Success feels sweet after struggle, says Lankan-born Deena
Sri Lankan-born Deena Tissera achieved a significant milestone by being elected councillor of Scotland’s Aberdeen City Council for Hilton, Woodside and Stockethill ward, last week.
Deena: Elected to Aberdeen’s city council
Deena joined the Labour Party five years ago and has been serving as the Vice Chairwoman of Aberdeen Central CLP since 2017. Her election “felt very sweet,” she said. “The moment I found out I had won, there was no time to waste – next thing you know they take you on to the podium and they announce the results and it was a whirlwind. I’m still processing it.”
But it hasn’t been easy. She has faced racism, sexism and misogyny during her political career, she tells the Sunday Times Magazine. When in February she won the vote to be named a candidate for the City Council elections for George Street and Harbour ward, she had to face a controversial revote caused by the internal gatekeepers – an attempt to block her candidacy, Deena says. “It’s been a tough journey for me but I always say that my struggles are the source of my strengths.”
A product of the British School in Colombo, Deena moved to Scotland 11 years ago to attend Robert Gordon University where she studied Biomedical Science. She went on to complete a master’s degree in Global Health and Management at the University of Aberdeen and is currently working towards a PhD in public health at Aberdeen University.
Her interest in politics surfaced when she was still an undergrad. She was elected Vice President of the Student Union representing international students for three terms. During this time, she co-founded the South Asian Students’ Union (SASU) and initiated national campaigns across the UK on immigration issues affecting student visas. These resulted in the alteration of some major immigration laws which negatively impacted international students, she says.
A finalist at the Miss Sri Lanka pageant for Miss World in 2010, Deena is now using her extensive background in public health to address major public health issues in her ward, most common of which she says are drug and alcohol issues among young adults in particular as well as domestic violence. “It got me really emotional while we were campaigning to see the amount of drug related issues cropping up.” She and her team are looking forward to bringing some interventions to tackle these issues as well as combat the poverty and inequalities experienced by deprived communities in some neighbourhoods.
Deena Tissera: All set to take on her new role
An outspoken supporter of women and minorities in politics and leadership positions, in 2017 Deena was one of the five women in Scotland chosen for the first cohort of the Jo Cox Women in Leadership programme with UK Labour, a development programme in memory of MP and Chair of the Labour Women’s Network, Jo Cox. This year, Deena was also appointed as the chair for the Northeast of Scotland for the G100, a group of 100 global women leaders which aims to create an equal, progressive and inclusive environment for women worldwide.
She shares that she is eager to bring women into leadership positions and assist them in their careers through mentoring and leadership training. “I always say shattering the glass ceiling is one thing but building bridges is the most important thing – I want to take a lot more minorities and women with me.”
She joined politics “because I love people,” and took great inspiration from her late father, a medical Doctor in Sri Lanka having joined him in his humanitarian work across the island. “Having had that experience as a child I understand what humanity, empathy and compassion mean and how important they are. That kind of experience was invaluable. It also taught me that leadership doesn’t mean that you have to always be aggressive; it also means to be empathetic and compassionate and I will always take that with me.”
Despite her elation at having secured her new position at the Council, like many other Sri Lankans living overseas, she is saddened by the worsening conditions in her home country. “I am very sad to see the current situation right now. From the time I was born I have never seen something like this even during the war. It’s an economic and political disaster right now. I call on all the leaders and MPs of Sri Lanka to come forward and do right by people.”
“There’s a massive Sri Lankan community here and all of us are upset about what’s going on. We may be in another country but our hearts will always be with our home,” she says.
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