Papa Em I Sanap Strong

Papa em i sanap strong 
Wantaim strongpela tingting em i sanap
"Just a teacher", they must have said
"Just another native" he must have heard "Primitives"
 Savages"
"Cannibals"
"Tree Dwellers"
"Wanderers"
"Pygmies"
"Cavemen"
Tasol Papa em i sanap strong!

Papa em i sanap strong 
Tell me, who else would have stood?
With over 800 tounges that were not yet understood
And a thousand tribes that individually stood With a culture so diverse
He stood up and conversed
Boldly, and not easily coerced
He walked with purpose and dignity
To a thousand tribes he made known Unity
His life gave us liberty
To us he became royalty
The epitome of nobility

Papa em i sanap strong
He wore the cape of responsibility with diplomacy
With a heart full of love to deal with negativity Just a young man who dreamt of all the possibilities
Of what it would mean to become a free country No more colonialism, he demanded independence
To the beat of the kundu, we now celebrate and dance
Because one man took a bold stance
To stand for this land Our land, we call Papua New Guinea

Papa em i sanap strong
They saw the now, he saw the future
He was a native that became a teacher 
Hew a young indigenous man that became a leader
So Papa strongly believed
This land would one day conceive
No more savages but doctors
No more tree dwellers but lawyers
No more primitives but pilots
No more cavemen but engineers
No more illiterates but writers
To him we take our hat's off 
A true vissionary leader that we will forever be in debt of
Because of him, we now stand proudly and boast of 
The freedom we now have and that many only dream of

Papa em i sanap strong
A young boy from Murik, who had a calling Taught by the Japanese, and lived amidst bombings
A life dictated by another man's rulings
A life guided by another man's teachings
But oh, he had a passionate longing 
A longing that one day we all would be enjoying The freedom that we now have as an independent nation 
So he traded his career for a higher passion
A life sacrificed for his people and the future generation
A man full of compassion
A man to whom we now heap our love and adoration
A man because of whom we knew no segregation
Like our brothers and sisters in South Africa
A man because of whom we knew no racial discrimination
Like our brothers and sisters in North America
A man because of whom we knew no war and mutilation
Like our brothers and sisters in West Papua

Oh Sana, Oh Mighty Kumul, Oh Bikpela Pukpuk, Oh Papa
We say thank you and farewell
Your life will be the story we live to tell
Of how one man stood bold and tall
To bring independence for us all 
May your story be embedded 
In all our hearts as we gather united
To honour the legacy that we stand on
You are gone yet you still live on
Your death burning a fire in us to fight on
Your dreams fueling a passion in us to press on

So mighty kumul, may your spirit soar
Above this land of a thousand tribes
For all you've done you deserve more
A million gratitude to you we ascribe
A million platitudes for all the hardships that you bore
Our hearts swell with emotions that cannot be described
From the islands to the highlands
From the remotest lands to the mainlands Farewell Sana! Farewell Mighty Kumul!
Farewell Bikpela Pukpuk! Farewell Papa!
Tenk yu tru lo sanap strong! 

- Renee Nuina Manus

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