Let’s honour Sir Michael’s legacy

The National Letters

THE last two weeks have been a period of great mourning for our nation.
We had not only lost the founding father of this nation but a visionary leader.
Grand Chief Sir Michael Somare was a simple village boy who was educated as a broadcaster and teacher.
He had a great vision and surrounded himself with a noble band of brothers to deliver that vision.
That vision was to deliver political independence for our people – all from nothing and within a short period of time without a drop of blood.
In itself, that was a great achievement.
With political independence came freedom and justice for all – a fact we all should all continue to treasure as gift this great man left behind for his beloved country and his people.
As history tells us, the fight for equality and justice for the downtrodden was and is a global issue.
From Martin Luther King Jr in the United States to Nelson Mandela in South Africa, fighting for freedom from racial discrimination comes at great costs in both property damages and human lives.
Our own fight was carried by the grand chief against the colonial administration of Australia in the 1960s where racism was intense – where our people were referred to as “natives” and were not allowed to use public facilities or given rights as fellow human beings.
I do believe that experiencing this issue in the 1960s gave our founding father the fighting spirit to rise up to the challenge and bring political independence sooner rather than waiting longer.
In his passing, we should not take for granted what political independence meant for him and his fight to deliver that for us.
Today, independence has given us the freedom to:

  • SPEAK and be heard;
  • BE employed in the country and abroad;
  • PARTICIPATE in global sporting events;
  • BE educated in the country and abroad; and,
  • PARTICIPATE in business activities.

This political freedom has opened up opportunities to young talented Papua New Guineans who became some of the best pilots, doctors, lawyers, scientists, economists and so forth.
In his vision, he did not see this emerging professionals as from Enga, Chimbu, Milne Bay or other provinces or regions.
He dreamt of the best possible outcomes for all his people and this was to be brought about only through a united PNG – and this we should all not lose sight of.
For whatever we are or whoever we are, we should all be proud to say we are Papua New Guineans.
In his passing, we should embrace the principles of fairness and equality as enshrined in our Constitution and continue to remember his values and work through:

  • AN annual Somare Day celebration;
  • ENSURING our Constitution and inspiring short history should be compulsively taught from all levels of education – from primary to tertiary institutions; and,
  • REVISIT our legislations to ensure we strengthen the pillars of good governance to sustain our democracy in the 21st Century.

As Sir Michael is laid to rest in eternal peace, we, as a nation, should now move forward embracing the values he has left behind.
He was the glue that was holding the nation together and in reflection, we should review and renovate to carry on the legacy of this great leader and his band of brothers for the good of all Papua New Guineans.

Michael Kalep,
Rural Empowerment Services,
Bulolo