{"id":22221,"date":"2013-06-26T02:05:11","date_gmt":"2013-06-26T06:05:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/?p=22221"},"modified":"2013-06-26T02:06:08","modified_gmt":"2013-06-26T06:06:08","slug":"courageoussunday-leadereditor-frederica-jansz-battles-to-begin-new-life-in-the-usa-as-a-political-refugee","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/?p=22221","title":{"rendered":"Courageous”Sunday Leader”Editor Frederica Jansz Battles to Begin a New Life as a Political Refugee in the USA"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Lauren Padgett (Editor)<\/strong><\/p>\n

In 25 years of investigative journalism in Sri Lanka, Frederica Jansz has seen it all, and was forced to leave it all behind.<\/p>\n

She has a price on her head and can never return to her native country, after standing up to an oppressive government through journalistic expression.<\/p>\n

Jansz\u2019 journey to Washington as a political refugee is complicated and painful, but with two sons happily enrolled in local schools\u2014one at Pierce College and the other at Sunrise Elementary\u2014she hopes to begin a new life here as an American single mom.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

But, even with her outstanding credentials, it’s proven a difficult battle. <\/p>\n

\u201cI am starting to feel hopeless \u2013 I know I\u2019m not going to be able to find a job in Puyallup. But the children don\u2019t want to move again. It\u2019s been such a trauma already, to leave everything behind,\u201d said Jansz, over a cup of coffee. \u201cThey love their neighborhood. They love their schools. If I can find work, I\u2019d like to stay here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jansz began her career as a war reporter for Visnews, the television arm of Reuters, during the Sri Lankan Civil War. She interviewed war heroes and guerilla forces alike. This work took her to Parliament, where she cut her teeth in investigative journalism. <\/p>\n

As one of the only female journalists in Sri Lanka, she established herself as a respected political reporter and became the anchor of a morning news TV show. She also became a mother and built her dream home, from the ground up. <\/p>\n

It was when she was asked to take over a politically fueled investigative newspaper, The Sunday Leader, that her life took a dangerous turn.<\/p>\n

“Since 2009, over 60 journalists have been forced to leave the country. Since the current government came to power in 2005, 14 journalists have been murdered,” said Jansz.<\/p>\n

The Sunday Leader, launched by two brothers, was attacked nine times in its tenure. The presses were burned down twice. One of the founders was murdered in broad daylight on his way to work by three men on motorbikes, who shot at him.<\/p>\n

When Jansz took over as editor, she was quickly launched on a \u201croller coaster ride\u201d of death threats and intimidations from the government leaders she criticized.<\/p>\n

But in the end, it was a story about a puppy from Switzerland that had her fearing for her life.<\/p>\n

\u201c[The Sri Lankan defense secretary] was trying to fly a puppy dog from Switzerland for his wife. In order to do so, he had a pilot friend at Sri Lankan Airlines change his flight roster, so he could fly the dog down,\u201d said Jansz. \u201cHe wasn\u2019t qualified to fly the bigger plane, but they floated 56 passengers so this pilot could bring back a puppy dog from Zurich.\u201d<\/p>\n

After the story published, Jansz said the defense secretary went \u201cberserk.\u201d The paper\u2019s cofounder sold The Sunday Leader to the government and Jansz was promptly fired.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe paid the price. He lost his brother and just wanted out,\u201d Jansz sad. \u201cThe Sunday Leader was the last remaining independent paper in Sri Lanka.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even though she was fired, it wasn\u2019t enough, Jansz said. There were written apologies about her work and multiple court dates\u2014the government threatened to impounded her passport and she was told she would go to jail.<\/p>\n

Men began following her around town and showed up at her house, threatening her family.<\/p>\n

\u201cVarious people said to me, you are a mother. It\u2019s clear what is going to happen to you, and they aren\u2019t going to let you go,\u201d said Jansz. \u201cI endured the threats for years, but I didn\u2019t have the protection of the newspaper anymore. I was on my own and figured it was time for me to be a mom, and not a heroine.\u201d<\/p>\n

A kind U.S. Ambassador befriended Jansz and gave her and her sons entry into the United States. <\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t have friends or family in the United States. I always vowed I\u2019d never leave Sri Lanka, but I had no other options,\u201d said Jansz. \u201cWith a Sri Lankan passport, you have to get a visa everywhere you travel. With a warrant out for my arrest, there was nowhere else for me to go.\u201d<\/p>\n

She chose Washington because of its proximity to Canada, where her cousin lives. Jansz said she would like to immigrate to Canada, but the laws are tight and she would not be able to get citizenship there, as the United States was her first port of entry.<\/p>\n

Then, she got connected with a Sri Lankan family in Puyallup. They told her they were opening a steak and seafood restaurant downtown and that she could invest in the business. <\/p>\n

\u201cHe convinced me to invest $30,000 in the restaurant and he cheated me out of my money. These are the only people I knew here, and after I gave him the money, nothing was happening. I started asking questions, then nothing worked out.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jansz said she has gotten about half of her money back, but isn\u2019t sure she\u2019ll ever fully recoup her losses.<\/p>\n

\u201cI got punched in the guts by the first people I trusted here,\u201d she said. \u201cI had to appeal to people in Sri Lanka to get my money back.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now, her main priority is finding work. <\/p>\n

\u201cI would like to continue to write. That is my passion, what I love doing,\u201d said Jansz. \u201cBut I would also be interested in marketing, or public relations.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jansz was invited to sit in on an editorial meeting at The Seattle Times, but was told that no positions were available. Landing a newspaper job is challenging, but she\u2019s hoping that once her immigration paperwork is finalized, she will find something in her field.<\/p>\n

In the meantime, she spends time with her sons and is trying to build a life here. The Seattle Sri Lankan community is small. Puyallup\u2019s is almost non-existent. <\/p>\n

In her quiet Puyallup neighborhood, she said the most surprising thing about her new American neighbors is their disinterest in travel and other cultures.<\/p>\n

\u201cI make a point to travel, because I believe it\u2019s a form of education. But what struck me about a lot of the people I have met here is, they don\u2019t travel and aren\u2019t open to other communities. Some have never owned a passport, or even been to Canada. But, I am starting to understand why,\u201d said Jansz. \u201cWhen I look around, they\u2019ve got everything. They have two vehicles, sometimes three. It\u2019s all right here. They feel like they don\u2019t need those experiences.\u201d<\/p>\n

As she begins a new life in America, Jansz is still haunted by what she\u2019s been forced to leave behind.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have a terrible pain when I think about it all. It\u2019s the mundane things that I miss\u2014I dream of this one sandy, gravel road in Sri Lanka. I desperately miss my home. I loved my country and I never wanted to leave, but I had to force myself to put it all behind me,\u201d said Jansz. \u201cI have to shut that door and move on. As long as I look back, I cannot move forward. And every day, I get a little stronger.\u201d<\/p>\n

COURTESY:puyallup.patch.com<\/em><\/p>\n

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by Lauren Padgett (Editor) In 25 years of investigative journalism in Sri Lanka, Frederica Jansz has seen it all, and was forced to leave it all behind. She has a price on her head and can never return to her native country, after standing up to an oppressive government through journalistic expression. Jansz\u2019 journey to …<\/p>\n

Continue reading ‘Courageous”Sunday Leader”Editor Frederica Jansz Battles to Begin a New Life as a Political Refugee in the USA’ »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[12],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22221"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=22221"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22221\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22223,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22221\/revisions\/22223"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=22221"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=22221"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=22221"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}