Handicraft vendors haggle for space
Wednesday, April 26, 2006/Fiji Times, Fiji
THE capital was full of visitors yesterday after the cruise liner Diamond Princess called in at Suva harbour and 800 guests disembarked to see the sights.
The ship which has a capacity of 2674 passengers stopped over in Suva for half a day on its cruise of the South Pacific enroute to Tahiti, Hawaii and Pago Pago in American Samoa.
Many of the passengers on board were retired couples in their 70s.
Unknown to them, their arrival sparked a protest from handicraft vendors.
Suva-based handicraft vendors stopped work for two hours to protest against the relocation of Sigatoka handicraft sellers outside the Suva Curio Handicraft Market.
Suva Handicraft Market Vendors and Manufacturers Association president Mahen Singh said the union was angry because Sigatoka vendors who normally sell by the seawall were relocated to outside the handicraft centre.
“We had an agreement with the council which has been standing for the past 30 years that anyone who sells handicraft within the premises must be under our association for the sake of uniformity and safety,” Mr Singh said.
“We are furious because we all look forward to these big ships coming in and someone else is now getting a share of our cake.”
Sigatoka market vendor Margaret Nisha George said she was embarrassed by the relocation yesterday and said that vendors from Sigatoka had paid for their table and did not wish to trouble anyone.
“We have been coming to Suva when there is a big boat in like this for the past 20 years and this is the first time this has happened to us,” she said.
“We don’t mean to trouble anyone and we are getting tired of being relocated.”
No comment could be obtained from the Suva City Council.