This is not the PNG they fought for

Letters

THE founding fathers of this nation never imagined that Papua New Guinea would turn into the type of country it is today.
A nation riddled with corruption, gruesome killings, increasing crime rate, high inflation, tax rate, unemployment rate and all the social, economic, political and identity crisis we are facing today.
Of all of the founding fathers, one man’s legacy truly stands out the most – late Grand Chief Sir Michael Thomas Somare.
He believed that given a level playing field, Papua New Guineans could hold their own.
This is the belief a true leader has.
He believed that we should no longer be controlled by colonial masters as slaves or cargo careers, but that we were equal.
Many other countries envy us because there was no fighting, nor was there any bloodshed to gain our independence.
We were given this on a golden platter, through the grace of God and through His servant – the late Grand Chief.
Among the adversity of the world and colonial masters, our founding fathers stood firmly with the belief that it was time to birth a new nation, and thus, this dream came to pass and on Sept 16, 1975, a new nation was formed – Papua New Guinea.
Given the type of education some of them had, they all stood as one at that time, regardless of their ethnicity or region.
A simple gesture but a powerful message can be found in this brotherhood, and that is unity.
They saw ahead and saw lawyers, doctors, pilots, teachers, engineers, economists, nurses, architects and other professionals.
The dream they had and the belief they held in our people is evident today where we have thousands of professionals with flourishing careers.
This is how true leaders work – together to achieve goals.
It is sad that our current leaders and everyone in Papua New Guinea are so ignorant of this simple gesture shown to us by the very men who stood against all adversity to gain independence for us.
Many of these leaders who have passed on would be shedding tears as this was not the way they had envisioned our country would be or the path that it’s on.
This was not the Papua New Guinea they had dreamed of and fought for.
I pay homage to the memory of these great founding fathers, through your families, through proud Papua New Guineans, people who truly love this great nation, shall and may your legacies live on.

Kake Smith
Proud Papua New Guinean