Fiji A Cabbie Abroad

East-ender Mason McQueen drives one of London's 22,000 black taxis.

The London Cab driver

is naturally a nosey bastard.

We're the eyes and ears of this city.

Last year, he left London to live and work as a cabbie

in Mumbai for a BBC documentary.

Whoa, whoa, whoa. CAR HORN

It's chaos, it's like Mad Max meets the Kumars, or something.

SCREECHING BUS HORN Big bus, big bus, big bus.

What have I got myself into here, eh? DISTANT CAR HORNS

Now, Mason has accepted the challenge to drive a taxi

in three very different cities around the world.

Can it get worse than Mumbai? I don't think so.

In the far north of Canada,

he'll be battling some of the worst conditions on the planet.

Whoa, whoa, whoa.

It's losing control, this vehicle.

And meeting a lost people.

Would you rather have today's life, or would you like to go back?

I rather go back.

HE CRIES

He'll be setting off for the paradise islands of Fiji...

-ALL:

-Bula!

-Bula!

London, where's that?

..and an unusual local cuisine.

200 years ago, be an Oxo cube up the bum and that'd be me in the pot.

Where am I going? Straight?

And, in the capital city of Cambodia...

CAR HORN

..Mason will be getting to grips with a very different kind of taxi.

You have got to keep your eyes open 'ere,

otherwise you ain't going to make it.

Ooh, my God.

It's one London cabbie's journey to find out

how people live in some of the most extreme

and exotic parts of the planet.

It's the same the world over,

if you want a lowdown on a place, speak to the cab driver.

Fiji. An archipelago of lush, tropical islands

in the South Pacific.

It's an iconic holiday destination,

famous for its sunshine and friendly welcome.

-ALL

-Bula!

But there's a different side to Fiji.

More than a third of the population lives in poverty

and the country is divided by racial tension.

Half a million tourists arrive here every year

to enjoy the palm-fringed beaches and crystal-clear waters.

Most of them don't know that this troubled country

is now ruled by an unelected government

following a series of military coups.

Touching down after a 25-hour journey,

London cabbie Mason McQueen

is blissfully unaware that there is a dark side to paradise.

Epic journey.

Really long haul.

Totally worth it, as you can see. It's just absolutely beautiful here.

And lush, and the sun's out.

Really looking forward to getting to know Fiji more, you know?

And he's about to receive a traditional Fijian welcome.

THEY SING IN FIJIAN

-Bula, Mason.

-Ah! Bula, bula. How are you?

-Pleased to meet you.

-Nice to meet you.

I am Lasaro, welcome to Fiji.

Ah, this is fantastic. This is great.

What a welcome. This is beautiful.

-Bula!

-Bula! Thank you very much, gents. Thank you.

Fiji's economy is built on tourism.

Thanks, guys. Bula. Bula.

-How long you been working here?

-26 years.

26 years? Wow. You're the man, then, right? You know everything.

A third of the working population, like doorman, Lasaro,

are employed in the tourism industry.

-This is paradise, right?

-This right here.

Five-star luxury, Lasaro.

-ALL:

-Bula!

My mother-in-law's old bullmastiff was called Bula!

HE LAUGHS So strange.

"Bula, come 'ere!" But it means something different here. It's lovely.

-ALL:

-Bula!

-Bula!

-Bula! Bula.

-Bula. MASON LAUGHS

-Long beach, long beach.

-Ah, look at the beach.

You just spend the rest of your days here, couldn't you?

HE SNIFFS Just breathing it all in. Fiji.

Tomorrow, Mason's going to begin his life as a Fijian taxi driver.

But for now, he's got a bit of time to brush up on his board skills.

It's like bath water in there, it's baking hot. Really nice.

Now, for a drink and a nice sit down, I think.

Starting to unwind now. London? Where's that?

Fiji time!

HE LAUGHS

Next morning, and Mason's leaving the luxury tourist life behind.

For the next ten days, he's going to live and work as a taxi driver.

His host will be Dharmendra Kumar.

-Bula, bula!

-Bula, Mason. Welcome to Fiji.

-You're going to be looking after me, yeah, is that right?

-We are.

I'm no trouble, honestly.

-You're Hindu, yeah?

-Yeah, Hindu.

Fantastic.

There are less than a million people in the whole of Fiji

and many of them, like Dharmendra, are of Indian descent.

DISTANT DOG BARKING

40%! That's a lot.

That's a lot of people, isn't it?

So, where we going, Dharmendra, to your house?

Dharmendra lives on the edge of one of the poorer neighbourhoods

of the capital city, Suva.

Yeah.

Things have changed a bit from where I was staying.

Bula.

Bula.

Everyone seems happy...

