Exactly ONE MONTH ago on December 2nd 2014..we lost a GREAT HUMAN BEING in the person of ALLWYN FERNANDES-a communicator par excellence , a courageous and truthful journalist , a loyal witness of Christ and his teachings and a wonderful friend.
At the invitation of THE COMPANION magazine I completed and sent in this piece on him just before he died. A slightly edited version of this under the title
ALLWYN FERNANDES: COMMUNICATOR PAR EXCELLENCE
appeared in their December 2014 issue.
May Allwyn truly enjoy the eternal happiness
to which he has been called.
WE MISS YOU ALLWYN!!!
ALLWYN FERNANDES: A COMMUNICATING PERSON FOR OTHERS
-Fr.
Cedric Prakash sj*
If a person like Allwyn Fernandes can be
described or contained in one statement it will have to be ‘a communicating person for others’; but
this too is rather limiting if one were to go deeply into the concern this man
has for others and of his total commitment to a cause.
Allwyn is (in Church lingo) a ‘layman’
and a complete one at that. Enid, his wife for almost forty years now often wonders
why several of their good friends and even strangers often ask her “is Allwyn an ex-Priest?” or “was Allwyn at any time a Jesuit?” Not
sure if such questions are meant to be compliments, but it does say one thing
that there is something solid about this man – he does radiate something very
special.
While Allwyn’s forte has always been communications, there are two other C’s
which are hallmarks of this extra-ordinary person: his concern for others and his high degree of commitment.
From the time Allwyn was a little boy,
he has shown a tremendous concern for others.
The eldest of seven siblings (he has a brother and five sisters) Allwyn
was ‘the big brother’ who was always there for them: concerned about what they
were doing and always ready to help them. In small and big matters, Allwyn feels
that ‘the other’ has to come first. As a student of St. Xavier’s College,
Bombay where he graduated with Physics and Maths in 1969, Allwyn stood out in
extra-curricular activities and particularly in social work.
The post-Vatican II period was a
spring-time for the Church and particularly for a country like India. The best
way Allwyn felt by which he could combine ‘living his faith with a concern for
others’ (which Vatican II so strongly emphasised) was to plunge into a ‘Christian
Life Community’ (CLC), the international association of lay Christians who have
adopted an Ignatian model of spiritual life. This group which was formerly
called the ‘Sodality of Our Lady’ was renamed CLC in 1967; drawing its
inspirations from the teachings of St. Ignatius of Loyola, ‘the members of the CLC are encouraged to adhere to a lifestyle which
is Gospel-based and simple, to serve the poor and to integrate contemplation in
action’. So Jesuits like Frs. Benac and Sidney D’souza from SEVA Niketan (which
was Allwyn’s haunt) encouraged him to be a person for others.
Here in SEVA Niketan (‘on the 6th
floor’, one is reminded) Allwyn met Enid D’souza (another committed CLC member)
in October 1974. They married in January 1978.
Today, Enid and their two children, Rohan and Rohini, easily testify of
what a loving husband and doting father Allwyn has been to them all through the
years. They unanimously say that Allwyn always had time for the family and he
would never permit anything to invade this sacred space.
Another dimension of Allwyn’s concern is
that people (and particularly the Church) are not doing enough for justice and
truth. Allwyn has always epitomised righteousness and he gets down-right angry
when the Priests and religious are not transparent enough and do not take a
stand for truth and justice. Allywn fumes when the Sunday sermon of a Priest is
totally alienated from a reality or a particular context; when Gujarat was
burning in 2002 or the Christians were attacked in Orissa and in Karnataka in
2008, Allwyn has always wondered why several Priests seem to be totally oblivious
of what was happening. These traits of his, are also misunderstood by several
and some think that he is just a ‘grumbler’ or a ‘complainer’ or simply ‘being
negative’; however, when we look at the bigger picture, one has to accept that
in Allwyn, one sees a person always concerned about people and what is
happening in the country today.
Allwyn is a communicator ‘par excellence’.
He feels that his involvement with the CLC inspired him to do something ‘different’
for Church and society. So in 1969, he decided that journalism would be his
career and for a good 25 years worked with the ‘Times of India’ in Bombay
rising up to be their Chief Reporter.
As a journalist, his blog says ‘he
always took up for the under-dog doing a series of investigative stories,
getting a closer view of life on several topics in the Times of India’. His stories range from noise pollution, the
railways and to the plight of ordinary workmen.
