000 years,
0:14:02 > 0:14:06but the Indian population came here much more recently.
0:14:07 > 0:14:08In the 19th century,
0:14:08 > 0:14:12European explorers realised that Fiji's climate was perfect
0:14:12 > 0:14:15for growing one of the most valuable crops of the era -
0:14:15 > 0:14:17sugar.
0:14:18 > 0:14:23Fiji became a British colony in 1874
0:14:23 > 0:14:25and to work the sugar plantations,
0:14:25 > 0:14:28the British imported labourers from India.
0:14:29 > 0:14:34Eventually 60,000 Indian villagers were forced or persuaded to make the
0:14:34 > 0:14:407,000-mile boat journey to Fiji on the promise of a better life.
0:14:40 > 0:14:42But once the Indian workers arrived,
0:14:42 > 0:14:45they were locked into long-term contracts
0:14:45 > 0:14:48and could never earn enough to get back home again.
0:14:48 > 0:14:53Conditions on the sugar plantations were often appalling.
0:14:53 > 0:14:57Even today, memories of the era are still strong.
0:15:12 > 0:15:15Yeah. So, they was trapped, then.
0:15:19 > 0:15:21- Really?- Yeah.
0:15:24 > 0:15:27So, basically it's...
0:15:27 > 0:15:28slavery.
0:15:39 > 0:15:42Dharmendra and his family are descendants of those
0:15:42 > 0:15:46original Indian labourers and today's a big day.
0:15:46 > 0:15:48They're taking the cab for a rare trip
0:15:48 > 0:15:50to visit relatives in the country.
0:15:50 > 0:15:54THEY SING
0:15:59 > 0:16:02- You're warming up, now, aren't you, ladies?- Oh, very lovely.
0:16:02 > 0:16:04Very... LAUGHTER
0:16:04 > 0:16:06- Your turn.- My turn. Oh.
0:16:06 > 0:16:11# Fortune's always hiding
0:16:11 > 0:16:14# I've looked... # CHEERING
0:16:14 > 0:16:15Hold on, I ain't finished!
0:16:15 > 0:16:17# ..everywhere.
0:16:17 > 0:16:20# I'm forever blowing bubbles
0:16:20 > 0:16:24# Pretty bubbles in the air... #
0:16:24 > 0:16:28And now you join in and go, "United! United! United!"
0:16:28 > 0:16:30THEY LAUGH
0:16:32 > 0:16:34What's that in the road? Look at that in the road!
0:16:34 > 0:16:38You...no! Don't run him over!
0:16:38 > 0:16:40My God.
0:16:40 > 0:16:43- Is that a mongoose or a rat? - Mongoose.- It's a mongoose?
0:16:43 > 0:16:46Mongoose. Mongoose crossing the road!
0:16:48 > 0:16:51Dharmendra's family live in the heart of sugar country,
0:16:51 > 0:16:54two and a half hours north of Suva.
0:16:54 > 0:16:56Some of them still farm sugar today.
0:16:57 > 0:17:01- Is that your grandad?- Yeah.
0:17:01 > 0:17:03Bula.
0:17:03 > 0:17:07Namaste. Bula! How are you?
0:17:07 > 0:17:10Nice to meet you. Kitauatri. Not bad.
0:17:10 > 0:17:13Not a bad effort, was it?
0:17:13 > 0:17:15- What's it like seeing your grandparents, girls?- Great.
0:17:15 > 0:17:20- Yeah? It's been a while.- Yes. One year.- One year? Oh.
0:17:20 > 0:17:23And they've got bigger. And more beautiful.
0:17:23 > 0:17:26- Nice to meet ya. The farmer.- Yeah.
0:17:26 > 0:17:28Proper bull that, innit?
0:17:30 > 0:17:35More than a century ago, the Indian labourers endured tough conditions
0:17:35 > 0:17:37to satisfy Europe's sugar craving
0:17:37 > 0:17:40and today, Britain still buys all of Fiji's sugar.
0:17:42 > 0:17:45The farming techniques here have hardly changed
0:17:45 > 0:17:47since the days of Empire.
0:17:50 > 0:17:53Easy. Don't trust these two at all.
0:17:55 > 0:17:58Wouldn't want a kick in the face off of one of these.
0:18:11 > 0:18:13That's really...
0:18:13 > 0:18:15that's really gooey, you know?
0:18:15 > 0:18:18And damp. That's fertile, that is.
0:18:19 > 0:18:24Can you show me, actually show me the cane cut down
0:18:24 > 0:18:26and where the sugar comes from?
0:18:26 > 0:18:28I'm finding it hard to understand where it actually is.
0:18:34 > 0:18:36- They crush it and take out the juice.- Yeah.
0:18:40 > 0:18:42It's like a huge allotment, isn't it?
0:18:42 > 0:18:46Fiji, for the British colonies, really.
0:18:46 > 0:18:50Amazing. It ticks every box, doesn't it? The weather.
0:18:50 > 0:18:52Right, we'll get them, put them there.
0:18:52 > 0:18:55It's just, it's quite, I mean, when you think about it, it's sinister
0:18:55 > 0:18:58but it's clever as well.
0:18:58 > 0:19:00But we are, we're British,
0:19:00 > 0:19:03we, you know, our Empires were all over the world.
0:19:03 > 0:19:07Finally, 140 years after they colonised these islands,
0:19:07 > 0:19:11a Brit is going to sweat it out on the sugar cane fields of Fiji.
0:19:11 > 0:19:14Hey!
0:19:14 > 0:19:17Can't keep it in the line. What's happening, Pradeep?
0:19:17 > 0:19:20- You have to make it steady. - Make it straight?
0:19:20 > 0:19:23It's really difficult.
0:19:23 > 0:19:25Concentrate all the time.
0:19:25 > 0:19:27Oh, this is the job, Pradeep, I tell ya.
0:19:27 > 0:19:31You'll be like Conan the Barbarian after a couple of weeks of this.
0:19:31 > 0:19:33Hey!
0:19:33 > 0:19:35It's ridiculous.
