Abstract
This chapter extends the discussion from Chap. 5. It explores the relationship street-frequenting young people have on the streets: comradery with their peers, substituting a sense of loneliness that can characterise street life. It also highlights that street-frequenting young people have allies outside of their family and the authorities whom they often resent. The chapter ends with a discussion of the young people’s experience with the police, who for them personify morality and righteousness. The outcome is often one of confrontation instead of mutual understanding, creating the need to creative ways of engaging with street-frequenting young people.
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Notes
- 1.
Kaidia refers to people of Indian origin in Fiji. Indo-Fijians are stereotyped to be socially inferior, individualistic and misers when it comes to spending money. These are seen to be in total contradiction to Fijian values. Fijians invoke this binary opposition particularly in an informal context to ensure solidarity and maintenance of their identity.
- 2.
Reggae music contained lyrics that dealt with unemployment, oppression and inequality and offered the hope of liberation and emancipation (Hebdige 1979).
- 3.
The other youths say that at times he suffers from breathing difficulties and that they are usually worried during drinking episodes as the risk of being involved in physical confrontations are usually high. It could be fatal if he was to ever be involved in one.
- 4.
The young people are familiar with court processes and are aware of the implications if these are not adhered to.
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Vakaoti, P. (2018). Surviving the System. In: Street-Frequenting Young People in Fiji. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-63079-3_6
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