Rowena Sepali Fernando in London

Being born to Sri Lankan parents, yet growing and presently living/working in London, has created a somewhat disconnection to my motherland and sense of misplacement to my current land! Yet from early years I was always visiting Sri Lanka with family where we would visit other family members whilst absorbing the scenic beauty of the country.

These early memories are hazy like a passing cloud; yet when I grew to the age of 16 years and what is considered by UK standards to be a young adult! (Still a child by my parents’ standards), this is where my eyes began to really open; as I travelled more and more often to what could have been my home land too! This is when it started; truly seeing the beautiful green haven, which seemed almost worlds apart from this grey and concrete jungle reality that I have always known to be home.

Somehow never truly feeling a sense of belonging to either place? Defined by a piece of paper that says I am British, but feeling a connection to another land, I think this is a paradox that many people lime me face today.  As much as I am grateful for this freedom, my mind cannot escape the thoughts of, if Sri Lanka is my parents and family’s motherland; then should it not also be mine too?

Since the age of 21, I have been a free young lady with a broad sense of appreciation especially for nature, people, cultures & history. In this spirit and with such a freedom to explore possibilities an experience one can and should only be grateful for. I began to travel the world as a tourist for what we call summer holidays/vacations in England. I am lucky to have had so many adventures across the globe; ranging from Western to Eastern Europe and as far out to Australia and even to the big apple New York! Yet despite having grazed so many places, seeing so many varying cultures and tasting many fine foods; somehow after all of these explorations there is still no other land that can quite captivate me more like beautiful Sri Lanka.

Each time I visit Sri Lanka, I find a deeper sense of discovery into my ancestry, but ultimately the time spent passes so fast and is seemingly never long enough! This again leads me to psychologically ponder ‘what life would have been like’ or could be like, if I were to have been born in Lanka or even simply to be allowed non-restricted visits? Each trip to Sri Lanka I find to be cut cruelly short whereas if I were to have the privilege of staying for 6-8 months I am confident that I could reach my full genetic potential, communicate in the way I wish to, and get closer to what essentially is my roots and culture.

I am also in amazement of the fast development of the county and the beautification of modern towns especially in Colombo, new high ways like a mini metropolis every time I travel to Sri Lanka. The sky line has totally changed the outlook of the Island from my early memories of burning firewood in the kitchens, which is still apparent, but how much has changed from the early days when visiting as a child is simply astounding. With so much in development, yet my situation seems to remain the same the frustration and restriction of always having to travel as a tourist, on a tourist’s visa! Merely thirty days to take in this ibis of childhood memory and land in a state of change surrounded by a pure – in a way untainted beauty. What is thirty days to cover an endless fountain of beauty & reach all corners of the Island to visit various family members  – of course the option to extend the visa is available however this comes at a cost!

As I have grown and experienced Sri Lanka, more and more I find myself connecting wider and wider each time as if I am unravelling a little piece of myself in the process. (After the terrorist problems, which lasted the first 26 years of my life, the Island has suffered terribly) .Yet despite this, there is true and raw beauty of the land, a certain spirit that is held by its people. The Island offers so much in terms of culture, nature and history from art to the forests to the heavenly beaches of the South and East. Not forgetting the wonderful array of food and fruits that one can only dream of when living in London –  all the colours; it is another world and a little piece of paradise. I simply cannot escape the thought that this could have been my piece of paradise too, if not for a mere birth location and piece of official government paper that separates me from my parents home; their motherland which technically I believe should be mine too,  to ponder freely!

One day somehow I would like to find a way to get back to Sri Lanka and to have a home and settle down, as this is where I feel I am destined to be! As my parents had to follow a procedure to register and become British, in a sense due to this action that will define the future of our family. When me and my brother settle with family of our own it will be important to ensure our ancestry and culture are prominent as it should be.

The first obstacle I realised was that my father had taken British citizenship at the time of my birth in London. He was compelled by work to do so and live within the Sri Lankan immigration regulations at the time which stipulated that ‘all children born to Sri Lankan parents abroad must be registered at the embassy or the High Commission of the country’ which resulted my father not being able to register my birth at the Sri Lanka High Commission in London at the time.

Now things seem to have changed rapidly with a new government in office and what everyone seems to be talking about ‘a moderate’ and very considerate objective president.  The news reaches London of which I closely follow. I understand that Dual Nationality has been reinstated to anyone indiscriminately.

With this hopeful change in Government and all of its new and vibrant policies, I believe my situation too can shift towards a better tomorrow! As I begin to see a silver lining forming through the dark clouds of yesterday, because both my parents are native to Sri Lanka and have been granted dual nationality at present.

My brother, who is living and working in Switzerland and I, a mature lady working as a professional in London, are wondering as to how we should go forward and tackle this issue that has plagued and restricted us for our life time – Dual Nationality, the answer to which no one seems to be very clear as to the procedures especially with my case of not being registered at birth at the Sri Lanka High Commission in London due to my father being categorised as ‘British’ at the time but now with his dual nationality, he is considered both British and Sri Lankan ( dual national).

I very much hope this article may be read by someone responsible within Sri Lankan authorities who will no doubt be able to guide and advise me as to how to go about getting my dual nationality in the immediate future; especially considering that my name as mentioned above had not been registered within the Sri Lankan high commission at the time of my birth.

rowef82@gmail.com