To the Editor:

Although I have written many times in the pages of this newspaper about my experience living under a dictatorship in Fiji, it seems that many more people are now paying attention to me and to my time there, which, of course, is wonderful!

Much has been written on this subject, but the bottom line is that we lived and worked in Fiji during a very difficult time for the country, under a military dictatorship. Many people’s lives and businesses were destroyed by the regime, and those who were willing to stand up and oppose it often paid a very heavy price.

I was one of those people who decided that I had to stand up and speak out against what I saw happening to friends, colleagues, and innocent people in Fiji who were simply trying to work toward bringing the country back to democracy.

I have tried to do the same thing everywhere we have lived. In fact, it was my experience under the dictatorship in Fiji that compelled me to write the op-ed in this paper that began the process that ultimately led to my writing the resolution to restrict cooperation with ICE here in St. Johnsbury.

As I’ve written and said many times, I know what it is like to live under a dictatorship, and I recognize the authoritarian tendencies that have been the ruin of nations around the world. I am deeply concerned by how close we are coming to some of those same tendencies here.

I’m proud of what I did in Fiji (the man who finally brought Fiji back to democracy and is now Prime Minister is a friend and a true hero), and I’m proud of what I have accomplished here in Vermont and what we all will accomplish together once I am elected as your State Senator. I intend never to back down and never to stop standing up for what is right and for the people who need someone to stand with them. I have told my story many times, and I’m sure I will tell it many times again. When people are unwilling to stand up and call out injustice anywhere, they risk allowing that injustice to take root in their own communities.

My family and I have lived and worked all over the world, but as many of you know, we came to Vermont to raise our children, build a business and build a family. That is exactly what we need to encourage here: people choosing Vermont as a place to build their lives, raise their families, strengthen their communities, and expand the tax base we need to address the budgetary crises we face year after year.

We all deserve to live our lives in peace, free from the thumb of authoritarians or dictators or anyone who would dictate how we live and what we do. I have taken stands for what’s right everywhere I’ve ever been and will never stop doing so, because “if you stand for nothing, you will fall for anything.”

Onward to Montpelier.

David Roth