Faizer Mackeen , Consul General of Sri Lanka in Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia passed away at the age of 64. He suffered a cardiac arrest while addressing the Sri Lankan community at an event organized to commemorate the Independence day of Sri Lanka on 4 February 2017 at the Sri Lanka Consulate premises in Jeddah.
He was rushed to King Faisal Specialist Hospital& Research Centre, where he stayed 49 days until his death.
His wife and a son arrived from London while his daughter and the other sons arrived from Sri Lanka immediately, and stood by him until his final breath. His funeral took place at Makkah, Holy City of Islam.
The sudden demise of Faizer Mackeen is indeed shocking and his colleagues and the whole Sri Lankan community based in Jeddah sympathized with his family.
My acquaintance with Faizer Mackeen began 7 years ago when we participated at a workshop on “Migration and Development” organized by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) at Taj Samudra Hotel, Colombo.
I was impressed by the way Faizer shared his knowledge and experiences throughout the event. Since that day our friendship continued till his untimely death recently.
He hailed from Keselwatte, Panadura in the Kalutara district and studied at Arethusa College, Colombo 6. He was an MBA holder and a migrant consultant.
Mackeen was a politician and a social worker who rendered yeoman service to the community irrespective of religion, nationality, ethnicity or class. He was a kind, humble and simple gentleman who achieved a reputable position in society, while hailing from the common people.
Mackeen’s specialized field was migrant development in which he had more than 30 years experience.
He was a politician representing the United National Party and held the positions of Opposition Leader and Member of the Panadura Pradeshiya Sabha for more than a decade.
He contributed immensely to migrants’ rights and development, since their remittances are the highest foreign exchange resource in Sri Lanka. He actively participated in several local and international conferences, seminars and workshops, which was instrumental for stakeholders to deliver a better service to migrant workers.
He was a member of the expert team who prepared the National Migration Policy for Sri Lanka by the International Labour Organization (ILO). He was also a director of the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment on many occasions.
I had the opportunity to closely work under his leadership for nearly five months, when he was Consul General of Sri Lanka in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
During this period I realized that he worked as an experienced career diplomat who had a thorough knowledge about Sri Lankan foreign policy, International law, International organizations etc.
He maintained cordial relationships with other Consulates functioning in Jeddah and endeavoured to participate at national or cultural events organized by the respective missions.
His vision as Consul General was to provide maximum service to the Sri Lankan community working in Saudi Arabia, while maintaining a good rapport with them.
Despite being a former chairman of the Association of Licensed Foreign Employment Agencies in Sri Lanka-ALFEA, he appeared on behalf of workers’ rights whenever necessary. He administered the office in a well-structured manner.
He instructed all staff members to wear a badge of Sri Lankan national flag while on duty and he personally bought and distributed the badges to staff members.
At staff meetings, he gave an opportunity to all members to express their views. Interactions at those meetings made us bond like a family in a far away land.
He was a man with many talents possessing excellent culinary skills in addition to many professional skills. Although Faizer Mackeen is no more among us his service to the country, especially to the migrant workers, will be remembered for a long time.
Rohana Konara.