-Still.

-Yeah, still, still they enjoying it.

-Bula.

-Bula.

DHARMENDRA LAUGHS

I'm the bula king of Bethnal Green!

MASON LAUGHS

This is your place, yeah? Ah.

Let's meet the family.

DOG BARKS

Dharmendra lives in a small rented shack with his wife

and two teenage daughters.

-Hello!

-Hello.

-Hello, you all right?

-This is Kasouma, my wife.

-Nice to meet you. How are you?

-Welcome to my home.

-Thanks, darling. Thank you.

-Hello, girls.

-Katio.

-Katio, how are you?

-Good.

-Nice to meet you.

-And who's this?

-I'm Monisha.

-Hello, Monisha. Nice to meet you.

And do you like Fiji?

Love Fiji. Paradise. Really enjoying it.

This is your bedroom.

So, who sleeps in here?

My daughter and my wife sleeps here.

-So, everyone... Your girls?

-Yeah.

-Share the room with you?

-Mmm.

Dharmendra, where am I sleeping?

Oh, you'll be sleeping here, Mason.

-Will you fit in this?

-Course I will. With my slim physique? Yeah.

-Yeah.

MASON LAUGHS

I look forward to staying here.

Now he's met the family,

it's time for Mason to join Dharmendra on his shift.

-Bye, ladies.

-Bye.

-Bye.

# It's off to work we go. #

-Your family's lovely, by the way.

-Thank you.

-You're a lucky man.

DHARMENDRA LAUGHS

It's a five-mile drive to the hustle and bustle of the city.

And a long way from the palm trees and sandy beaches of Mason's hotel.

CAR HORN

I'm in downtown Suva.

Yeah, it's a lot more congested and...

-..smoky.

-Yeah.

-Fumes.

UPBEAT MUSIC

Dharmendra works for Regent Taxis, the biggest taxi company in Fiji.

-Bula.

-Bula.

-Bula.

It's like an episode out of Taxi, isn't it? Danny DeVito's going to walk by in a minute!

You've got the controller in the cage, look.

I want to get friendly with him. I want some cream work out of here.

Like Dharmendra, most of the drivers at Regent are of Indian descent.

-We're up. We've got a job.

-Yeah, you've got a job. Yeah, go.

-Vinaka.

-Vinaka.

-Vinaka.

Whoa! Whoa, whoa, whoa.

UPBEAT MUSIC

Bula, bula.

-Bula.

-Hi.

-Bula.

-How are you?

-How are you doing?

-Good, thank you.

-So, driver, we're going to CDC.

-Where we going?

-Narere.

-Narra?

-Narere.

-Ooh!

Oh, is it?

FAINT BEEPING Is it on this map?

It should be.

Samey, can you check, please?

No, you can't ask! How can you ask the punter to be looking at the map?!

DHARMENDRA AND SAMEY LAUGH

-So, how you doing today? You doing good, Samey?

-Yeah.

You was having a good day till you got in this taxi, weren't you?

THEY LAUGH

Some of Dharmendra's work comes through the radio.

But most of the time, just like Mason,

he's vying for trade on the city streets.

Taxis everywhere, Dharmendra.

It's a very popular profession in Suva.

There are around 5,000 cabs in Suva.

That's four times as many taxis per head than in London.

There's a job there. There's a job there. Hello, there.

But despite the competition, Mason and Dharmendra are on a roll.

-Oh, I want to have a haircut.

-Oh, you're going to get a haircut?

I don't make a booking.

Dharmendra has to rent his cab.

At 60 Fijian dollars, or £20 a day, it's not cheap,

but that's not all he has to pay for.

How much fuel do you need to put in?

How much a day? 10 bucks? 20 bucks?

-No. 80, 90 dollars...

-80?

-Yeah.

-80 dollars.

-Dear, oh, dear.

You're talking like, what? 150 dollars before you make anything.

-Yeah.

-Yeah?

-Mmm.

Well, let's go and seek our fortunes.

150 Fijian dollars for rent and fuel works out at £50,

that's what Dharmendra has to take every day before he makes any money,

which is why sometimes he has no choice

but to work late into the night,

as a very jet-lagged Mason is finding out.

From seven in the morning?

Jeez.

Quite often, Dharmendra doesn't take home any money at all,

which means he struggles to pay the rent on his house

and in Fiji, there aren't many other options.

-In Fiji?

-In Fiji, yeah.

17-hour shifts are a fact of life for Dharmendra.

Luckily for Mason, this one's over.

Lovely.

That's the best part of the job, I think.

Coming home.

You'd go back out, you would, wouldn't ya?

You'd go back out there!

I got friends like you at home.

They never know when to go home.

