He lived a full life while taking up many causes

We mark a year since Ahmed Faiz Nizar passed away, in London, UK. Husband to Sirini for 46 years, and father to Shiyam and Shahan, he was known as Faiz by his family and close friends.

He was born to Abdul Hamid Nizar and Najmul Hidaya in Colombo, Sri Lanka on May 7, 1941. His mother passed away during childbirth when he was just 18 months. He was the youngest of four siblings and was brought up by his father and maternal grandparents in Wellawatte, Colombo.

Faiz led a complete life, and one that exuded remarkable balance and integrity. He had a hugely successful career that straddled three different countries. He was a devoted and loving husband, father and grandfather. He remained a respected father figure and mentor to his nephews and nieces and was never short of dispensing pearls of wisdom. He founded and led charitable organizations and was a pillar of his local community, both in the UK and Sri Lanka.

Faiz was supremely well read and cultured. There was a hardly a subject that he was not well versed in; he had a deep insight with regard to history, finance, economics, politics, religion, and the arts in general.

He attended St Peter’s College, in Colombo, Sri Lanka and obtained an honours degree in Geography in 1965 from Peradeniya University. He later trained as an Accountant and completed his Chartered Accountant qualifications in 1972. He progressed quickly to leadership positions - he became Deputy General Manager of Finance at the Insurance Corporation followed by becoming Managing Director of Lanka Orient Leasing Company, where he was an integral member of its rapid growth in the early 1980s. In 1985 he took up an appointment for a year in Tunisia as Financial Controller with a Saudi based multinational firm, before transferring to London with his family. He remained in the UK, thereafter, where he subsequently became involved with trading and finance and was an active member of the London Chamber of Commerce and a Director of the Merton Chamber of Commerce.

Faiz married Sirini in 1974. An exceptionally devoted family man, he never hesitated to place the needs of his family first. He guided their two sons, Shiyam and Shahan, with strong values and to become well-rounded and successful individuals in their own right as Consultants in Surgery and Anaesthetics, respectively.

Faiz dedicated considerable amounts of time and energy to numerous charities and organizations. He co-founded the International Sri Lankan Association of Muslims, UK in the early1990s, which helped numerous poor and destitute people from Sri Lanka. He was a founder member of the Sri Lankan Leukaemia Foundation UK and also a founder member and former President of the Sri Lankan Chartered Accountants Association (UK), which provided mentorship and networking opportunities for young Chartered Accountants in the UK.

He was also passionate about matters of injustice and oppression and was a member of the Campaign for Peace and Unity in Sri Lanka (in the UK) and a member of the Stop the War Coalition (in the UK) from its inception. Faiz volunteered as a steward in the million-man march against the war in Iraq, in London in February 2003. He was also a key figure in securing planning permission for the building extensions of his local mosque in Colliers Wood.

Faiz indulged in his appetite for travel and culture by visiting numerous countries across all continents together with his wife and close friends. He remained a keen sports enthusiast throughout his life and had a special fondness for all racket sports including tennis and table tennis. In 2007, he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease but continued to have a highly active and productive life. He displayed a remarkable level of patience and perseverance and maintained a strong will to make the best of all the opportunities afforded to him during his latter years when his condition became increasingly debilitating. In turn, his extraordinary spirit and positivity in the face of adversity inspired others close to him.

Faiz died with his wife, two sons and nephew by his bedside on February 10 2020. Faiz was someone who was truly unique and who genuinely touched all that knew him. He shall never be forgotten.