0:19:36 > 0:19:39- Oh,- BLEEP.- Me welly's come off!
0:19:41 > 0:19:44God. Ah!
0:19:46 > 0:19:49When you start working with these boys,
0:19:49 > 0:19:50do you start early in the morning?
0:19:50 > 0:19:53Yeah, yeah. We start up as soon as the day breaks, yeah.
0:19:54 > 0:19:58Go up to right up to nine, up to ten.
0:19:58 > 0:20:02- Certainly tough work, but...- It's a struggle in the field.- Yeah, it is.
0:20:02 > 0:20:04- It is a struggle.- Yeah. - I've only gone up there,
0:20:04 > 0:20:08me welly come off and it's hard to even follow behind.
0:20:08 > 0:20:13It's just real old school. And I mean old school, like 13th century.
0:20:13 > 0:20:16There's certain things that if I put sugar in my tea or coffee now,
0:20:16 > 0:20:19I'll look at it and think of where I've been.
0:20:19 > 0:20:20Honestly.
0:20:20 > 0:20:23Pradeep, you know, I take me hat off to him.
0:20:23 > 0:20:26That is proper collar. Really is.
0:20:27 > 0:20:30Eventually, as British influence began to diminish,
0:20:30 > 0:20:32the descendants of those original immigrants
0:20:32 > 0:20:35began to farm the land themselves
0:20:35 > 0:20:38and the Fijian Indian community prospered.
0:20:38 > 0:20:42- Wow. Papadum.- Papadum.- Papadum. Papadum.
0:20:42 > 0:20:44The tea's here, yeah.
0:20:44 > 0:20:46Tea. Don't tell me you got no sugar.
0:20:48 > 0:20:51But the Indian farmers never actually owned the land they farmed
0:20:51 > 0:20:54and that was to prove their undoing.
0:21:06 > 0:21:09- They had to vacate the land?- Yeah.
0:21:09 > 0:21:11Since the 1990s,
0:21:11 > 0:21:16tens of thousands of Fijian Indians have been forced off the land.
0:21:16 > 0:21:20That must have been so hard for the people who got kicked out,
0:21:20 > 0:21:22or kicked off, the land.
0:21:32 > 0:21:37So their situation was that they had nowhere to go and no employment.
0:21:46 > 0:21:47Yeah. Now it's flooded.
0:21:57 > 0:21:58They've had a rough ride.
0:21:58 > 0:22:01Really, really rough.
0:22:01 > 0:22:03They had nowhere to go
0:22:03 > 0:22:06and they've ended up down in Suva
0:22:06 > 0:22:08with nothing, really.
0:22:08 > 0:22:10You're just lucky you got a roof over your head
0:22:10 > 0:22:13for you and your family.
0:22:13 > 0:22:16Fijian Indians make up 40% of the population
0:22:16 > 0:22:20but they remain quite separate from the indigenous Fijians
0:22:20 > 0:22:23who actually own most of the land.
0:22:23 > 0:22:26Now Mason's keen to find out more about THEM
0:22:26 > 0:22:30and he's meeting up with Lasaro, the head doorman at the luxury hotel.
0:22:30 > 0:22:33I've been with mostly Dharmendra and his family
0:22:33 > 0:22:37and the Indian population of Fiji, so I thought it would be great
0:22:37 > 0:22:42to get another look at the Fijian lifestyle
0:22:42 > 0:22:48and see Lasaro's point of view and meet some real islanders, you know?
0:22:49 > 0:22:54- I'm really looking forward to that. Lasaro! Bula!- Hey, Mason! Bula!
0:22:54 > 0:22:56- I'm just doing some weeding before we...- Oh, are ya?
0:22:56 > 0:22:58..get ready to go fishing.
0:22:58 > 0:23:01OK, so, Lasaro, where you taking me today?
0:23:01 > 0:23:03I'm going to take you to that island.
0:23:03 > 0:23:06Mason will be back behind the wheel of a taxi soon,
0:23:06 > 0:23:10but for today, there are no roads where he's going.
0:23:10 > 0:23:12Ah! Ha-ha! There's the boat.
0:23:16 > 0:23:18It's beautiful, Lasaro.
0:23:19 > 0:23:22Fiji is an archipelago of more than 300 islands
0:23:22 > 0:23:24and on the smaller ones
0:23:24 > 0:23:27there are still traditional Fijian communities.
0:23:27 > 0:23:29Look at that.
0:23:29 > 0:23:32Sometimes you don't think you're going to see sights like that
0:23:32 > 0:23:34in your life, you know? That is amazing.
0:23:34 > 0:23:37- Bula. Bula.- Bula.- Bula.
0:23:41 > 0:23:44Life here has hardly changed in hundreds of years.
0:23:46 > 0:23:52So, Lasaro, fishing is a traditional Fijian custom
0:23:52 > 0:23:54and a way of life for these people?
0:23:54 > 0:23:57Yeah, in this village and other villages
0:23:57 > 0:24:00because they normally do fishing everyday
0:24:00 > 0:24:02for their main source of income.
0:24:02 > 0:24:04Their main source of income is fishing.
0:24:04 > 0:24:07Time for a bit of work experience,
0:24:07 > 0:24:08Fiji style.
0:24:10 > 0:24:11Let's go fishing.
0:24:15 > 0:24:18You can walk to work, it's ten yards, you're in the boat,
0:24:18 > 0:24:20you're at work, you know?
0:24:20 > 0:24:23How nice is that? No traffic.
0:24:23 > 0:24:25No running late.
0:24:26 > 0:24:30It is perfect in a way, isn't it? And that's it, the simple life.
0:24:36 > 0:24:39In the village, they have one chief,
0:24:39 > 0:24:43the chief that looks after the whole village and the whole island.
0:24:43 > 0:24:46- So, any problems, you go to the chief.- Go to the chief.
0:24:46 > 0:24:47And what problems could there be?
0:24:47 > 0:24:50I think we don't have any problem
0:24:50 > 0:24:54because all Fijian lives in the island, no other races.
0:24:54 > 0:24:56All Fijian and they own the whole island.