Right, been good today, mate.

Enjoyed it, spending some time with ya.

Hello, ladies. How you doing?

Very kind. Ah. That's better.

-How was your day?

-Oh, it was all right.

-I've been, it's been a long day, hasn't it?

-Long day.

Oh, this is gorgeous.

-Have some more to eat, don't be shy.

-All right.

Thank you, my friend.

-Just imagine this is your home in London.

-Thanks very much.

-Don't be shy of anything.

-Dharmendra, that's very kind of you.

'Where do you start? What a day.'

I'm absolutely shattered.

They're crazy, crazy shifts, crazy long hours which...

..can, they can destroy people, them sort of hours, you know?

But he gets on with it.

He didn't want to come home tonight, he wanted to carry on working

and I'm shattered.

He's such a honest, gentle guy.

He's lovely. He really is.

His whole family are. They're lovely.

Really sweet.

Time for some sleep.

People have been living on these islands for more than 3,000 years,

but the Indian population came here much more recently.

In the 19th century,

European explorers realised that Fiji's climate was perfect

for growing one of the most valuable crops of the era -

sugar.

Fiji became a British colony in 1874

and to work the sugar plantations,

the British imported labourers from India.

Eventually 60,000 Indian villagers were forced or persuaded to make the

7,000-mile boat journey to Fiji on the promise of a better life.

But once the Indian workers arrived,

they were locked into long-term contracts

and could never earn enough to get back home again.

Conditions on the sugar plantations were often appalling.

Even today, memories of the era are still strong.

Yeah. So, they was trapped, then.

-Really?

-Yeah.

So, basically it's...

slavery.

Dharmendra and his family are descendants of those

original Indian labourers and today's a big day.

They're taking the cab for a rare trip

to visit relatives in the country.

THEY SING

-You're warming up, now, aren't you, ladies?

-Oh, very lovely.

Very... LAUGHTER

-Your turn.

-My turn. Oh.

# Fortune's always hiding

# I've looked... # CHEERING

Hold on, I ain't finished!

# ..everywhere.

# I'm forever blowing bubbles

# Pretty bubbles in the air... #

And now you join in and go, "United! United! United!"

THEY LAUGH

What's that in the road? Look at that in the road!

You...no! Don't run him over!

My God.

-Is that a mongoose or a rat?

-Mongoose.

-It's a mongoose?

Mongoose. Mongoose crossing the road!

Dharmendra's family live in the heart of sugar country,

two and a half hours north of Suva.

Some of them still farm sugar today.

-Is that your grandad?

-Yeah.

Bula.

Namaste. Bula! How are you?

Nice to meet you. Kitauatri. Not bad.

Not a bad effort, was it?

-What's it like seeing your grandparents, girls?

-Great.

-Yeah? It's been a while.

-Yes. One year.

-One year? Oh.

And they've got bigger. And more beautiful.

-Nice to meet ya. The farmer.

-Yeah.

Proper bull that, innit?

More than a century ago, the Indian labourers endured tough conditions

to satisfy Europe's sugar craving

and today, Britain still buys all of Fiji's sugar.

The farming techniques here have hardly changed

since the days of Empire.

Easy. Don't trust these two at all.

Wouldn't want a kick in the face off of one of these.

That's really...

that's really gooey, you know?

And damp. That's fertile, that is.

Can you show me, actually show me the cane cut down

and where the sugar comes from?

I'm finding it hard to understand where it actually is.

-They crush it and take out the juice.

-Yeah.

It's like a huge allotment, isn't it?

Fiji, for the British colonies, really.

Amazing. It ticks every box, doesn't it? The weather.

Right, we'll get them, put them there.

It's just, it's quite, I mean, when you think about it, it's sinister

but it's clever as well.

But we are, we're British,

we, you know, our Empires were all over the world.

Finally, 140 years after they colonised these islands,

a Brit is going to sweat it out on the sugar cane fields of Fiji.

Hey!

Can't keep it in the line. What's happening, Pradeep?

-You have to make it steady.

-Make it straight?

It's really difficult.

Concentrate all the time.

Oh, this is the job, Pradeep, I tell ya.

You'll be like Conan the Barbarian after a couple of weeks of this.

Hey!

It's ridiculous.

-Oh,

-BLEEP.

-Me welly's come off!

God. Ah!

When you start working with these boys,

do you start early in the morning?

Yeah, yeah. We start up as soon as the day breaks, yeah.

Go up to right up to nine, up to ten.

-Certainly tough work, but...

-It's a struggle in the field.

-Yeah, it is.

-It is a struggle.

-Yeah.

-I've only gone up there,

me welly come off and it's hard to even follow behind.

