USP trio apologise over viral video

Three University of the South Pacific students have issued a public apology to Fiji's deaf community following a social media video that sparked concern over its use of sign language. The students, Ateca Sawailau, Marika Binatagi, and Mavis Cavalevu, expressed deep regret for the hurt and offense caused, emphasizing that the video was created casually among friends and was not intended to mock or disrespect anyone. "After we had lunch we went to the school bridge and we started making our videos like doing vlogs… in our content we didn’t mean to mock the deaf, it was just us making memories and videos but I sincerely apologize for any harm caused," Sawailau stated. Binatagi acknowledged the video's inappropriate and disrespectful nature, taking full responsibility for his behavior. Cavalevu added that the experience has served as a significant lesson. The students have expressed a desire to turn this incident into a learning opportunity and are planning to undertake sign language training to foster a better understanding and more respectful communication with the deaf community.

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After we had lunch we went to the school bridge and we started making our videos like doing vlogs… in our content we didn’t mean to mock the deaf, it was just us making memories and videos but I sincerely apologize for any harm caused.