0:24:56 > 0:25:00Fijians haven't always been famous for their friendly welcome.
0:25:00 > 0:25:03In the 1800s, European seafarers lived in terror
0:25:03 > 0:25:05of being shipwrecked on these islands
0:25:05 > 0:25:07and encountering the warriors
0:25:07 > 0:25:10who had a notorious taste for human flesh.
0:25:12 > 0:25:15And even today, strangers are not welcome here,
0:25:15 > 0:25:18unless they undergo an ancient ceremony.
0:25:23 > 0:25:25THEY SPEAK IN OWN LANGUAGE
0:25:32 > 0:25:36THEY SPEAK IN OWN LANGUAGE
0:25:40 > 0:25:45At the heart of the ceremony is a mildly narcotic drink called kava,
0:25:45 > 0:25:48brewed from the roots of a pepper shrub.
0:25:50 > 0:25:52- Bula.- Bula.
0:25:54 > 0:25:57MAN CLAPS
0:25:57 > 0:26:01THEY JOIN IN AND CHANT
0:26:09 > 0:26:10200 years ago,
0:26:10 > 0:26:12I wouldn't like to say what'd happen to me
0:26:12 > 0:26:15if I stumbled on this island, be an Oxo cube up the bum
0:26:15 > 0:26:19and that'd be me in the pot, but things have changed now.
0:26:21 > 0:26:25It's time to take kava. How does it feel? Like, good?
0:26:25 > 0:26:29Made my numbs go a bit, erm, me lips go a bit numb!
0:26:29 > 0:26:31Yeah. Unusual.
0:26:31 > 0:26:34I wouldn't like to drink that whole bowl, but it's good. Good.
0:26:34 > 0:26:37- It's very good.- Very good!
0:26:38 > 0:26:41Tastes like something, tastes like earth.
0:26:41 > 0:26:43Just earth. Just with water in it.
0:26:52 > 0:26:57I've had six kavas, feeling loose, baby, feeling good.
0:26:57 > 0:27:00I'm in the village and I've been accepted in the village.
0:27:00 > 0:27:03- You're accepted in the village. - So I can walk around freely.
0:27:03 > 0:27:07Walk around freely, but not for anything else. Just walk around.
0:27:07 > 0:27:09OK!
0:27:10 > 0:27:14Fortified with kava, Mason plucks up the courage to ask Lasaro
0:27:14 > 0:27:18about the Fijian Indian community and the land issues.
0:27:18 > 0:27:22I've been spending some time with some Indo-Fijians.
0:27:22 > 0:27:25I just wanted to get your view on some of the issues over
0:27:25 > 0:27:29the land and the renewal of the leases.
0:27:29 > 0:27:32Some land have been renewed and some were not.
0:27:32 > 0:27:36- Some Fijian, they want their land back.- Do you think that's right?
0:27:36 > 0:27:38I think that's quite correct
0:27:38 > 0:27:43because the land is very important in our Fijian culture.
0:27:43 > 0:27:46- Do you consider this land yours...? - Yes.
0:27:46 > 0:27:49- ..and native to the Fijian people? - Yes.
0:27:49 > 0:27:52Native to the Fijian people.
0:27:52 > 0:27:56Fijians feel a powerful, spiritual connection to their home.
0:27:56 > 0:27:59Their identity is profoundly wrapped up with the land
0:27:59 > 0:28:01in which they were born.
0:28:01 > 0:28:03They call this Fanouwa.
0:28:03 > 0:28:06Fanouwa is...
0:28:06 > 0:28:09the people and the land
0:28:09 > 0:28:12and the culture.
0:28:12 > 0:28:16So we have to look after the land and the Fanouwa very well,
0:28:16 > 0:28:21pass it on to our children, like our forefather do to us.
0:28:21 > 0:28:25Speaking to Lasaro, just how passionate he is about his country
0:28:25 > 0:28:30and community and island life,
0:28:30 > 0:28:32and Fijian life.
0:28:32 > 0:28:35Traditional heritage that he has got here.
0:28:35 > 0:28:37You know, they're an indigenous tribe
0:28:37 > 0:28:40that have been here for thousands and thousands of years.
0:28:40 > 0:28:43You know, I'm seeing both sides of the story, really.
0:28:48 > 0:28:51It's time for Mason to return to Dharmendra
0:28:51 > 0:28:53and the life of a cabbie in a modern city.
0:28:55 > 0:28:58'I know the Indians didn't want to be brought here.
0:28:58 > 0:29:01'They are part of Fiji's history. Simple as that.
0:29:01 > 0:29:04'They've been here for three generations. Tough one to call.'
0:29:04 > 0:29:07I've met some lovely Fijians and I've met some lovely Indians here.
0:29:07 > 0:29:09Great people.
0:29:09 > 0:29:12See, you must get the right pressure on the strings.
0:29:14 > 0:29:20'I'm really seeing now that land is the big issue here, you know?'
0:29:20 > 0:29:24Such a tough one to call, it really is, you know? It really is.
0:29:29 > 0:29:31Now it's back to work
0:29:31 > 0:29:35and today Mason's driving the cab for the first time.
0:29:35 > 0:29:36See ya later, girls, huh?
0:29:36 > 0:29:39I'm going to need some luck today, ain't we, hey?
0:29:39 > 0:29:42- Yeah.- Bye. Bye, girls. Bye.
0:29:44 > 0:29:47OK? You're looking at me.
0:29:47 > 0:29:50You'll be OK. You will survive. I've seen how YOU drive!
0:29:55 > 0:29:57Let's go and make our fortune in Suva.
0:29:58 > 0:30:00Oh, here we go.
0:30:00 > 0:30:04Where's the work, now? Come on. Get your hands up, people.
0:30:04 > 0:30:06Come on, guaranteed.
0:30:06 > 0:30:08Let the rust bus pick up, bend, buckle and break.
0:30:08 > 0:30:10Your white Fijian cab driver.
0:30:10 > 0:30:12Get 'em while you can. Come on, people.
0:30:20 > 0:30:21Taxi. I'm first up.