It's just real old school. And I mean old school, like 13th century.

There's certain things that if I put sugar in my tea or coffee now,

I'll look at it and think of where I've been.

Honestly.

Pradeep, you know, I take me hat off to him.

That is proper collar. Really is.

Eventually, as British influence began to diminish,

the descendants of those original immigrants

began to farm the land themselves

and the Fijian Indian community prospered.

-Wow. Papadum.

-Papadum.

-Papadum. Papadum.

The tea's here, yeah.

Tea. Don't tell me you got no sugar.

But the Indian farmers never actually owned the land they farmed

and that was to prove their undoing.

-They had to vacate the land?

-Yeah.

Since the 1990s,

tens of thousands of Fijian Indians have been forced off the land.

That must have been so hard for the people who got kicked out,

or kicked off, the land.

So their situation was that they had nowhere to go and no employment.

Yeah. Now it's flooded.

They've had a rough ride.

Really, really rough.

They had nowhere to go

and they've ended up down in Suva

with nothing, really.

You're just lucky you got a roof over your head

for you and your family.

Fijian Indians make up 40% of the population

but they remain quite separate from the indigenous Fijians

who actually own most of the land.

Now Mason's keen to find out more about THEM

and he's meeting up with Lasaro, the head doorman at the luxury hotel.

I've been with mostly Dharmendra and his family

and the Indian population of Fiji, so I thought it would be great

to get another look at the Fijian lifestyle

and see Lasaro's point of view and meet some real islanders, you know?

-I'm really looking forward to that. Lasaro! Bula!

-Hey, Mason! Bula!

-I'm just doing some weeding before we...

-Oh, are ya?

..get ready to go fishing.

OK, so, Lasaro, where you taking me today?

I'm going to take you to that island.

Mason will be back behind the wheel of a taxi soon,

but for today, there are no roads where he's going.

Ah! Ha-ha! There's the boat.

It's beautiful, Lasaro.

Fiji is an archipelago of more than 300 islands

and on the smaller ones

there are still traditional Fijian communities.

Look at that.

Sometimes you don't think you're going to see sights like that

in your life, you know? That is amazing.

-Bula. Bula.

-Bula.

-Bula.

Life here has hardly changed in hundreds of years.

So, Lasaro, fishing is a traditional Fijian custom

and a way of life for these people?

Yeah, in this village and other villages

because they normally do fishing everyday

for their main source of income.

Their main source of income is fishing.

Time for a bit of work experience,

Fiji style.

Let's go fishing.

You can walk to work, it's ten yards, you're in the boat,

you're at work, you know?

How nice is that? No traffic.

No running late.

It is perfect in a way, isn't it? And that's it, the simple life.

In the village, they have one chief,

the chief that looks after the whole village and the whole island.

-So, any problems, you go to the chief.

-Go to the chief.

And what problems could there be?

I think we don't have any problem

because all Fijian lives in the island, no other races.

All Fijian and they own the whole island.

Fijians haven't always been famous for their friendly welcome.

In the 1800s, European seafarers lived in terror

of being shipwrecked on these islands

and encountering the warriors

who had a notorious taste for human flesh.

And even today, strangers are not welcome here,

unless they undergo an ancient ceremony.

THEY SPEAK IN OWN LANGUAGE

THEY SPEAK IN OWN LANGUAGE

At the heart of the ceremony is a mildly narcotic drink called kava,

brewed from the roots of a pepper shrub.

-Bula.

-Bula.

MAN CLAPS

THEY JOIN IN AND CHANT

200 years ago,

I wouldn't like to say what'd happen to me

if I stumbled on this island, be an Oxo cube up the bum

and that'd be me in the pot, but things have changed now.

It's time to take kava. How does it feel? Like, good?

Made my numbs go a bit, erm, me lips go a bit numb!

Yeah. Unusual.

I wouldn't like to drink that whole bowl, but it's good. Good.

-It's very good.

-Very good!

Tastes like something, tastes like earth.

Just earth. Just with water in it.

I've had six kavas, feeling loose, baby, feeling good.

I'm in the village and I've been accepted in the village.

-You're accepted in the village.

-So I can walk around freely.

Walk around freely, but not for anything else. Just walk around.

OK!

Fortified with kava, Mason plucks up the courage to ask Lasaro

about the Fijian Indian community and the land issues.

I've been spending some time with some Indo-Fijians.

I just wanted to get your view on some of the issues over

the land and the renewal of the leases.

Some land have been renewed and some were not.

-Some Fijian, they want their land back.

-Do you think that's right?

I think that's quite correct

because the land is very important in our Fijian culture.

-Do you consider this land yours...?

-Yes.

-..and native to the Fijian people?

-Yes.

