Fiji, Iraq and the privatisation of security

Nic Maclellan reports that over 1000 Fijians are working in Iraq and Kuwait as soldiers, security guards, drivers and labourers, and more than 2000 Fijian soldiers are serving in the British Army. So far at least eight Fijians working in Iraq have been killed, with many others wounded. The official and unofficial Fijian deployments to the Middle East have been widely accepted in Fiji, because of the significant remittances flowing to rural villagers. The employment of Fijian soldiers as mercenaries has brought new problems for the government of Fiji, and for its island neighbours as well, with news in late 2005 that former Fijian Military Force soldiers were working in Bougainville.