A youth leader in Fiji says young people are likely to bear the brunt of the Covid-19 pandemic with more than 150,000 workers already impacted across the country.
Broderick Mervyn. Photo: Supplied/Ignite4Change
The tourism industry this week announced that about 40,000 of its workers are either on reduced hours, reduced salaries or rotational shifts.
Broderick Mervyn said the majority of the industry's workforce were young people and he was concerned at the devastating economic impact this would have on them.
Mr Mervyn, who is the coordinator for Ignite4Change, said the consequences would affect generations to come.
"A lot of young people that are in the employment sector will be losing their jobs thus resulting in youth unemployment which will be at an all-time high given that a lot of these young people are employed in the tourism sector."
Tourism was one of the biggest revenue earners for the Fiji's economy.
This week the Fiji Hotel and Tourism Association revealed 60,000 visitors had arrived in the country between January and March last year but only about 28,000 visited in the same period this year.
Chief executive Fantasha Lockington said there were a number of vulnerable groups hard hit.
"This can include anything from tour operators, dive businesses, transport providers, the boat transfers if you are food manufacture or food provider, restaurants, bars, spas all these activities would have dried up now and these people have either shut down their business or closed to sustain their livelihood or just trying to survive and many of these workers have been sent home."
Ms Lockington said around 900,000 tourists visited Fiji in 2019.
She said the industry had projected a three-percent growth for this year - they were expecting 937,000 visitors.
"Last year from January to June we brought in over 400,000 visitors, and in that six months they spent around $FJ1 billion and so in the six months comparison, we have just only gone through three months. If you look at last year's six months, we have a lot of filling up to do."
Tourism staff in the Yasawa Islands. Photo: Kate Livingstone
Educational challenges
Broderick Mervyn said many young people employed in the tourism industry were breadwinners for their families.
Mr Mervyn said young people were still recovering from the recent Cyclone Harold which caused widespread damage to their homes and food gardens.
He said he was also concerned that many young people in Fiji would not be able to return to school due to the pandemic.
The government closed all schools in the country until mid-June.
Mr Mervyn said it was evident the mental health of young people would be significantly affected due to the crisis.
"The extraordinary changes arising from Covid-19 have contributed to the closing of educational establishments. Students were now forced to continue with their education from home.
"Especially vulnerable are those who do not have access to energy, smartphones or networking to pursue the online lessons as offered in many industrialized and urban contexts."
Fijian students are now learning from home due to Covid-19. Photo: Supplied/Ignite4Change
Youth advocate Jone Biunaivalu agreed with Mr Mervyn and said he was working with Ignite4Change and other educational institutions and organisations "to foster learning for children and young people during the Covid-19 crisis."
Mr Biunaivalu said he believed education was key to Fiji's socio-economic growth and development.
He welcomed initiatives by the Commonwealth of Learning and USP Global organisations to help youths across Fiji.
"The current reaction to a modern tech-savvy environment and youths growing up with technology as their standard mode of learning, communication and socialising interconnectedness, is indicative that young people's positive uptake of technology is important.
"Commonly, we place a strong degree of focus on the effect of technology on social connections, the idea that we may communicate with others digitally or disengage in that way."
Jone Biunaivalu. Photo: Supplied/Ignite4Change
Plea to youths
Meanwhile, Broderick Mervyn called on young Fijians to adhere to the government's restrictions imposed due to Covid-19.
Almost 2000 people had been arrested by police for breaching curfew including social gatherings and loitering, more than half of them were youths.
This week, Police Commissioner Sitiveni Qiliho called on parents and community leaders to closely monitor their children during the restrictions.
"It's a difficult task for police and it's not good that many young people are being arrested from the streets because they are where they are not supposed to be.
"The first question we ask is where are their parents and what are they doing."
Mr Mervyn said medical officials, including doctors and nurses, and the security forces could not succeed in ensuring the safety of the nation without the public's help.
He said everyone, including young people, played an important role in helping the government tackle the pandemic.
"The sooner the coronavirus was gone, the sooner Fijians could return to their normal lives," he said.