Native to the Fijian people.

Fijians feel a powerful, spiritual connection to their home.

Their identity is profoundly wrapped up with the land

in which they were born.

They call this Fanouwa.

Fanouwa is...

the people and the land

and the culture.

So we have to look after the land and the Fanouwa very well,

pass it on to our children, like our forefather do to us.

Speaking to Lasaro, just how passionate he is about his country

and community and island life,

and Fijian life.

Traditional heritage that he has got here.

You know, they're an indigenous tribe

that have been here for thousands and thousands of years.

You know, I'm seeing both sides of the story, really.

It's time for Mason to return to Dharmendra

and the life of a cabbie in a modern city.

'I know the Indians didn't want to be brought here.

'They are part of Fiji's history. Simple as that.

'They've been here for three generations. Tough one to call.'

I've met some lovely Fijians and I've met some lovely Indians here.

Great people.

See, you must get the right pressure on the strings.

'I'm really seeing now that land is the big issue here, you know?'

Such a tough one to call, it really is, you know? It really is.

Now it's back to work

and today Mason's driving the cab for the first time.

See ya later, girls, huh?

I'm going to need some luck today, ain't we, hey?

-Yeah.

-Bye. Bye, girls. Bye.

OK? You're looking at me.

You'll be OK. You will survive. I've seen how YOU drive!

Let's go and make our fortune in Suva.

Oh, here we go.

Where's the work, now? Come on. Get your hands up, people.

Come on, guaranteed.

Let the rust bus pick up, bend, buckle and break.

Your white Fijian cab driver.

Get 'em while you can. Come on, people.

Taxi. I'm first up.

See ya later, boys.

It's rush hour, but Mason's quickly learning that a lot of passengers

doesn't always translate into big bucks for the driver.

That is...how much is that? Two dollars, 20 cents.

Two dollars, 30 cents.

You know, Dharmendra,

that's the third job today that's given you a load of coins.

-Lot of coins.

-It's very short work, isn't it?

Not much distance and a load of coins.

The damage is two dollars, 30 cents.

Thought it was bad at home, you know, with like, shelling out

and, you know, the actual hours that you have to do to get a living.

But here, it seems really difficult.

-You're not getting in front, are you?

-Yeah.

-Tough.

It's very tough, yeah.

All it is is change, though, isn't it? Change and change.

You can't get in front like that, Dharmendra.

Dharmendra, it's hard, isn't it, for you?

It is.

Coinage, coinage, coinage all the time.

OK, see ya. Bye, guys.

Be lucky. Need it here, I can tell ya.

You need more than luck here, mate.

Cor!

Thank you. Vinaka.

-Is this what you've taken today?

-Yeah, this much of dollar.

41 dollars.

After a full day at the wheel, Mason's made less than 15 quid.

Despite all that work,

he's still more than £35 short of breaking even.

That meter working?

-Does that meter work?

-Yeah.

-It's very slow.

-Yes.

I'm sure this meter's broke.

You got to do 14 hours a day and even if you do that,

most of that money is paying off what he's got to do,

his outgoings.

I feel for him. I feel for the guy. He's got no life, has he, really?

He's like working to live, he's not living in paradise at all.

No matter how hard Dharmendra works,

it's a daily battle to support his family.

It seems that being a cabbie here is just not viable.

But Mason's on his way to meet

one businessman who's come up with a way of making taxiing pay.

This is ideal cars for Fiji cos we are big people.

-All the Fijians are big people.

-Big, big nation.

-Yeah. Big family.

And with the smaller taxis that are currently in use in Fiji,

it was virtually impossible to take the whole family in one run.

You're a bit sharp, ain't ya? Bit of a shrewd man, ain't ya?

Well, you got to be ahead of the competition.

Well, I'd say you are, sir.

-OK, Mason, are you ready to hit the road?

-I'm ready.

Ready as I'll ever be.

-Well, I'll let you go and earn some money.

-OK. Thanks for everything.

Cheers.

MUSIC: "Rule, Britannia"

Come on, the old TX5.

A small part of a foreign field that is forever England.

Mase to base, over.

There's another reason why these black cabs are so popular here -

they're big enough for wheelchairs.

Today Mason's picking up 47-year-old Faley.

OK? What's the hospital, now? C...?

-CWM.

-CWM. That's it.

-It's the Colonial War Memorial Hospital.

-OK, sir.

-So what you up to today, then? You got a problem with your foot?

-Yes.

It just came up like a little boil,

like a little boil on Tuesday,

Tuesday last week.

-Right.

-And I didn't take it seriously and the thing gets worse.

They told me on Tuesday morning that...

..my leg will be amputated.

Your what? Your leg?

