In the words of Wau Waria’s first Member of Parliament, and in his capacity as the Permanent Parliamentary Committee on Communications Chairman, Hon Marsh Narewec;
“Late Samson was a Soldier by Profession, an Accountant by Profession, but a Journalist by Passion. His passion made him a true development partner, because his stories greatly supported and helped to promote Wau Waria as a new district since its creation in 2022.”
Yes, veteran journalist based in Wau, Morobe Province, Late Samson Bonai was a trained soldier who served as a military personnel in the PNG Defense Force, resigned, got trained and became a professional Accountant, and decided to leave just to pick up the pen.
He wasn’t a trained journalist, he simply laid down the gun and started pursuing journalism out of pure passion for one reason, to tell the story and tell it properly, and he held onto the pen till he no longer can.
What a life displaying the heart’s truest passion, proving that the pen sure is mightier than the sword.
As journalists, we are not just farewelling a fellow Senior journalist, we hereby also honour a man who dedicated a part of his life to telling the stories of others, never giving any thought that one day, we would gather to tell his.
In journalism, we spend our lives documenting the journeys of others, telling their stories of struggles, triumphs, pain and hope. We try to as much as possible to give voices to the voiceless, shine light into forgotten, neglected places, and preserve moments in history that might otherwise be lost.
Cases like this, when the tables turn and the storyteller becomes the story, who’s going to write our stories? The stories about the life we as journalists spent writing stories for others?
Post Courier’s Senior feature writer, trained by late Samson Bonai, Pisai Guma paying his final heartfelt respects to his mentor.
Late Samson chose to become one of us and became the champion of the pen, the sword, his sword and held onto it till the end like the true unyielding scribe he is.
We are writers, juggling words eventually becomes our DNA, but at such times, no amount of words seems enough.
Late Samon was more than our senior, he adapted to any level and into any of our age groups. He was part of us, demanding professional conduct in a profession that demands sacrifice, courage, patience and above all, a heart to tell the people’s stories.
His life has proved that even when the cameras stop rolling, the microphones are switched off and the notebooks are closed, the journalist within us never truly retires.
As we farewell him, we are reminded of something deeply meaningful about our profession.
We spend so much time of our lives making sure that others are remembered, taken care of, seen etc, and we forget to honor our own lives.
We capture the tears of grieving families, document the achievements of great leaders and tell the stories of ordinary people. But when one of our own falls silent, who tells that story? So today we say;
Late Samson Bonai, Senior,
Your news assignments have come to an end. Your final story has been filed. Your deadline has been met. You no longer have breaking news to chase, no more interviews to conduct, no more stories to write. But the stories you told, the lives you touched and the contribution you inked onto newspapers will remain under your byline, By Samson Bonai.
That’s your legacy.
To those of us who remain in this profession, may late SB’s passing remind us to appreciate one another and the work that we do while we are still here.
Let us honor our colleagues not only when they leave us, but while they are still walking beside us, chasing stories, meeting deadlines and carrying the responsibility of informing our people together.
Because behind every byline is a face, behind every news story is a sacrifice and behind every true journalist, is a heart that beats for the truth.
Farewell Samson, so long.
Rest your weary feet, lay down your notebook and put your pen aside, you have written your final chapter well. Your final deadline has passed but your byline, your legacy will live on, and we will remember.
Rest now.
~ With Love, Honor and Respect, and one last Cheers!
Team Erenge Media