Bandula Jayasekera touring the battle field
Bandula Jayasekera, who served as the Toronto Sri Lankan Consul General during the crucial last few weeks of the island’s 30-year-old civil war passed away on February 5.
The journalist-turned diplomat was suffering from Myelodysplastic Syndrome, a dreaded type of blood cancer, for about two years and passed away while receiving palliative care at the Karapitiya Hospital in Galle, south of Sri Lanka. He was 60. The funeral was held on February 6 at the Colombo General Cemetery.
A fighter till his death, Jayasekera is remembered for functioning as the Toronto Consul General against credible threats on his life.
In a hard-hitting interview with Toronto CTO’s Steve Paikin, he did not mince words. Covering wide-ranging subjects like Tamil diaspora juggernaut in Toronto, Sri Lanka’s 30-year war, IDPs, Liberals, Conservatives, Toronto Star, National Post, Bob Rae and Rajapakses, the diplomat and the veteran TV journalist sparred during the infamous interview, and it was difficult to say who emerged the winner, though Jayasekera had only two years of diplomatic experience.
According to media reports, On January 28, 2009, several Tamils protesting against the Sri Lankan civil war gathered in front of the Sri Lankan Consulate, hoping to meet the consul general. Jayasekera reportedly termed the protesters as ‘terrorists’ and refused to admit them. In an interview, he said there were threats against his life in Toronto, and someone even sent a coffin addressed to him.
In a Facebook post, Uvindu Kurululasuriya mentions that Jayasekera had requested the Rajapakse government for security guards and a gun for his personal use as there were threats from the LTTE after he was appointed as the editor of the Ceylon Daily News.
He knew when he would die according to the ultimatum given by his doctor in Singapore. In his farewell interview, he said he developed breathing problems, tiredness, and lack of appetite about two years ago. On the advice of a friend in the US, he went to a doctor and found out he had a rare form of leukemia. The treatment, according to the physician, was a born marrow transplant. Sri Lanka has no a donor registry, and he had to go to Singapore for treatment.
The hospital found a donor, but the doctor was against the transplant as that person was a brain cancer survivor. Unfortunately, the procedure was postponed due to COVID-19. When he went back to Singapore, it was too late.
“I went to the hospital with my brother, and I requested the doctor to tell me where I stand with the sickness, and she told me I have not much time left. I was not sad, and I accepted the reality. Facing death is easy as I learnt to disown my links with the word. As a child, I learnt the impermanence nature of life from my mother, who was a devout Buddhist,” he said during the interview.
He had a special word of thanks for the Sri Lankan community in Toronto for raising part of the funds to pay for the hospital expenses. “The Torontonians even collected money by organizing pot lucks in temples to finance my hospital stay,” he said.
He described his cancer as utterly painful, and he suffered for 18 months. He openly spoke about the dreaded disease, a rarity in Sri Lanka. “In our country, people don’t speak of such things openly, and I wanted to change the people’s mindset. Like in the west, we don’t have group therapy sessions to share experiences and discuss such diseases openly. I also campaigned to establish a bone marrow registry which is a long-felt need in Sri Lanka,” he said.
Jayasekera spent his last few weeks in palliative care at Galle Karapitiya Hospital, which he said was the best of its kind in Sri Lanka.
He served as director-general, President’s Office Media Unit, director general and spokesperson for Ministry of External Affairs during the presidency of Mahinda Rajapakse. He also served as the Sri Lankan consul in Sydney and as Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York.
He always remained a fighter, even challenging death. What better way to say farewell to this great man than quoting from John Donne’s famous sonnet, Death, Be Not Proud.
“One short sleep past, we wake eternally
And death shall be no more;
Death, thou shalt die.”
May your journey through Samsara be brief!
Somasiri Munasinghe (newstrails.com)