0:30:21 > 0:30:23See ya later, boys.
0:30:23 > 0:30:27It's rush hour, but Mason's quickly learning that a lot of passengers
0:30:27 > 0:30:30doesn't always translate into big bucks for the driver.
0:30:32 > 0:30:36That is...how much is that? Two dollars, 20 cents.
0:30:38 > 0:30:40Two dollars, 30 cents.
0:30:42 > 0:30:44You know, Dharmendra,
0:30:44 > 0:30:47that's the third job today that's given you a load of coins.
0:30:47 > 0:30:49- Lot of coins. - It's very short work, isn't it?
0:30:49 > 0:30:52Not much distance and a load of coins.
0:30:52 > 0:30:56The damage is two dollars, 30 cents.
0:30:56 > 0:31:00Thought it was bad at home, you know, with like, shelling out
0:31:00 > 0:31:04and, you know, the actual hours that you have to do to get a living.
0:31:04 > 0:31:06But here, it seems really difficult.
0:31:08 > 0:31:11- You're not getting in front, are you?- Yeah.- Tough.
0:31:11 > 0:31:12It's very tough, yeah.
0:31:12 > 0:31:17All it is is change, though, isn't it? Change and change.
0:31:17 > 0:31:20You can't get in front like that, Dharmendra.
0:31:21 > 0:31:25Dharmendra, it's hard, isn't it, for you?
0:31:25 > 0:31:26It is.
0:31:27 > 0:31:30Coinage, coinage, coinage all the time.
0:31:30 > 0:31:33OK, see ya. Bye, guys.
0:31:33 > 0:31:37Be lucky. Need it here, I can tell ya.
0:31:37 > 0:31:38You need more than luck here, mate.
0:31:38 > 0:31:40Cor!
0:31:43 > 0:31:45Thank you. Vinaka.
0:31:45 > 0:31:49- Is this what you've taken today? - Yeah, this much of dollar.
0:31:55 > 0:31:5741 dollars.
0:31:57 > 0:32:01After a full day at the wheel, Mason's made less than 15 quid.
0:32:01 > 0:32:03Despite all that work,
0:32:03 > 0:32:07he's still more than £35 short of breaking even.
0:32:07 > 0:32:09That meter working?
0:32:09 > 0:32:13- Does that meter work?- Yeah. - It's very slow.- Yes.
0:32:16 > 0:32:18I'm sure this meter's broke.
0:32:20 > 0:32:23You got to do 14 hours a day and even if you do that,
0:32:23 > 0:32:27most of that money is paying off what he's got to do,
0:32:27 > 0:32:29his outgoings.
0:32:29 > 0:32:32I feel for him. I feel for the guy. He's got no life, has he, really?
0:32:32 > 0:32:37He's like working to live, he's not living in paradise at all.
0:32:37 > 0:32:39No matter how hard Dharmendra works,
0:32:39 > 0:32:42it's a daily battle to support his family.
0:32:42 > 0:32:46It seems that being a cabbie here is just not viable.
0:32:50 > 0:32:51But Mason's on his way to meet
0:32:51 > 0:32:55one businessman who's come up with a way of making taxiing pay.
0:32:55 > 0:32:59This is ideal cars for Fiji cos we are big people.
0:32:59 > 0:33:04- All the Fijians are big people. - Big, big nation.- Yeah. Big family.
0:33:04 > 0:33:08And with the smaller taxis that are currently in use in Fiji,
0:33:08 > 0:33:12it was virtually impossible to take the whole family in one run.
0:33:12 > 0:33:15You're a bit sharp, ain't ya? Bit of a shrewd man, ain't ya?
0:33:15 > 0:33:18Well, you got to be ahead of the competition.
0:33:18 > 0:33:20Well, I'd say you are, sir.
0:33:20 > 0:33:22- OK, Mason, are you ready to hit the road?- I'm ready.
0:33:22 > 0:33:24Ready as I'll ever be.
0:33:24 > 0:33:27- Well, I'll let you go and earn some money.- OK. Thanks for everything.
0:33:27 > 0:33:29Cheers.
0:33:29 > 0:33:32MUSIC: "Rule, Britannia"
0:33:32 > 0:33:33Come on, the old TX5.
0:33:36 > 0:33:40A small part of a foreign field that is forever England.
0:33:45 > 0:33:47Mase to base, over.
0:33:47 > 0:33:51There's another reason why these black cabs are so popular here -
0:33:51 > 0:33:53they're big enough for wheelchairs.
0:33:53 > 0:33:57Today Mason's picking up 47-year-old Faley.
0:34:01 > 0:34:05OK? What's the hospital, now? C...?
0:34:05 > 0:34:08- CWM.- CWM. That's it.
0:34:08 > 0:34:11- It's the Colonial War Memorial Hospital.- OK, sir.
0:34:12 > 0:34:16- So what you up to today, then? You got a problem with your foot?- Yes.
0:34:18 > 0:34:21It just came up like a little boil,
0:34:21 > 0:34:23like a little boil on Tuesday,
0:34:23 > 0:34:25Tuesday last week.
0:34:25 > 0:34:30- Right.- And I didn't take it seriously and the thing gets worse.
0:34:30 > 0:34:34They told me on Tuesday morning that...
0:34:36 > 0:34:37..my leg will be amputated.
0:34:37 > 0:34:39Your what? Your leg?
0:34:39 > 0:34:42- Yes, my foot, sorry. - Your foot to be amputated?- Yeah.
0:34:42 > 0:34:45Faley, like thousands of people in Fiji,
0:34:45 > 0:34:48suffers with type two diabetes.
0:34:48 > 0:34:52If it's left untreated, it can lead to horrible infections.
0:34:52 > 0:34:56Amputations are often necessary to save the patient's life.
0:34:56 > 0:34:58This is serious.
0:35:04 > 0:35:05What job do you do?
0:35:07 > 0:35:08- Private contractor.- Yes.
0:35:21 > 0:35:23- But now I can make a stand...- Bula.
0:35:23 > 0:35:26- How you doing? Are you the doctor? - Yes.
