A friend, a comrade, a brother

My first encounter with Stieg was in a café in Kungsträdgården in January of 1984 while meeting with Swedish friends of Grenada. I was to discover later that he loved a nice café with good coffee. We took a liking to each other almost immediately.

We often met in such cafés to discuss current political issues related to the Caribbean and Grenada. He was very concerned about what we could do to improve the situation. He and his wife lovely Eva had visited Grenada and they both became very supportive of the social transformation that 1979 Revolution was trying to achieve. After our first meeting we became very close, indeed Stieg became my best friend.

He sought to have me integrated in the Swedish society and had suggested that I move to Umeå to avoid the trap that English speaking immigrants usually fall into; that of not being able to master Swedish. He had ideas that my stay in Sweden was to be some sort of preparation for my return to politics in Grenada and very diplomatically helped in every way to achieve that.

Even if Stieg was very young then, (about 30 years old when we first met) he had the political wisdom of a very old man. His advice was sound and he was dependable in things that mattered.

Stieg had a quiet strength and a determination to get done what he set his mind to do. When he often attempted to mobilise his friends to participate in activities he never attempted to impose his beliefs, but he argued for his positions when it was necessary. In an amorphous political setting, he found a common platform so that the goals could be achieved.

There were basic things on which he would not compromise, the most important are: the issue of human rights, the struggle against discrimination and the promotion of democratic principles, regardless of the level of engagement.

He was principled in his dealings with people, I saw him as selfless and never concerned with holding a position. However, being very focused when assigned a task he would do it quietly and effectively.

Stieg touched my life in many ways and I learned a great deal from him.

He was always a political being but he stopped short of being a politician. He was a researcher and an intellectual of no mean order and had a vision of the consequences of decisions made today. That made him a very careful and pensive person.

When I erred Stieg was able to show me a better path that was more fruitful to achieving my goals while at the same time making me feel better about myself. Stieg was no saint like most of us, he was human, but knowing him has made me a better person. I shall miss him.

JAMES WARDALLY, Stockholm