Deaf Sri Lankan refugee honoured at City Lit Centenary Awards

Ilyaas Cader, a profoundly deaf Sri Lankan refugee who fled his war-torn homeland to seek asylum in the UK, making part of his extraordinary and perilous journey overland, was one of 11 honoured at the recent City Lit Centenary Awards in the presence of HRH The Princess Royal (Princess Anne).

Cader, 45, who was born deaf, is a former student at City Lit, a central London adult learning centre with a long association with deaf education, where he studied English, Maths and BSL. He is now a senior mental health worker for deaf children in east London.

He received his award from Princess Anne on Tuesday 2nd April as the college celebrated outstanding achievement. It is also marking its centenary year, and presented the royal with a prestigious Centenary Fellowship at the ceremony.

Born in Pottuvil, on the island’s eastern coast, Cader’s childhood, during which he attended the Kaithday deaf school at Jaffna, and used local sign language, was dominated by Sri Lanka’s civil war and all its associated dangers.

Cader, the youngest of a large Muslim Tamil family of eight, including two deaf sisters, said: “I came to the UK in 2000 at a time when my country was experiencing civil war. My brother suggested flying to Russia to escape, and I travelled with a cousin. It was very hard to make myself understood there, being deaf.

“One night, we set off on foot. I thought there may be some form of transport, but there was nothing. So, incredible as it sounds, I set off on foot for Germany with a group of 100 other refugees from my part of the world. As you can imagine, it was a cold, painful journey.

“During the day, we had to be quiet and stay close to the trees, sleeping rough. It was freezing, but we kept going until we arrived in Germany after three months. Eventually, we were able to get a coach and boat to England. It was a very rough crossing, but when I realised we had arrived here, I felt so happy.

“After we arrived, an interpreter was provided, but the Sri Lankan sign language I used was quite different from BSL. So we had to communicate with a combination of gestures and writing things down.

“I got my visa to remain, and moved to London, where I discovered City Lit and threw myself into learning. From that point on, I flourished.

“I know that some people lost their lives fleeing to Germany in those conditions, so there was terrible suffering. I thank God I survived and I am in one piece. I don’t think I’ll ever lose those painful memories, although I hope they’ll fade over time.”

Cader’s wife Astra, whom he met in London, is a Lithuanian playworker, and the couple have two children, a son of 11 named Nikas, and their daughter Vita, who’s nine.

Cader, who lives with his family in Lewisham, now teaches BSL once a week, and is an occasional BSL interpreter. But his full-time role is with the NHS in London’s Tooting Bec, working with deaf children in mental health settings.

He describes himself as ‘proud and thrilled’ to have won the award from City Lit, and hopes that one day his extraordinary story may be made into a book.

The Princess Royal, who had visited City Lit several times before, told the awards ceremony: “It is particularly encouraging to see how people of all ages and backgrounds come together at City Lit to challenge themselves and transform their lives.”

Mark Malcomson, the college’s principal, said afterwards: “The celebration also brought together past winners, who, like Ilyaas, exemplify the best of what we do. It was a real pleasure to introduce the Princess Royal to everyone there, and we have always found her support highly encouraging.”

City Lit is London’s biggest provider of short courses for adults, and was founded in 1919. Its association with deaf education has its roots in the help it extended to soldiers returning home from the First World War, who had lost their hearing while fighting. It now runs around five thousand courses a year, including courses in BSL, lipreading and English and Maths for deaf people, while offering a range of support and services for deaf students.

By Juliet England.