0:35:26 > 0:35:29Hello, doctor. Nice to meet you. Nice to meet ya.
0:35:29 > 0:35:31DOCTOR SPEAKS IN OWN LANGUAGE
0:35:31 > 0:35:34Faley, all the best. OK? All the best, mate.
0:35:34 > 0:35:35- Full of spirit, yeah?- Thanks. Yeah.
0:35:38 > 0:35:41I feel like an ambulance driver more than a cab driver, you know?
0:35:41 > 0:35:43You know, it's just really dawned on me,
0:35:43 > 0:35:46he could have to have his foot removed.
0:35:46 > 0:35:48God. It's extreme.
0:35:49 > 0:35:52Diabetes is a huge problem in Fiji
0:35:52 > 0:35:56affecting a staggering 30% of the population.
0:35:56 > 0:36:00Surgeons like Doctor Turogava have seen the number
0:36:00 > 0:36:05of diabetes-related amputations double in the last five years.
0:36:05 > 0:36:06This is...
0:36:06 > 0:36:09the everyday work for us.
0:36:09 > 0:36:12We will usually have about one or two patients a day
0:36:12 > 0:36:14and sometimes even more.
0:36:14 > 0:36:18We are at the end of the food chain here in the whole process of
0:36:18 > 0:36:23diabetes management trying to save their lives instead of their limbs.
0:36:23 > 0:36:27Talking to Faley, he was full of regret, which really upset me,
0:36:27 > 0:36:30you know? And, like, "I wish I would have done things differently."
0:36:30 > 0:36:32The reality is that every patient
0:36:32 > 0:36:36thinks that it will not happen to them until...
0:36:36 > 0:36:38Even though some of their relatives have died,
0:36:38 > 0:36:42some of their relatives have had amputations.
0:36:42 > 0:36:44Only up until you tell them,
0:36:44 > 0:36:45"Look, it's your time."
0:36:45 > 0:36:49And then finally then they actually wake up from all this dream that,
0:36:49 > 0:36:51"No, it can't happen to me."
0:36:52 > 0:36:5520 years ago, we never had this in Fiji.
0:36:55 > 0:36:58Our forefathers walked a few kilometres and did their farms
0:36:58 > 0:37:02the whole day and they ate fresh fish and vegetables.
0:37:02 > 0:37:05Diabetes is a disease of a sedentary lifestyle.
0:37:05 > 0:37:09We do about over 5,000 operations in a year
0:37:09 > 0:37:12and just for diabetic foot amputations,
0:37:12 > 0:37:15we're doing about 600 amputations a year.
0:37:15 > 0:37:18It's like a warzone then, Doctor, really for you, isn't it?
0:37:18 > 0:37:19The way it's kept increasing.
0:37:19 > 0:37:22Every year, you tally up the amputations
0:37:22 > 0:37:24and it is continuing to increase.
0:37:24 > 0:37:27They say that there is a prevention programme that's going on
0:37:27 > 0:37:29but is it effective enough?
0:37:29 > 0:37:31No. I want to nail the problem
0:37:31 > 0:37:34so that I don't have to be amputating limbs
0:37:34 > 0:37:35- the rest of my life.- Yeah.
0:37:38 > 0:37:42Poverty in Fiji is driving the population in ever greater numbers
0:37:42 > 0:37:45to the cities in search of work.
0:37:45 > 0:37:48Disconnected from their rural communities,
0:37:48 > 0:37:52they are exercising less and eating less fresh food.
0:37:52 > 0:37:53- I'll get a trolley, yeah?- OK.
0:37:55 > 0:37:59Cheap, imported processed food, high in fat and sugar
0:37:59 > 0:38:02is contributing to high obesity rates
0:38:02 > 0:38:07and it's this diet that's fuelling the epidemic of type two diabetes.
0:38:07 > 0:38:10For families like Dharmendra's on a low income,
0:38:10 > 0:38:12the shopping choices are limited.
0:38:12 > 0:38:15Fresh fish and meat are rarely on the menu.
0:38:23 > 0:38:24- You've got diabetes?- Yeah.
0:38:27 > 0:38:28No. I didn't know that, mate.
0:38:28 > 0:38:29- You inject?- No, no, no.
0:38:34 > 0:38:35Oh, I didn't know that.
0:38:35 > 0:38:37Yeah, yeah, yeah.
0:38:38 > 0:38:41But you've got to really be careful what you're eating...
0:38:41 > 0:38:43- Yeah, yeah. - ..with diabetes, you know?
0:38:43 > 0:38:47- It'll send you through the roof or make you very ill.- Yeah.- You know?
0:38:47 > 0:38:52- But...- Red meat...- No. It's no good, this stuff. No good. Not good.
0:38:52 > 0:38:54And there's rows and rows of it. It's everywhere.
0:38:54 > 0:38:57I bet the girls watch out for you as well, what you eat.
0:38:57 > 0:39:00- You know what you've got to eat. - He sometimes eats a lot of sugar
0:39:00 > 0:39:03and we tell him, "Don't eat a lot of sugar."
0:39:03 > 0:39:05It might cause some problems with him.
0:39:05 > 0:39:10And we are also aware that if you eat a lot of sugar or something then
0:39:10 > 0:39:14we might also get it because it's in the genes and we can get it as well.
0:39:14 > 0:39:17So we also control and watch out for him as well.
0:39:18 > 0:39:21- Make sure he's eating the right food.- Yes.
0:39:23 > 0:39:24All done.
0:39:24 > 0:39:29Yeah, I think the big issue with diabetes is, it is the silent killer
0:39:29 > 0:39:32cos people are sometimes, they're ignorant to it, you know,
0:39:32 > 0:39:34and what it can do.
0:39:34 > 0:39:37And as you've seen me taking Faley to the hospital,
0:39:37 > 0:39:41that's what can happen and is happening here.
0:39:41 > 0:39:43Vinaka.
0:39:53 > 0:39:57Mason's been in Fiji for a week now and he's starting to feel at home.
0:39:57 > 0:39:59It's a way of life here.
