Puthiyavan Rasiah came to London from Sri Lanka in 1986 after being imprisoned for two and a half years at a detainment camp on suspicion of knowing rebels. In the UK, he first worked as an accountant before obtaining his PGCE, a teaching qualification, from Surrey University. He taught at Kingston College where he became the Course Manager. Puthiyavan also writes short stories, poems and articles for publication. He is now starting a career as a film maker.
Actually… I still feel a Sri Lankan. Few times, few times I thought of being, a Londoner or British. As few times when I watch cricket, I support England team. But when England plays against any other team except Sri Lanka, when they play against Sri Lanka, somehow I feel I support Sri Lanka and I wanted Sri Lanka to win so this is you know, that indicates that it is no clear cut off line there.
And the second thing is I have been to France a couple of weeks back to show my film and six of us in the van, gave the passport, British control I am talking about. This British Customs Officer or Immigration Officer asked me, 'Sri Lankan?' We were giving British passports and he was asking me, and I thought it is not us who have to change. They haven't changed either.
So I don't think, that question stayed in my head for nearly a week, and I don't mind asking oh right you are British but are you originally from Sri Lanka? Then that would have given me the confidence of being a British and treated as a British. Though I have a different skin and different cultural background and a language and things like, obviously you can ask are you, I asked you were you born in UK? I think that's a perfectly all right question to be asked but if I say you are a Sri Lankan, I am a British, a white man saying, 'You, you are a Sri Lankan.'
He just simply said, 'Sri Lankan?' and then we laughed and he asked me, 'Why you laughing?' and I said, 'We gave you the British passport and you're asking questions Sri Lankans and then if we are Sri Lankans we would have given you a Sri Lankan passport.'
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