11th May 1997

Foul; foul; foul

The widow of the slain Papua New Guinean ruggerite Joel Pera speaks to Shelani de Silva and Jennifer Paldano:

While internation ally renowned rugby player Joel Pera was bid a quiet farewell here, he will be accorded a hero’s parting in his homeland Papua New Guinea where his body will be flown to a far away mountain to be laid beside his ancestors.

Joel was shot opposite the Carlton Casino in Colombo in the early hours of May 1. Controversy surrounds his killing here, but the death of one of their nationals has created a furore in Papua New Guinea with his countrymen reacting with shock and disbelief.

Pera’s wife, Vanessa Selvaratnam was busy making arrangements to take her husband’s body back to Papua New Guinea last week. She said that high ranking government officials, ministers and thousands of Papua New Guineans were eagerly waiting to have a final glimpse of their ‘gentle giant’ .

It was at a rugby match in 1992, when the PNG team toured Sri Lanka that Vanessa and Joel first met. What attracted Joel was Vanessa’s unusual hairstyle. Her braided hair reminded him of a popular hairdo in his tribal homeland. This day was the stepping stone to a quick romance that saw the two pledging their love for each other. Joel was such a well known sportsman that his marriage to a foreigner made news on PNG TV and newspapers.

Joel with Vanessa visiting relatives back in Papua New Guinea
"Despite our different backgrounds we got on very well. We visited Papua New Guinea a few months after our marriage and his family warmly accepted me into their fold. They always accepted whatever Joel did. He was very keen on introducing me to his fellow tribesmen and as a result we travelled quite a bit. I was never taken aback by their customs and lifestyle. But Joel who was used to our rice and curry missed the spicy food."

According to Vanessa, Joel’s toughness was limited only to the rugby field. As a family man he was a possessive and caring husband.

"I wanted him to give up playing professional rugger and concentrate on a career. Being a qualified accountant he had hopes of settling in Australia. At times he would admit that he was growing old for the game."

As a coach Vanessa claims that Joel earned a substantial amount, although she was not dependent on him.He was not a compulsive gambler, although whenever his pockets were full, he would place a bet, she said.

"I always told him that he could never beat a casino. Of course he never won. On the night of the shooting I was told that Joel had lost quite a bit of money. His idea of night clubbing was to have a drink with his friends and enjoy an outing."

On the day of the incident Vanessa said she had been at the Carlton casino, while Joel had been with his friends elsewhere. She says she does public relations work, including organising bands and singing at the casino.

Her version of the tragic events that unfolded that fateful night was as follows:

"On the day of the shooting I sang a few songs with the band and I left the club around 4.20 in the morning. According to my friends Joel had arrived at the club around 4.30. It was the first time the two of us were not in touch for nearly a day. Usually he would always call me from wherever he was and sometimes pick me up on his way. It was during this short time that everything happened. Many allege that I was present when the incident occured, but if I was there Joel would be still alive. I’ll give anything to have him back for the ten minutes we missed each other. I don’t know why God didn’t allow me to stay those few minutes at the club," she said

That day Joel had decided to stay on longer as his fellow countryman, another ruggerite, was alone in the club.

Today many fingers are pointing at Vanessa and her lifestyle in the aftermath of the killing and she is disheartened that in a time of crisis instead of helping her, people are dragging in her past, which she claims is entirely irrelevant to her husband’s killing.

"Just because I’m a friendly person and go night clubbing, people think badly of me. Even my close friends have been calling me to ask what all the rumours are about. What matters now is not my past, but who killed my husband and why. Whatever my past, Joel was willing to accept me for what I was and start anew, leaving my past behind."

To Joel, Vanessa was his ‘Lewa’ a PNG word meaning my love, my life, my heart . When she went to Australia in December, she says Joel called her constantly to say he was lonely and asked her to return. So her three month vacation with her father was cut short.

"He never drank at home and although he was hefty and looked tough he was what you could call a gentle giant, reminisced Vanessa’s mother.

"He was very caring, so much so that one day when I spoke harshly to Vanessa he said that I should not speak to his wife in that manner. I turned back and said that before he met her she was my daughter. But he insisted that now Vanessa belonged to him."

Vanessa is determined that the truth about her husband’s killing should be brought to light.

"My mother insists that I should go to Australia to settle. But why should I run away from my husband’s killers," she says.

Vannessa left for PNG on Friday morning unaccompanied. According to her she was advised not to make the trip alone.

"They are a friendly people, but at the same time they are hot tempered, especially when a tragic incident like this occurs. Now, they are going through mixed emotions like anger, sorrow, frustration and helplessness. They feel that Joel was there for them, but they couldn’t be the same for him. His grandfather died of a heart attack after receiving the news and his mother has cut off her fingers, unable to accept her son’s death. I was told that she has been at the airport from the time of his death awaiting the body. I was also told not to be surprised by the rituals that will be performed and the thousands who will be there."

The body will be taken to Papua New Guinea today (Sunday). It will be first taken to the university, where Joel obtained his degree. After the family performs their rituals, the body will be taken to his village and then air lifted to the mountains for burial.

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