Obituary: Old Fijian Warrior Fades Away

Old soldiers never die, they just fade away is a familiar line taken from a popular song sung by British soldiers dur­ing World War 1. It is a line that aptly describes an old Fijian sol­dier who passed away on January 21, 2019.

Mesulama Varea Solomone, known simply as ‘Mesu’ was born on September 5, 1935, in the village of Elsio in the Malha’a district of Rotuma. It was the district that Raho, the founding ancestor of Ro­tuma, settled in thousands of years ago.

In August 1953, at the age of 18 years, Mesu answered the call of the Fijian colonial government for young men to enlist in the Army so as to go and fight the communist terrorists in Malaya.

The Communists in Malaya

The terrorists in Malaya were drawn mainly from sections of the ethnic Chinese population in Ma­laya. Although they controlled the economy and business they were never really integrated into the na­tional life of Malaya.

In 1929, they formed the Malayan Communist Party (MCP) which aimed to overthrow the British co­lonial administration and replace it with communist rule. The MCP formed a military arm which they called the Malayan Races Libera­tion Army (MRLA).

At its peak, the MRLA was esti­mated to be about 8000 strong. They set up training camps in the jungles of Malaya and engaged in murder, extortion and sabotage against the civilian population.

The level of disorder in Malaya became so bad that on June 18, 1948, the British enacted emergency pow­ers calling on the military to assist in restoring law and order.

Communist terrorists in Malaya.

The sad sequel to all these events occurred four days later on August 24, 1979 when armed elements am­bushed a Fijian motorised patrol killing three Fijian soldiers and wounding four others.

One of those wounded in the am­bush was Driver Apirato, also from Rotuma. With three Fijian soldiers dead and another four wounded, it was indeed a very sad day for Fiji.

Sadly, the Dutch officer who tried to help the Fijians later died of his wounds.

Mesu again deployed for peace­keeping service with the MFO in the Egyptian Sinai from May 1984 to May 1985. He was commissioned to the rank of Captain in October 1988 and in 1989 was promoted to the rank of Major to command RFMF units based in Nausori.

He retired in August 1992 after al­most 40 years of service. In recogni­tion of his loyal service Mesu was awarded the insignia of the Mem­ber of the British Empire (Military Division), MBE (Mil).

Mesulama passed away on Janu­ary 21, 2019 and his remains were cremated. He is survived by his wife Varea Tivao and three chil­dren. It was a life well lived.

In passing, Mesulama joins the long list of the descendants of the warrior-chief Raho who have served Fiji well in times of peace and war.

Lieutenant Colonel Isireli Dugu, who had undertaken recruit train­ing under Mesulama in the late 1960’s and served with him in Leba­non and Fiji, summed up Mesula­ma in this way

“The late Major Mesulama was a professional soldier who was dedi­cated, honest and committed to his calling. He served with honour and dignity and set an outstanding ex­ample to his juniors”.

18799 Major Mesulama Varea Solo­mone, MBE (Mil), 1935-2019. Thank you for your service, sir. May you rest in peace.

Source: RSESA Walu Bay

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