Remembering my brother Rajeewa Jayaweera

by Sanjeewa Jayaweera

It is a year since we lost our brother under the most tragic of circumstances. They say, “time is a great healer”; however, the grief, the sense of loss and shock have not diminished. On the contrary, we have struggled in our different ways to come to terms with his death. This despite having grieved the loss of our parents and a brother-in-law in the last decade. None of those had prepared us for the type of anguish we have undergone after his demise.

No doubt, the distress is accentuated as none of us had the slightest inclination that our brother wanted to call it a day. He was only 64- years old. He certainly camouflaged his feelings of being utterly disillusioned and weary of life from his siblings and his closest friends. At times I wonder whether I could have made a difference had I not strictly adhered to the policy of just being a listener and not an elicitor of personal information. Despite being very close, it is a principle that both of us had adopted since our teenage days. Do not pry and give advice only when sought.

It is exasperating when a few people still come up to me and murmur, “are you sure that he committed suicide and there is no hanky-panky?” The insinuation is obvious and a sad reflection of the times we live in. Unfortunately, in our country, through social media, various conspiracy theories are propagated, with most not being able to separate facts from innuendo. Even former Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe came up with the theory that it was “forced suicide.” It was an irresponsible statement, given that our family had publicly acknowledged that we were satisfied that our brother had taken his own life. Those who engage in making wild and unsubstantiated statements do not realize the distress they cause to the grieving family.

In the very personal letter that Rajeewa wrote to me, which unfortunately became a public document, he mentioned a couple of medical conditions afflicting him that may cause a loss in the quality of life in the ensuing years. In addition, his disillusionment and bitterness were pretty evident by the request he made not to include the names of two persons in the obituary notice. He said that it would be hypocritical to refer to them as “beloved so and so.” In normal circumstances, these two people should have been the closest to him. The fact is that he had meticulously planned his departure for over six months. Therefore, there is no room whatsoever for any doubt. The magisterial enquiry concluded in August 2020 returned a verdict of death by suicide.

Rajeewa was a regular contributor of articles to the Sunday Island and the Island. Going through the database on his laptop, I came across 332 articles he authored over seven years. That is an average of nearly 50 articles per year which is once a week. The topics ranged from Sri Lankan Airlines, local politics, Indo-Sri Lankan relations, foreign interference in Sri Lanka and many other topical issues. I have had the time and pleasure to read most of his articles and what amazes me is the amount of research he has done to support his point of view. He was apolitical and spared neither of the main political parties acknowledged by all who read his articles. He was also brutally honest and a courageous writer.

He had written 40 articles on SriLankan Airlines. His stint at the airline spanned 17 years; thus, he was knowledgeable of the internal and aviation industry issues. When read together, the articles are a compendium revealing sheer mismanagement, abuse of perks and resources resulting from government interference, the appointment of Directors and CEO’s who have no comprehension of the aviation industry, corruption, operating of unprofitable routes, over-staffing and many others. Rajeewa’s articles explain why the taxpayers have been burdened with a company with accumulated losses of Rs. 326 billion as of March 31, 2020.

One article in particular that caught my eye is captioned “SriLankan Airlines – a tale of state abuse and mismanagement. The “games” Directors and VIPs played” published on April 10, 2016 in the Sunday Island. He laments how successive presidents used the airline as their private property commandeering aircraft meant for commercial operations to ferry the president and entourage on foreign visits. At times, the aircraft was kept for the duration of the stay, incurring significant costs, and depriving the airline of a revenue-generating aircraft. One president insisted on flight departures when he was travelling based on astrological times and not the scheduled time! There were numerous occasions when revenue passengers were offloaded for VVIP and VIP passengers and even free ticket holders who usually are directors of the airline.

In the article, Rajeewa recalls how when serving as the SriLankan airlines Manager in France in 2003, he had received a call from a cabinet minister informing that he was motoring from Brussels to Paris to join the SriLankan Airlines flight. The minister had told that he might be a bit late and, if that be the case, to delay the flight’s departure. Rajeewa had replied that the flight departure is at 14.10 hours and that he should kindly be at the check-in counter no later than 13.25 hours if he wished to join the flight. The minister had rung off, reminding Rajeewa that he was speaking to a cabinet minister.

So the flight left Paris on schedule without the minister! A massive complaint was lodged in Colombo of Rajeewa’s actions which the then CEO Peter Hill forwarded to Rajeewa with the comment “File and Forget“. Rajeewa goes on to say, “Under Emirates management, staff did not need to fear to do what was right for the airline whereas under state management, doing what is right for the airline could easily result in punitive action or worse.”

For those readers who did not know Rajeewa, his action in Paris totally encapsulates his personality. He was fearless, forthright, and not a “YES” man. Not the type of person who could survive in a government institution. It is a sad but true that contemporary Sri Lanka lacks such forthright people. There is no doubt that Rajeewa was a “chip off the old block.” Our father was his idol.

He was always a stickler for rules and the need for people to act responsibly. I recall how around 2007, I organized a trip to Dubai for my family. Our two daughters, both aged less than 10 years, were thrilled about the planned visits to the theme parks. They had previously traveled overseas on their mothers’ passport. However, a few days before our trip, when I submitted our passports for a visa, I was informed that Dubai did not grant visas for children included in the parent’s passport. They were adamant.

So, in desperation, I reached out to Rajeewa, who was based in Dhakka as Qatar Airways Regional Manager. For about 10 minutes, he lectured me about planning overseas trips with time to spare and the need for undertaking sufficient research about immigration rules as each country was different. The longer the lecture went, the less hopeful I was! However, at the end of the call, he said, “let me see what can be done.” I cannot remember exactly how the problem was solved, but we did fly out on the planned day due entirely to his efforts. I was able to save my bacon with my two daughters but learnt a good lesson. A few of his friend’s related similar incidents where he had helped them despite receiving an earful!

Many who had known Rajeewa in the countries he worked reached out to me to sympathize and relate instances when he had helped them. It filled me with joy because I often thought that his softer side was reserved only for me!

The loss of our brother will continue to hurt my three sisters and I until we depart from this world. I do not think we will ever get over it. Several others, like me, feel that Sri Lanka also lost a talented and fearless writer who contributed to the public debate on many burning issues facing our country.

I believe the poem by David Harkins that I reproduce below would be his message to the four of us and his friends who still grieve his untimely death.

He is Gone (Remember Me)

You can shed tears that he is gone,
Or you can smile because he lived,
You can close your eyes and pray that he will come back,
Or you can open your eyes and see all that he has left.

Your heart can be empty because you can’t see him
Or you can be full of the love that you shared,
You can turn your back on tomorrow and live yesterday,
Or you can be happy for tomorrow because of yesterday.

You can remember him and only that he is gone
Or you can cherish his memory and let it live on,
You can cry and close your mind, be empty and turn your back,
Or you can do what he would want: smile, open your eyes,
love and go on