Damien was a character well-known for a combination of qualities that intrigued and attracted many. He was a very close friend of other interesting people who were his contemporaries at Peradeniya University in the 1950s and of others who were his mates at the Sri Lanka Administrative Service. He was Commissioner of Motor Traffic in the 1990s and later Assistant Secretary to the Christian Affairs Ministry which was part of the Religious Affairs Ministry. In this position, he acted as a go-between among the Catholic Church and other Christian churches vis a vis the state or vice versa, for matters which the church or state might find him administratively useful. He was a comparatively tall man, well set, with a handsome countenance and searching eyes. These characteristics seemed to be a common familial heritage which appeared to favour engagement in military or semi-military work and career.
General Dennis Perera was his first cousin and a Superintendent of Police was an uncle and so perhaps was an Air Force Commander. Damien carried around with him an unconscious aura or bearing of importance.
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Damien Perera
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Damien easily won a second-class honours in philosophy from the University of Ceylon, Peradeniya in the late 1950s. We enjoyed conversations with him in the common room of Ramanathan Hall, searching for the truth or whatever. In the mid 1950s, the then head of philosophy, Miss Mathiaparanam, would start her lectures with the introductory notion of “finding the truth” as being similar to “looking for a black cat in a dark room.” So the study of philosophy was that. As first-year students, this was an attractive idea and worthwhile challenge.
Damien however thought little of the challenge and emerged with an upper second-class honours in philosophy to join the Administrative Service where he worked in land administration countrywide. He was good at spotting contradictions and false conclusions in conversations and was able to make fun of what went on in talk. This was an attractive trait in the Peradeniya culture, which being residential had a great deal of conversation or “conning” going on, and false talk or non sequiturs were immediately spotted and mentioned for the amusement of the audience. This was called “hacking.” Damien had a quiet way of doing it which was much appreciated and his “cracks” were publicised as witticisms, worthy of note!
This was Damien Perera as a “social animal.” He was also a very devout Christian. He was a regular churchgoer but did practise his religion only as a private exercise and never for a public purpose. Hence, his appointment as an official in church/state affairs seemed to be entirely appropriate. He was a friend and also a family friend. When they were growing up, my four children loved to have him visit us because he would bring them small presents and send them cards on birthdays. He loved to talk with my wife Cynthia and I at length on the telephone. To some extent, this may have lessened his loneliness as a bachelor. To me, he was a confidante and adviser in complex official matters as he worked with me as Additional CMT when I was Commissioner of Motor Traffic in the 1980s.
The CMT office was full of mysterious goings-on related to corruption for which it was reputed. One instance (out of many) occurred when a clerk was found tearing off pages from a register of vehicle numbers, of which he was in charge. Sometimes a member of the public or an outsider would come to the office to find info about a vehicle he was concerned about e.g. arrears of tax due. The clerk would then make a deal with him to change or delete the arrears and his modus operandi was simple: just tear off the relevant page in the register so that there was no longer a record! I asked the clerk to come for a discussion at a staff meeting but he did not. He instead sent a message through an Assistant Commissioner: “I was a policeman before. I have a gun and I know how to use it.” To which I casually replied through the same intermediary: “I too have a gun and I also know how to use it.” I now knew that he was guilty and I phoned the Public Administration Ministry and had him transferred. They decided to transfer him to the museum. The sentiment among Motor Traffic personnel was that he was welcome to tear up as many of the old historical docs as he pleased but no money will he get for that! A few weeks later, one Gonawela Sunil appeared at the office of the Transport Ministry and made a complaint about the transfer to the minister who however dismissed him from his presence.
To obstruct the corrupt practices in the Motor Traffic Department, we computerised its activities. We got the help of the Chief Vehicle Examiner of British Motor Vehicle Office to advise us about the modus operandi of an annual ‘fitness test.’ We also got the Chief Driving Examiner from the UK to conduct a workshop on driver testing. The EMVs were smarter than us in contrast to the clerk local who tore up the register. They persuaded the minister not to approve or patronise the training workshop by getting him to cancel it at the last moment. These few anecdotes illustrate the environment in which we worked. Damien and I enjoyed the challenge. Now he has been transferred to another position. May he reach heaven and be there eternally!
Coincidentally or otherwise, he was cremated on Ash Wednesday, February 26, 2020. I wonder what he would have said of that. “Dust art and unto dust thou shall return? But thou shall rise again on the last day.”
Wilfrid Jayasuriya
