The Sri Lankan who said no to an OBE

Ravi PERERA

HONOUR DECLINED: We Sri Lankans are well known for craving all things foreign. Most people in this country look up to an education from an overseas university almost deferentially and expect the recipient to perform near miraculous feats.

They grovel before foreigners; love to imitate their accents while coveting hugely any kind of recognition by an alien government. Chaps who are habitually unpunctual at gatherings of locals will not be a minute late for cocktail parties hosted by foreign embassies and that too sweating profusely in the stipulated formal attire.

Recently I met a Sri Lankan who in his own quiet way has trodden a different path, at least when it comes to abjectly lapping up foreign honours.

Dr Suman Fernando, a psychiatrist by training and a dedicated social worker is an old Royalist who recalls among his classmates in the 1950s well-known Colombo personalities like Dr Rasaratnam, Panchalingam and Nirmal Pieris.

“After completing my studies at Royal I left for Cambridge where I did a MBBS. On my return in 1960 I volunteered to serve at the Angoda Mental Hospital, which was then a neglected place where very few doctors wanted to work.

Incredibly, my seniors discouraged me from working with these unfortunate people. My sense of idealism and service did not go down well with the entrenched medical bureaucracy, which then was a cartel quite cynical about the whole thing and thought of me as a young irritant. Dejected by their manipulations I went back to England and have lived there since.”

For the young man practising medicine was more than a convenient way to earn buckshee and command a fat dowry. Suman had imbibed a spirit of selfless service from his father Dr C.W.S. Fernando a left leaning political activist who one time was secretary of the Labour Party started by AE Gunasinghe. Unable to take the path of gross careerism that was offered to him here Suman decided to pursue a medical career in England.

There he met the female doctor and academic Frances Leffort who was then deeply involved in political activity as a member of the British Labour Party. Soon a romance bloomed between her and the bright young idealist from Ceylon and the couple married in 1963. Their only daughter Sirina is a Psychoanalyst now working in London.

“I devoted my life to the cause of mental health. My work in this field has given me tremendous fulfilment. The modern approach towards those needing psychiatric help is a community and family based one. We psychiatrists don’t just sit at our desks and prescribe medicine any more. We go out there to the patient, come to know his family and try to get him involved in the community.”

Suman is passionate about his profession. “As you know mental health is a relative thing. People who appear quite normal can some times be in need of psychiatrist help. The stresses of modern living are enormous. When you take a place like London, with millions of people from different cultures living in a tremendously competitive environment we can find many in need of help. I enjoy helping these people to integrate meaningfully with the society around them”

Suman’s work quite naturally involved him with the various black and other minority groups living in London. “These people, living far away from their traditional homes face tremendous odds in trying to integrate with the society around them. The incidents of mental breakdowns among them are quite high. This is often reflected in the high levels of alcoholism, family problems, crime and suicide among these minority groups.”

It was Suman’s dedicated service to their cause that saw the OBE, the acronym for the Order of the British Empire, being offered to him in May this year. “About this time Tony Blair’s Government had introduced a Bill to amend the Mental Health Act which in my opinion widened the scope to lock up those considered mentally sick.

This logically would lead to the greater suppression of minority groups who are vulnerable in that society because of their circumstances. It was regrettable that a Labour government was sponsoring this law. We led a big protest against the amending act.”

“The very Government which was offering to confer an OBE on me was acting on the other hand to harm the group that I have worked all my life to protect. I discussed the issue with my wife and a few friends and decided to decline the offer.

So I wrote a courteous letter to the Prime Minister giving my reasons. His office responded with a polite letter expressing their regret at my decision. All the correspondence was conducted fairly expeditiously and in a civil tone. This correspondence eventually came out in the newspapers”

While firmly refusing the coveted honours of his adopted country Suman is not unmindful of the huge chasm that separates it from his land of birth. “In Sri Lanka the care given to the patients is based on the Mental Health Law which dates back to 1880. This is even before Freud, born in 1856, came out with his famous theories. In the period when I worked at Angoda the situation there was appalling. Although it is much improved now there is lot more to be done.

“Do you know that there are over 150 Sri Lankan Psychiatrists working in the United Kingdom while in this country we have only about 30 practitioners ? This is not a surprise. A doctor just starting out in the UK can earn about 30,000 Pounds a year and when he becomes a consultant can easily command 60,000 Pounds. And of course the quality of life is very different too.”

When asked about life in England he was generous in his assessment. “It is a free and open society. A person, even a foreigner, can disagree or dissent without fear of reprisals. One is free to express opinions and act according to his convictions in that society.”

Yet Dr Suman Fernando is deep down a Sri Lankan wanting the best for the land of his forefathers. “I like to see more awareness of mental health so that proper care can be provided for the sick. Presently I am involved in several projects in this field which is why I keep coming to Sri Lanka often.”