-Yes, my foot, sorry.

-Your foot to be amputated?

-Yeah.

Faley, like thousands of people in Fiji,

suffers with type two diabetes.

If it's left untreated, it can lead to horrible infections.

Amputations are often necessary to save the patient's life.

This is serious.

What job do you do?

-Private contractor.

-Yes.

-But now I can make a stand...

-Bula.

-How you doing? Are you the doctor?

-Yes.

Hello, doctor. Nice to meet you. Nice to meet ya.

DOCTOR SPEAKS IN OWN LANGUAGE

Faley, all the best. OK? All the best, mate.

-Full of spirit, yeah?

-Thanks. Yeah.

I feel like an ambulance driver more than a cab driver, you know?

You know, it's just really dawned on me,

he could have to have his foot removed.

God. It's extreme.

Diabetes is a huge problem in Fiji

affecting a staggering 30% of the population.

Surgeons like Doctor Turogava have seen the number

of diabetes-related amputations double in the last five years.

This is...

the everyday work for us.

We will usually have about one or two patients a day

and sometimes even more.

We are at the end of the food chain here in the whole process of

diabetes management trying to save their lives instead of their limbs.

Talking to Faley, he was full of regret, which really upset me,

you know? And, like, "I wish I would have done things differently."

The reality is that every patient

thinks that it will not happen to them until...

Even though some of their relatives have died,

some of their relatives have had amputations.

Only up until you tell them,

"Look, it's your time."

And then finally then they actually wake up from all this dream that,

"No, it can't happen to me."

20 years ago, we never had this in Fiji.

Our forefathers walked a few kilometres and did their farms

the whole day and they ate fresh fish and vegetables.

Diabetes is a disease of a sedentary lifestyle.

We do about over 5,000 operations in a year

and just for diabetic foot amputations,

we're doing about 600 amputations a year.

It's like a warzone then, Doctor, really for you, isn't it?

The way it's kept increasing.

Every year, you tally up the amputations

and it is continuing to increase.

They say that there is a prevention programme that's going on

but is it effective enough?

No. I want to nail the problem

so that I don't have to be amputating limbs

-the rest of my life.

-Yeah.

Poverty in Fiji is driving the population in ever greater numbers

to the cities in search of work.

Disconnected from their rural communities,

they are exercising less and eating less fresh food.

-I'll get a trolley, yeah?

-OK.

Cheap, imported processed food, high in fat and sugar

is contributing to high obesity rates

and it's this diet that's fuelling the epidemic of type two diabetes.

For families like Dharmendra's on a low income,

the shopping choices are limited.

Fresh fish and meat are rarely on the menu.

-You've got diabetes?

-Yeah.

No. I didn't know that, mate.

-You inject?

-No, no, no.

Oh, I didn't know that.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

But you've got to really be careful what you're eating...

-Yeah, yeah.

-..with diabetes, you know?

-It'll send you through the roof or make you very ill.

-Yeah.

-You know?

-But...

-Red meat...

-No. It's no good, this stuff. No good. Not good.

And there's rows and rows of it. It's everywhere.

I bet the girls watch out for you as well, what you eat.

-You know what you've got to eat.

-He sometimes eats a lot of sugar

and we tell him, "Don't eat a lot of sugar."

It might cause some problems with him.

And we are also aware that if you eat a lot of sugar or something then

we might also get it because it's in the genes and we can get it as well.

So we also control and watch out for him as well.

-Make sure he's eating the right food.

-Yes.

All done.

Yeah, I think the big issue with diabetes is, it is the silent killer

cos people are sometimes, they're ignorant to it, you know,

and what it can do.

And as you've seen me taking Faley to the hospital,

that's what can happen and is happening here.

Vinaka.

Mason's been in Fiji for a week now and he's starting to feel at home.

It's a way of life here.

Everyone's happy they've got a roof over their head.

Had a lovely breakfast this morning. Just a very calm house.

Lovely family.

So what do you want to do when you grow up?

-I would like to become a surgeon.

-Surgeon.

-Surgeon.

Katio, what do you want to do when you....?

I want to become a chef.

-A chef.

-A chef.

-Wow.

There's some great chefs here in this house.

Your mum's a good chef.

-Thanks very much. See you later on. Bye.

-Bye.

-See ya.

-See you.

-Bye-bye.

LT29, Mase to base, over.

Mason's also starting to feel at home on the streets of Suva,

but the locals might take a little longer to get used to him.

What's the problem?

Yeah, that's no problem, yeah.

-There's no white man driving taxis in Fiji.

-No.

I could be the only white man in here.

And he's beginning to pick up the local knowledge, too.

Roger, Rog.

Right, here.

This is a long road.

