The tenacity and courage it took for a simple teacher turned journalist to take up this fight to steer a conglomerate of very diverse tribes, hamlets and islands towards nationhood without bloodshed will remain his greatest legacy.
Somare was the First Papua New Guinean. He was a colossus, both in PNG and the Pacific. He will forever be to us what Mandela is to South Africa and Gandhi is to India.
There may be many “what-if” discussions, but at the end of the day, I will remain forever grateful that Papua New Guinea is an independent and a free nation because of Somare and his cohort.
We must not disrespect his legacy, with short-term thinking and short-term friends. The freedom we have because of their sacrifices, was not free of charge. If we don not remember this we may lose it.
We need to protect the sacrifice that was made by many, for a free nation.
Tenk yu tru Papa.
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