0:39:59 > 0:40:01Everyone's happy they've got a roof over their head.
0:40:01 > 0:40:05Had a lovely breakfast this morning. Just a very calm house.
0:40:05 > 0:40:07Lovely family.
0:40:09 > 0:40:11So what do you want to do when you grow up?
0:40:11 > 0:40:15- I would like to become a surgeon. - Surgeon.- Surgeon.
0:40:15 > 0:40:18Katio, what do you want to do when you....?
0:40:18 > 0:40:19I want to become a chef.
0:40:19 > 0:40:21- A chef.- A chef.- Wow.
0:40:24 > 0:40:26There's some great chefs here in this house.
0:40:26 > 0:40:28Your mum's a good chef.
0:40:30 > 0:40:33- Thanks very much. See you later on. Bye.- Bye.
0:40:33 > 0:40:37- See ya.- See you.- Bye-bye.
0:40:37 > 0:40:39LT29, Mase to base, over.
0:40:44 > 0:40:48Mason's also starting to feel at home on the streets of Suva,
0:40:48 > 0:40:51but the locals might take a little longer to get used to him.
0:40:57 > 0:40:59What's the problem?
0:40:59 > 0:41:00Yeah, that's no problem, yeah.
0:41:00 > 0:41:03- There's no white man driving taxis in Fiji.- No.
0:41:03 > 0:41:05I could be the only white man in here.
0:41:06 > 0:41:09And he's beginning to pick up the local knowledge, too.
0:41:11 > 0:41:12Roger, Rog.
0:41:14 > 0:41:16Right, here.
0:41:17 > 0:41:19This is a long road.
0:41:19 > 0:41:21- And then into Brown Street?- Yeah.
0:41:21 > 0:41:23And then left into Amy Street.
0:41:26 > 0:41:29I'm putting it together, ain't I? Left here. This is Amy Street.
0:41:34 > 0:41:36Thank you. Thank you.
0:41:40 > 0:41:41Who, me?
0:41:41 > 0:41:43What? Oh, I don't know about that.
0:41:45 > 0:41:49Suva's British street names are a legacy of colonial rule.
0:41:51 > 0:41:54Fiji was a colony for almost a century
0:41:54 > 0:41:57before it gained independence in 1970.
0:41:59 > 0:42:03Dharmendra was four years old when the Union Jack came down forever.
0:42:06 > 0:42:08His Indian community had come a long way
0:42:08 > 0:42:11from the dark days of the sugar plantations.
0:42:12 > 0:42:16Now they had businessmen, community leaders
0:42:16 > 0:42:18and representatives in the new government.
0:42:22 > 0:42:26The importance of the Fijian Indian population to the new country
0:42:26 > 0:42:28was recognised by a young Prince Charles
0:42:28 > 0:42:30at the independence ceremony.
0:42:31 > 0:42:34Thank you for such a magnificent and touching welcome.
0:42:36 > 0:42:41And thank you also for the welcome that the Indian community
0:42:41 > 0:42:43have given me,
0:42:43 > 0:42:46for this is a true indication
0:42:46 > 0:42:51of the future potential of this multiracial society.
0:42:55 > 0:42:57In the years that followed,
0:42:57 > 0:43:02Indian entrepreneurs thrived, dominating trade and commerce.
0:43:03 > 0:43:05Driving around Suva,
0:43:05 > 0:43:09it's easy to see how deeply rooted the Indian community became.
0:43:11 > 0:43:13And what's their main line of business?
0:43:19 > 0:43:22Wow. We like the curry house in England!
0:43:23 > 0:43:27In 1987, an election brought a surprise win for a government
0:43:27 > 0:43:29dominated by Fijian Indians.
0:43:30 > 0:43:34This proved a step too far for the indigenous Fijians.
0:43:58 > 0:44:02Within a month, the military had seized control in a coup
0:44:02 > 0:44:04that ousted the democratic government.
0:44:04 > 0:44:08It was the start of a long period of instability
0:44:08 > 0:44:10and a series of military coups.
0:44:10 > 0:44:15Since then, 100,000 Fijian Indians have left the country.
0:44:18 > 0:44:20- That was the first one? - First one, yeah.
0:44:20 > 0:44:23- But there's been more than one coup, sir, yes?- Yes.
0:44:23 > 0:44:27When was the one after that? 2000. 2000, and you was here for that?
0:44:31 > 0:44:33What, there's been three?
0:44:34 > 0:44:37The current Prime Minister, was he elected?
0:44:46 > 0:44:48Right, so he wasn't elected.
0:44:48 > 0:44:51So, basically, that is a dictatorship, isn't it?
0:45:02 > 0:45:05The current Prime Minister is Frank Bainimarama,
0:45:05 > 0:45:10a former Naval Rear Admiral who seized power in 2006.
0:45:12 > 0:45:16Fiji's unelected leader is also a passionate rugby fan.
0:45:18 > 0:45:22Rugby is the national sport here and one of the biggest games of
0:45:22 > 0:45:26the season is an annual grudge match between the police and the army.
0:45:28 > 0:45:32- So, blue, police.- Blue police, yeah. - Army's red.- Army's red.
0:45:32 > 0:45:34- And it's going to be a cruncher, yeah?- Yeah.
0:45:37 > 0:45:41The army and the police, like the government, are dominated by the
0:45:41 > 0:45:45indigenous Fijians and there aren't many Indian faces in the crowd.
0:45:50 > 0:45:53Here we go. Here we go. It's off.
0:45:55 > 0:45:58The police are the defending champions and favourites to win.
0:45:58 > 0:46:00Why did you support the police?
0:46:00 > 0:46:02ALL SHOUT AT ONCE
0:46:02 > 0:46:05CHEERING
0:46:10 > 0:46:14Police are winning, 8-3. They're winning.
0:46:18 > 0:46:22But with 20 minutes to go, the army take the lead.
0:46:23 > 0:46:27- You going to win today, army? - We win.- Yes!
0:46:27 > 0:46:29- The army.- The army.