-And then into Brown Street?

-Yeah.

And then left into Amy Street.

I'm putting it together, ain't I? Left here. This is Amy Street.

Thank you. Thank you.

Who, me?

What? Oh, I don't know about that.

Suva's British street names are a legacy of colonial rule.

Fiji was a colony for almost a century

before it gained independence in 1970.

Dharmendra was four years old when the Union Jack came down forever.

His Indian community had come a long way

from the dark days of the sugar plantations.

Now they had businessmen, community leaders

and representatives in the new government.

The importance of the Fijian Indian population to the new country

was recognised by a young Prince Charles

at the independence ceremony.

Thank you for such a magnificent and touching welcome.

And thank you also for the welcome that the Indian community

have given me,

for this is a true indication

of the future potential of this multiracial society.

In the years that followed,

Indian entrepreneurs thrived, dominating trade and commerce.

Driving around Suva,

it's easy to see how deeply rooted the Indian community became.

And what's their main line of business?

Wow. We like the curry house in England!

In 1987, an election brought a surprise win for a government

dominated by Fijian Indians.

This proved a step too far for the indigenous Fijians.

Within a month, the military had seized control in a coup

that ousted the democratic government.

It was the start of a long period of instability

and a series of military coups.

Since then, 100,000 Fijian Indians have left the country.

-That was the first one?

-First one, yeah.

-But there's been more than one coup, sir, yes?

-Yes.

When was the one after that? 2000. 2000, and you was here for that?

What, there's been three?

The current Prime Minister, was he elected?

Right, so he wasn't elected.

So, basically, that is a dictatorship, isn't it?

The current Prime Minister is Frank Bainimarama,

a former Naval Rear Admiral who seized power in 2006.

Fiji's unelected leader is also a passionate rugby fan.

Rugby is the national sport here and one of the biggest games of

the season is an annual grudge match between the police and the army.

-So, blue, police.

-Blue police, yeah.

-Army's red.

-Army's red.

-And it's going to be a cruncher, yeah?

-Yeah.

The army and the police, like the government, are dominated by the

indigenous Fijians and there aren't many Indian faces in the crowd.

Here we go. Here we go. It's off.

The police are the defending champions and favourites to win.

Why did you support the police?

ALL SHOUT AT ONCE

CHEERING

Police are winning, 8-3. They're winning.

But with 20 minutes to go, the army take the lead.

-You going to win today, army?

-We win.

-Yes!

-The army.

-The army.

I'm thinking I'm going to go army.

I don't want to upset anyone and they're running the country,

so if it does come on top, I'm supporting them.

Army 22, Police 15. The last eight minutes here.

What a game!

This is a fantastic game of rugby, I tell ya.

In a last-minute thriller, the police edge past the army.

The police win by one point and retain the cup for another year.

Look at them army boys, they're gutted, mate.

Prime Minister Bainimarama has promised elections,

but for now his status as chief remains unchallenged.

Why couldn't he just be called Frank Barrett?

It's so much easier, Frank Barrett, on the polling card.

Well, there weren't a polling card, was there?

Cos he just took power, that's why.

Doesn't look like a military dictator.

He looks like someone's grandad.

He looks like a cuddly grandad that you see on the beach.

What I think of a military dictatorship would be

more brutal than this, you know?

Not like it is now. It's just, it's very relaxed. Very strange.

Mason is keen to find out what ordinary Fijians feel about

Bainimarama and his regime.

# Happy talking, talking happy talk

# Talk about things you'd like to do... #

And what better place to test the political climate than in a taxi?

You're happy with everything in Fiji now? Everything's good here?

Everything's good. Changing, hey?

The truth is that Bainimarama is popular with many Fijians.

And how's things living in Fiji now? You're happy with everything?

But when Mason begins to probe a little deeper,

there's a definite atmosphere in the cab.

Would you say you're living under military rule here?

-Er, it's, yeah, fine.

-You are, yeah?

-Mm.

-And you're OK with that?

What's your views on the current government at the moment?

Are you happy with everything in Fiji?

So, there's...

Mason's finding that knock-about political debate

isn't quite so normal in a Fijian taxi.

It's shocking, Dharmen, isn't it, really?

That, you know, it's a military take over.

It's scary, isn't it?

-Yeah.

-It's basically, you know, in a democracy you're voted in,

aren't you? You don't just take over.

That's a dictatorship. You know?

You don't really want to talk about it, do you?

I can understand that.

It's not surprising that people are reluctant to express their opinion.

International groups like Human Rights Watch

and Amnesty International have heavily criticised the regime here.

They accuse the government of curtailing freedom of speech

and arresting and imprisoning opponents.

