Fr. Augustine Berrewaerts the good Samaritan

by Upali Samarasinghe

Dissapamoks, in the classical Indian sense of Gurus produced men of letters, liberal values and sound judgement specialised in different disciplines. In the oriental society the teacher who taught both royalty and commoners was held in high esteem no second to their parents. Such teachers of eminence are a fast diminishing tribe in the hustle and bustle of the modern technological society.

The Roman Catholic priest, Rev. Fr. Augustine Berrewaerts is one such remarkable teacher who was a beacon of light to the Ampitiya village school in Kandy.

The benign influence of a teacher on his student is inestimable. He could mould and remould a student - a truant into an intellect. Tutor Brooks, an Englishman left a lasting impression on little Nehru, later a statesman and an eloquent speaker who became free Indian's first socialist Prime Minister. Such is the great influence a teacher could exert on his students.

In oriental society, a teacher is held in high respect by the society. Ex-civil servant and senior administrator Lionel Fernando, one time North-East Governor recalls his early school days at the feet of Fr. Berrewearts at the primary school in Ampitiya situated in an idyllic rural setting.

"I began my studies under the tutelage of Rev. Fr. Berrewearts. He was more than a teacher, a caring parent to us, students. He was a good samaritan in the hour of need. The very first day in school, he cast a piercing look on me from head to feet and said, "Be a good man", the words which still resonate in me. He presented me a copy of Dale Carnegie's, "How to win friends and influence people," Fernando said.

Kindness and persuasion were two strong weapons in his arsenal to tame both truants and miscreants alike. He was a strict disciplinarian with his cane hidden in the cassock during his daily rounds in the school.

Though a Catholic priest, Fr. Berrewearts never attempted to convert students to his faith. Students - Sinhala, Tamil and Muslim enjoyed themselves the full freedom of their faith without let or hindrance by the school authorities."He is no less than a doctor," Fernando said. He set up a 'Sick Room' in the school to treat sick students himself.

It looked more a casualty ward with a few beds and other auxiliary facilities . He also ran a dental clinic as he ensured healthy teeth in his charges. Students were warded for indoor treatment. What he does, he believed is a service to god.

"We were accustomed to treat Tamils and Muslims on an equal footing.

It was a curious sense of fellowship that he inspired in us. Thanks to my old guru, this is what helped me decades later to perform my duties as Government Agent, Jaffna acceptable to our Northern brethren," Fernando said.

"Over 80 per cent of the people in a remote Jaffna hamlet were widows who had lost their male breadwinners due to the LTTE terrorism. I had devised a method with other officials to issue death certificates to these widows to enable them to be beneficiaries to receive compensation or any other financial assistance. It was Fr. Berrewearts sterling qualities which I had inculcated in me to empathise with the poor and provide relief."

"His sense of benevolence still etched in my mind, is the driving force in me," Fernando said as he still recollects how one of his pals, Morris Ferdinando who was immersed in 'Beverest Vision' gave him a pair of black boots, a khaki shirt and pair of trousers to take part in a Cadet parade in Colombo.

The Roman Catholic school in Ampitiya was his brainchild. Merely naming the school after him as a mark of respect to his half a century service to the school, won't be enough. We should perpetuate his vision in us forever, Fernando said paying tribute to a saintly-like Guru."

Courtesy: Silumina

Translated by Michael Kittampahuwa.