0:46:29 > 0:46:30I'm thinking I'm going to go army.
0:46:30 > 0:46:33I don't want to upset anyone and they're running the country,
0:46:33 > 0:46:36so if it does come on top, I'm supporting them.
0:46:38 > 0:46:44Army 22, Police 15. The last eight minutes here.
0:46:44 > 0:46:45What a game!
0:46:48 > 0:46:51This is a fantastic game of rugby, I tell ya.
0:46:51 > 0:46:54In a last-minute thriller, the police edge past the army.
0:46:56 > 0:46:59The police win by one point and retain the cup for another year.
0:47:04 > 0:47:07Look at them army boys, they're gutted, mate.
0:47:07 > 0:47:11Prime Minister Bainimarama has promised elections,
0:47:11 > 0:47:14but for now his status as chief remains unchallenged.
0:47:21 > 0:47:23Why couldn't he just be called Frank Barrett?
0:47:23 > 0:47:26It's so much easier, Frank Barrett, on the polling card.
0:47:28 > 0:47:30Well, there weren't a polling card, was there?
0:47:30 > 0:47:32Cos he just took power, that's why.
0:47:35 > 0:47:37Doesn't look like a military dictator.
0:47:37 > 0:47:40He looks like someone's grandad.
0:47:40 > 0:47:43He looks like a cuddly grandad that you see on the beach.
0:47:45 > 0:47:48What I think of a military dictatorship would be
0:47:48 > 0:47:51more brutal than this, you know?
0:47:51 > 0:47:54Not like it is now. It's just, it's very relaxed. Very strange.
0:47:57 > 0:48:00Mason is keen to find out what ordinary Fijians feel about
0:48:00 > 0:48:03Bainimarama and his regime.
0:48:03 > 0:48:08# Happy talking, talking happy talk
0:48:09 > 0:48:13# Talk about things you'd like to do... #
0:48:13 > 0:48:17And what better place to test the political climate than in a taxi?
0:48:19 > 0:48:22You're happy with everything in Fiji now? Everything's good here?
0:48:22 > 0:48:25Everything's good. Changing, hey?
0:48:26 > 0:48:30The truth is that Bainimarama is popular with many Fijians.
0:48:31 > 0:48:35And how's things living in Fiji now? You're happy with everything?
0:48:48 > 0:48:51But when Mason begins to probe a little deeper,
0:48:51 > 0:48:54there's a definite atmosphere in the cab.
0:48:55 > 0:48:58Would you say you're living under military rule here?
0:49:00 > 0:49:04- Er, it's, yeah, fine.- You are, yeah? - Mm.- And you're OK with that?
0:49:11 > 0:49:15What's your views on the current government at the moment?
0:49:15 > 0:49:19Are you happy with everything in Fiji?
0:49:31 > 0:49:32So, there's...
0:49:39 > 0:49:42Mason's finding that knock-about political debate
0:49:42 > 0:49:45isn't quite so normal in a Fijian taxi.
0:49:46 > 0:49:50It's shocking, Dharmen, isn't it, really?
0:49:50 > 0:49:53That, you know, it's a military take over.
0:49:53 > 0:49:55It's scary, isn't it?
0:49:55 > 0:49:58- Yeah.- It's basically, you know, in a democracy you're voted in,
0:49:58 > 0:50:01aren't you? You don't just take over.
0:50:01 > 0:50:04That's a dictatorship. You know?
0:50:06 > 0:50:08You don't really want to talk about it, do you?
0:50:08 > 0:50:10I can understand that.
0:50:10 > 0:50:14It's not surprising that people are reluctant to express their opinion.
0:50:14 > 0:50:17International groups like Human Rights Watch
0:50:17 > 0:50:21and Amnesty International have heavily criticised the regime here.
0:50:21 > 0:50:24They accuse the government of curtailing freedom of speech
0:50:24 > 0:50:28and arresting and imprisoning opponents.
0:50:28 > 0:50:33Unverified mobile phone footage posted on the internet in 2013
0:50:33 > 0:50:37claims to show officials beating two men.
0:50:41 > 0:50:45Despite this, Mason has found a critic of the government
0:50:45 > 0:50:47who is prepared to speak out
0:50:47 > 0:50:50but only if his face and voice are disguised.
0:50:50 > 0:50:54Whenever I'm in the taxi and we get talking about politics
0:50:54 > 0:50:56or government, the Prime Minister,
0:50:56 > 0:50:59they don't want to talk about it.
0:50:59 > 0:51:03- There's an atmosphere.- You're certainly not imagining it, yeah.
0:51:03 > 0:51:08That's not surprising at all because there is a very real fear
0:51:08 > 0:51:11and there have been many cases of intimidation,
0:51:11 > 0:51:15of threats against people who've spoken critically
0:51:15 > 0:51:21or spoken openly about, you know, what they think of the government.
0:51:21 > 0:51:25In the very early stages they decided that to build a better Fiji,
0:51:25 > 0:51:27they must not allow dissent
0:51:27 > 0:51:29and it was said that all these, you know,
0:51:29 > 0:51:32allowing freedom of expression and freedom of opinion
0:51:32 > 0:51:36is just disrupting and getting in the way of building a better Fiji.
0:51:36 > 0:51:40Even now, talking to you, my mind's running, you know?
0:51:40 > 0:51:43Thinking how will this play out and what will the consequences be.
0:51:43 > 0:51:46So, yeah, there's a lot of self-censorship.
0:51:46 > 0:51:49Intimidation, what do you mean by that?
0:51:49 > 0:51:54Intimidation can range from an angry phone call to criminal charges.
0:51:54 > 0:51:57So they'll, you know, find a charge to fit
0:51:57 > 0:52:00and you find yourself in the docks.
0:52:00 > 0:52:03It can involve actual detention
0:52:03 > 0:52:06by police or army officers.
0:52:06 > 0:52:09How far does that go? Is it violence?
0:52:09 > 0:52:13Yeah, in many cases there has been punching, bashings,
0:52:13 > 0:52:15humiliation as well.
