Jayanthan Sivapalan

Story

Born in Sri Lanka and after a short stay in UK in the late 1970’s and early 80’s during my father’s PhD studies, my family returned to Sri Lanka. Confronted with the conflicts of a civil war that was escalating in Sri Lanka my parents feared for our safety and future prospects. We (father, mother and younger sister) decided to leave our homes, most belongings and relatives in search of a safer place in the mid 1980’s. Initially my father gained lecturing opportunities at universities in Nigeria and Guyana where we spent some 3 years. This period of my life, despite the circumstances, is marked with some of the most memorable and happiest moments. However, as the economic prospects and educational facilities strained, my family again decided to uproot and migrate to Australia. As part of this migration process and probably one of the best perks was a trip to the nearest Australian High Commission in Jamaica. We were offered the opportunity to migrate to Australia officially under the skilled migration program. I did my part during the migration interview, when asked the question, what animals were native to Australia, I replied “elephants and tigers”.

After visiting some family friends in London, we landed in Melbourne in February 1988. All I could remember was that it was a hot summer’s day and a friend of a friend of the family drove us to our accommodation. I watched with intrigue at the web of electric lines above the roads thinking what a messy electricity system they have here… which I later learned were tram power lines.

Within a month of arriving, we had rented a unit in Greensborough and got some basic furniture, started school at Greensborough Primary School and life had become somewhat normal again. Except for this game of football I played at school. We used an oval shaped ball where you could kick with your foot and pass with your handsÉbizarre. Until I learnt about ‘Aussie rules\’ footy that is. It then became one of my favourite lunch time activities. There was lots to learn and experience and now form part of happy memories.

From this point onwards, there were many highs and lows in our lives in Australia, but far more highs than lows. In fact, only very few lows.

We spent a couple of years in regional Victoria in Bairnsdale and after adapting to a world relatively free of discrimination and racism, I faced again some of the very challenges we had escaped from at the local school. It was just in a different form but nevertheless just as harsh. I remember coming home from school completely disheartened and picking up my bike and going for a ride along the river alone just to calm myself. And this was after riding my bike in the morning to do paper round and riding my bike to and from school. Not to mention almost being expelled for retaliating during these episodes of discrimination. This was one of those lows of my life in Australia.

We then moved back to Melbourne where I experienced one of the most significant turning points in my life. After somehow getting through an entrance exam (luck played a big role), I got admission into Melbourne High School where it made me the person I would be for many years to comeÉalong with everything my father taught me. Through my involvement in Army cadets, I learned how to iron a shirt properly and polish my shoes, something that made my mother extremely happy. Through my rowing days I learnt the benefits of getting up early (often 5.30am) and watching sunrise as we rowed along the calm waters of the Yarra river. And most of all, I learnt the value of a quality education, something my father had encouraged us to follow since we were in primary school. It was also during this period when our family went through difficult times with some financial hardship and we almost lost our family home as a result. However, my parents kept the family together and despite the difficulties put all of their efforts and savings into our education and placed our home and material belongings second.

This challenging period also defined me as a person and motivated me to strive for everything my parents had worked so hard for: Freedom, a sense of belonging, a life of value, personal character with unmistakeable morals and family unity. These motivations were often tested but never compromised and drove many of my ambitions throughout my life.

The next chapter of my life saw me having a failed attempt at a law degree, love life, starting a small business amongst many other things. These were all tremendous learning experiences. I then reverted to my interests in investments. It was during the final semester of my university studies in this area when I met, at a time when I was least looking, a lovely girl who would later become my wife.

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