Unverified mobile phone footage posted on the internet in 2013

claims to show officials beating two men.

Despite this, Mason has found a critic of the government

who is prepared to speak out

but only if his face and voice are disguised.

Whenever I'm in the taxi and we get talking about politics

or government, the Prime Minister,

they don't want to talk about it.

-There's an atmosphere.

-You're certainly not imagining it, yeah.

That's not surprising at all because there is a very real fear

and there have been many cases of intimidation,

of threats against people who've spoken critically

or spoken openly about, you know, what they think of the government.

In the very early stages they decided that to build a better Fiji,

they must not allow dissent

and it was said that all these, you know,

allowing freedom of expression and freedom of opinion

is just disrupting and getting in the way of building a better Fiji.

Even now, talking to you, my mind's running, you know?

Thinking how will this play out and what will the consequences be.

So, yeah, there's a lot of self-censorship.

Intimidation, what do you mean by that?

Intimidation can range from an angry phone call to criminal charges.

So they'll, you know, find a charge to fit

and you find yourself in the docks.

It can involve actual detention

by police or army officers.

How far does that go? Is it violence?

Yeah, in many cases there has been punching, bashings,

humiliation as well.

Making you strip,

making you do sexual acts with someone you've been detained with.

-So, hm, the people...

-That's outrageous.

It's not as frequent

and not as explicit as it was in the early days, but people are,

you know, just going to play it safe and not going to tempt fate.

-That's a dictatorship.

-Yeah, I know.

I mean, you mention the word dictatorship.

I don't think anyone actually uses that word in public here.

I'd better keep me voice down, hey? Walking about.

Yeah, I'm not a journalist, I'm a cab driver and I'm finding it

quite hard to take it in that that does happen here, you know?

For an idyllic, peaceful, sunny isle in the South Pacific,

it's got a...

..it's got a little murky underbelly there, hasn't it, really?

With the way things are run here by the government

and not being able to speak your mind.

That's outrageous. That shouldn't be going on.

My friend's ever so brave, you know?

I'll be getting on that plane and he won't.

He's staying here.

The world has taken notice of Fiji's political situation.

Following the coup, Fiji was suspended from the Commonwealth.

The country has found itself isolated.

Frank Bainimarama has now set elections for September 2014.

He has stepped down as head of the military,

but remains Prime Minister.

They're not getting nothing out of it.

A third of all Fijians live in poverty

and more than 300,000 live in slums.

Corrugated iron, huh?

Basically anything they can get their hands on to build a home.

-It's pretty grim, mate, innit?

-Mmm.

It ain't what you see on the postcards.

This is the other side of Fiji.

Come on, puppy, out the road. BEEPS HORN

Oh, it's nice to be out that cab, hey?

It's nice view you got though, really nice view, innit?

Really?

-They got you trapped.

-Yeah.

You're trapped, aren't you?

Ah, Dharmendra.

-I don't know. I don't know what the answer is. I really don't.

-Yeah.

In the same situation as you?

The real problem here I think is the poverty issue.

That's Dharmendra's plight, that's his struggle, you know?

And he is not the only one.

Indians and Fijians, they're all sort of struggling

and for some reason, they're being kept down there.

Getting under the skin of Fiji, it's been interesting, loads of stories,

chequered past.

Huge history here, you know? Good and bad.

And that has really been an eye-opener for me.

GUITAR MUSIC

# Well, the south side of Suva

# It's the baddest part in town

# And if you go down there, you better just beware

# Of a man named Dharmendra Brown

# He drives his taxi all day... #

'I wish Fiji all the best cos I think the people deserve more.'

# His roadie intake is more than I can take

# Da, da, da, dee, dee, dee... #

'Paradise, not just living here in paradise in an idyllic sunny isle.'

You know, you should have some quality of life here as well

to go with that and hopefully, fingers crossed,

Fiji will get that.

Monish, this is going to be your guitar cos I want you to get good

and I know you want to learn the guitar.

-So, this, my dear, is yours.

-Thank you.

It's a little travel guitar and I hope you enjoy it.

It's been great meeting you, buddy, I tell ya.

And for your hospitality, I thank you so much.

Thank you very much.

As well as the guitar, Mason has helped Dharmendra with his rent.

And it was very good time for us and I have no words to thank you.

I haven't got a magic wand but it's to give you a little bit of time.

-Give us a cuddle.

-How can I thank you?

-Give us a cuddle.

-You be lucky, yeah? All right?

-Thank you.

-OK.

-I will miss you.

-I'll miss yous, too. Look after yourself.

Thanks for everything, yeah? Bye-bye, girls.

-Have a nice trip back, Mason.

-Thanks, Dharmendra. Bye.

-Bye!