Ethel Arek recalls that after the 1968 meeting Paulus Arek was sent to Africa with John Maneke to study independence and make recommendations, but he still considered PNG was not ready for independence due to language and other differences.
Ethel Arek describes the time in 1968 that her husband was summoned by the District Commissioner David Marsh to go to a meeting to discuss joining New Guinea and Papua where John Maneke represented New Guinea and Paulus Arek represented Papua. On the agenda was Independence which Paulus thought PNG was not yet ready for.
Ethel Arek states that after the election loss Paulus Arek returned to teaching primary school in Popondetta where he became headmaster and also started the Northern District Workers' Association to support plantation workers. She also describes the foundation of the Popondetta Workers' Club to get control over workers' drinking and the running of the club.
Ethel Arek remembers the public service rules. She states that they went from Kerema to Daru and describes the beginning of Paulus Arek's political career and his choice of standing for politics in 1963 in Popondetta and the reasons he lost in the 1964 elections.
Ethel Arek states that her husband Paulus Arek was also from Wanigela. She states that he received his primary education at the local mission school and then went to the Sogeri school. She says that when he returned to the village for his holidays they arranged to get married.