In 1987, there was a petition filed by three
women’s groups from Andhra Pradesh in the High Court seeking the Court’s order
to ‘deliver’ nine nuns whom they considered were “forced” to live behind bars
in a Cloistered Convent there. From Bombay, Allwyn realised that the
petitioners really did not understand the meaning of a Cloistered life and how
young women voluntarily embraced this way of life. He felt that it was his duty that a right
picture had to be given to the Court and to the country. He sought out Janet
Pinto who then had a top job with Hoechst. Janet was for three years in the
Cloistered Convent in Bombay from 1974 – 1977. In a brilliant piece entitled “A
Cloistered nun reminisces” (TOI, Bombay November 27th 1987), Allwyn
was able to put things in perspective as Janet very poignantly and positively
described her experience in Carmel; and that was the article perhaps that
ensured that the Andhra High Court threw out the petition.
About twenty years ago, Allwyn made a
career-switch ‘and joined a Public
Relations Agency to see what life was like on the other side of the fence. A life-long learner, as he calls himself,
he has published among others a biography of Mr. MR Pai, India’s Ralph Nader’. Allwyn has always wanted to share his
professionalism with others. He has been invited as a facilitator / resource
person to programmes organised by the CBCI and has gone several times to other
Asian countries to train Bishops to be communicators at the request of the
Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences (FABC). In a recent communication to
Allwyn, Cardinal Oswald Gracias writes, ““I
appreciated your help very much in many matters. You will remember that I took
you to address the CBCI Bishops and later on the FABC. You helped me often in
the FABC Final Statements”
Allwyn, however, has never understood
why the Church in India and particularly the Bishops have not seriously taken
their statement of the 26th CBCI General Body Meeting, (Trichur,
January 2004). He often brings to one’s attention the core of this statement
entitled ‘Called to be a Communicating
Church’ which says “Media, we
recognize, are ‘gifts of God’ to humanity. They are in “accordance with his
design to unite people to unite people in fellowship” and help them “to
cooperate with his plan for their salvation” and work for the “unity and
advancement of all peoples” (Communio et Progressio, n.2). The signs of the
times would demand that we all be media conscious. While encouraging people to
be media users, the Church must dutifully alert our people to the threats being
posed by the present mass-media and educate them, particularly children and
youth, to use the media for authentic and wholesome lives in accordance with
the plan of God. We need to motivate all
our Church personnel to actively participate in the new opportunities created
by media and the information technology to share the Good News and spread the
Kingdom of God by fighting the menace of crime, corruption and communalism.”
In the wake of the attacks on the
Christians in Orissa, Karnataka and other parts of India in 2008, a very
restless Allwyn strongly felt that something had to be done. So he contacted
his friend John Dayal in Delhi; in a recent email message to John, Allwyn
writes, “you will recall that it was
exactly 6 years ago when the American Banks crashed and you were fighting the
massacre of the Orissa tribals, while I was stunned at the violence in an
otherwise peaceful Mangalore, which had befriended the Hindu community and
built its social infrastructure. The picture that shocked me was that of
Christ’s broken limbs which shook me to the bones. I suggested to the bishops
that they make that the symbol of Christianity in India at that point, in every
Christmas Card sent out that year. As a second step, we would start informing
the community about what was happening in the church, in the world and in the
universal church. This, we have tried to
do as honestly as we can.”
Allwyn and John ultimately launched the
group (A communicating Indian Church communicating-church@googlegroups.com) which today
has several laymen and women, nuns and priests exchanging news, views and
opinions on several issues related to the Church and the country at large.
Thanks to Allwyn, this group in some small way has truly been realising the
2004 vision of the CBCI: ‘to be a Communicating Church in India’.
Allwyn is above all a deeply committed
person. He has been exemplifying this in several ways. In 1965, he completed his SSC from Fatima
High School, Vikhroli – as the school’s first ranker – which is no small
achievement.
On December 1st 2014, he
completed full twenty years with Edelman
(which is regarded as the world’s largest public relations firm) as the
Director of Media Practice in India. In a citation to Allwyn, on that day Mr.
Robert H. Holdheim, CEO Edelman (South Asia, Middle East & Africa) writes, “Veterans like you are the backbone of our
organization. You’re a role model to the many colleagues in our teams and to
young people who have just joined our company who are embarking on their
careers. We appreciate your commitment and years of hard work that have helped
to make Edelman one of the premier firms in public relations...we want you to
know that we appreciate your loyalty and devotion.”
Several of his colleagues in Edelman
also presented him with a dossier appreciating what he has meant to them over
the years. Rakesh Thukral writes, “Since the time I joined Edelman, I have
always admired you. Have been inspired by your selfless commitment, remarkable
energy and work ethic. Every conversation with you has added value to my
perspective and every piece of work we have done together has been enjoyable.”
It is indeed difficult to write about a
great human being like Allwyn Fernandes - for some he is an enigma, his
candour, his fearlessness and his frankness ‘to call a spade a spade’ has
certainly upset others; but when one looks at the invaluable contribution, this
one man through his concern,
communications and commitment been
making both to the Church and to the country, one surely has to thank the Lord
for a great gift: the likes of which one rarely sees!
December 1st,
2014
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