0:52:15 > 0:52:16Making you strip,
0:52:16 > 0:52:21making you do sexual acts with someone you've been detained with.
0:52:21 > 0:52:24- So, hm, the people... - That's outrageous.
0:52:24 > 0:52:26It's not as frequent
0:52:26 > 0:52:32and not as explicit as it was in the early days, but people are,
0:52:32 > 0:52:37you know, just going to play it safe and not going to tempt fate.
0:52:37 > 0:52:40- That's a dictatorship.- Yeah, I know.
0:52:40 > 0:52:43I mean, you mention the word dictatorship.
0:52:43 > 0:52:46I don't think anyone actually uses that word in public here.
0:52:46 > 0:52:49I'd better keep me voice down, hey? Walking about.
0:52:52 > 0:52:55Yeah, I'm not a journalist, I'm a cab driver and I'm finding it
0:52:55 > 0:52:59quite hard to take it in that that does happen here, you know?
0:52:59 > 0:53:05For an idyllic, peaceful, sunny isle in the South Pacific,
0:53:05 > 0:53:06it's got a...
0:53:08 > 0:53:11..it's got a little murky underbelly there, hasn't it, really?
0:53:11 > 0:53:14With the way things are run here by the government
0:53:14 > 0:53:18and not being able to speak your mind.
0:53:18 > 0:53:20That's outrageous. That shouldn't be going on.
0:53:20 > 0:53:23My friend's ever so brave, you know?
0:53:23 > 0:53:26I'll be getting on that plane and he won't.
0:53:26 > 0:53:28He's staying here.
0:53:30 > 0:53:34The world has taken notice of Fiji's political situation.
0:53:34 > 0:53:38Following the coup, Fiji was suspended from the Commonwealth.
0:53:39 > 0:53:42The country has found itself isolated.
0:53:43 > 0:53:48Frank Bainimarama has now set elections for September 2014.
0:53:48 > 0:53:50He has stepped down as head of the military,
0:53:50 > 0:53:53but remains Prime Minister.
0:53:56 > 0:53:58They're not getting nothing out of it.
0:54:04 > 0:54:07A third of all Fijians live in poverty
0:54:07 > 0:54:11and more than 300,000 live in slums.
0:54:11 > 0:54:12Corrugated iron, huh?
0:54:12 > 0:54:16Basically anything they can get their hands on to build a home.
0:54:18 > 0:54:21- It's pretty grim, mate, innit?- Mmm.
0:54:21 > 0:54:25It ain't what you see on the postcards.
0:54:25 > 0:54:27This is the other side of Fiji.
0:54:30 > 0:54:33Come on, puppy, out the road. BEEPS HORN
0:54:40 > 0:54:42Oh, it's nice to be out that cab, hey?
0:54:45 > 0:54:47It's nice view you got though, really nice view, innit?
0:54:56 > 0:54:58Really?
0:55:12 > 0:55:14- They got you trapped.- Yeah.
0:55:14 > 0:55:16You're trapped, aren't you?
0:55:20 > 0:55:21Ah, Dharmendra.
0:55:23 > 0:55:26- I don't know. I don't know what the answer is. I really don't.- Yeah.
0:55:32 > 0:55:34In the same situation as you?
0:55:39 > 0:55:42The real problem here I think is the poverty issue.
0:55:42 > 0:55:46That's Dharmendra's plight, that's his struggle, you know?
0:55:46 > 0:55:48And he is not the only one.
0:55:48 > 0:55:51Indians and Fijians, they're all sort of struggling
0:55:51 > 0:55:54and for some reason, they're being kept down there.
0:55:54 > 0:55:59Getting under the skin of Fiji, it's been interesting, loads of stories,
0:55:59 > 0:56:01chequered past.
0:56:01 > 0:56:04Huge history here, you know? Good and bad.
0:56:04 > 0:56:09And that has really been an eye-opener for me.
0:56:09 > 0:56:12GUITAR MUSIC
0:56:16 > 0:56:19# Well, the south side of Suva
0:56:19 > 0:56:23# It's the baddest part in town
0:56:23 > 0:56:27# And if you go down there, you better just beware
0:56:27 > 0:56:31# Of a man named Dharmendra Brown
0:56:31 > 0:56:33# He drives his taxi all day... #
0:56:33 > 0:56:38'I wish Fiji all the best cos I think the people deserve more.'
0:56:38 > 0:56:41# His roadie intake is more than I can take
0:56:41 > 0:56:44# Da, da, da, dee, dee, dee... #
0:56:44 > 0:56:50'Paradise, not just living here in paradise in an idyllic sunny isle.'
0:56:50 > 0:56:52You know, you should have some quality of life here as well
0:56:52 > 0:56:56to go with that and hopefully, fingers crossed,
0:56:56 > 0:56:58Fiji will get that.
0:56:58 > 0:57:02Monish, this is going to be your guitar cos I want you to get good
0:57:02 > 0:57:04and I know you want to learn the guitar.
0:57:04 > 0:57:07- So, this, my dear, is yours. - Thank you.
0:57:07 > 0:57:09It's a little travel guitar and I hope you enjoy it.
0:57:09 > 0:57:12It's been great meeting you, buddy, I tell ya.
0:57:12 > 0:57:14And for your hospitality, I thank you so much.
0:57:14 > 0:57:15Thank you very much.
0:57:15 > 0:57:20As well as the guitar, Mason has helped Dharmendra with his rent.
0:57:20 > 0:57:25And it was very good time for us and I have no words to thank you.
0:57:25 > 0:57:28I haven't got a magic wand but it's to give you a little bit of time.
0:57:28 > 0:57:32- Give us a cuddle.- How can I thank you?- Give us a cuddle.
0:57:32 > 0:57:36- You be lucky, yeah? All right?- Thank you.- OK.
0:57:36 > 0:57:41- I will miss you.- I'll miss yous, too. Look after yourself.
0:57:41 > 0:57:44Thanks for everything, yeah? Bye-bye, girls.
0:57:44 > 0:57:48- Have a nice trip back, Mason. - Thanks, Dharmendra. Bye.- Bye!