Sri Lankan’s high hopes end in gruesome tragedy in UK

by Amanda Abalakada

Higher education in a foreign country is still a luxury which many local parents can ill-afford for their children. Yet the few who achieved this goal brag that their offspring will one day reach professional heights in their home country. But for Thavisha’s parents this was only a distant dream. Thavisha Peiris, the 25 year-old Sri Lankan student went to England in 2011 to study at the Sheffield Hallam University. He was working full time delivering pizza when fate struct a cruel blow on a freezing night in Sheffield.

Peiris was all set to return to Sri Lanka in November but destiny decided otherwise for the young talented engineering graduate. His parents keenly looked forward to the arrival of their talented were dumbfounded when they heard that he had been brutally killed and his remains would only reach Sri Lanka.

Tavisha Lankidu Peiris resided in Koswatta, Nawala with his parents and a brother. He was an obedient teenager fond of his parents and made every effort to pass all examinations that came his way. His parents who recognised his ability granted him whatever were within their means to fulfil his future dream.

According to his teachers at the President’s College, Rajagiriya Thavisha was the cynosure of all eyes. He took part in many sports at the school with his friends and never neglected studies.

Having left school, he joined the Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology (SLIIT), Malambe. Completing his initial education in information technology at the SLIIT, Thavisha decided to go to the United Kingdom for further studies. He got himself admitted to Sheffield Hallam University as an IT student in 2011.

Thavisha lived with five friends under the same roof in a shared student accommodation. After obtaining his degree from the Sheffield Hallam University he had joined the pizza shop as a delivery man to earn some pocket money. “He was a bright, hard-working, intelligent and caring man who had worked hard to develop his career in Sheffield,” one of his friends disclosed.

“We cannot believe what happened to my brother. We had a lot of expectations for him. On October 25 he wished his father on his birthday. We were confident that he was safe and healthy the way he spoke to us. He was doing well and living happily in the UK and was planning to return to Sri Lanka at the end of this year,” his elder brother told the Sunday Observer.

According to his brother, Thavisha was an devout Buddhist who he had taught in a Sunday School whilst pursuing his higher studies. Loyal and humble, he lived a solitary life.

He had been working at Domino Pizza in Halifax Road having completed his degree in IT at Sheffield Hallam University in 2011. “My mother, father and I were anxiously waiting to welcome him when he returns to Sri Lanka with a degree, he said.

On that fateful day we had come to know that he was stabbed to death in Sheffield and was found dead at the wheel of his car at night in Southey, Sheffield. We were also told that he was on his way to deliver a pizza. Tavisha had left the restaurant to make a delivery in Southey Crescent and when the customer called to say he had not arrived, his colleagues went looking for him.

His death is a tragedy that has caused untold grief to his mother, father and brother and many of his friends in Sri Lanka as well as in Sheffield. This tragedy is an eye-opener for parents who send their children to foreign countries for higher education, spending their hard earned money.

It should also awaken the diplomatic community to raise the issue of the safety of Sri Lankan students studying in overseas educational institutes.

Pix: Nanda Ekanayaka, Kotte Central Gr. Cor.