Sri Lanka rising

Sri Lanka is currently going through the worst economic crisis it has seen in decades. Arguably the nation had been in better shape even through the decades-old civil war which lasted through the 1980s until 2009.

Maldivians aren’t strangers to the effects of the war. Maldivian passports made quick work of checkpoints and the odd forays of being slightly detained during curfews, which they endured as did the people of Sri Lanka, between explosions and unrest throughout the country. In fact, Maldivians have always been happy to travel to their neighbour for education, health and even as a getaway destination — it is seen, even through ever escalating hurdles with visa requirements for anything other than a social visit, very much as a “home away from home” destination.

Thousands of Maldivians have made Sri Lanka their home for a variety of reasons — from those who want to avail themselves of the more accessible, specialised, medical care to those who want to retire away from the Maldives while still staying close enough to their relatives and loved ones; and everything in-between. This is why most Maldivians look on in sadness and shocked horror as Sri Lanka seems to be imploding economically and administratively — the former brought by the poor decision-making and policies of the elected government of the day.

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, and even leading up to it, the current administration had made key missteps that has led to the situation the nation finds herself in now. Huge, unchecked, external debts while exacerbated by the pandemic, had hardly been managed in any sustainable manner. Add to that several blunders, such as the banning of certain fertiliser imports that adversely affected crop yields during the pandemic and the government’s reluctance to admit, even now, its mistakes and policy failures, has placed Sri Lanka in a precarious situation.

The population has been suffering through regular, and extended, power cuts that have stymied everything from essential services to small and medium sized businesses. A fuel shortage has affected local supply chains already facing challenges posed by global supply issues — with even school transport prices spiking past reasonable. Tests have been postponed due to a lack of availability of paper to print them on — yet the central bank has been printing money in the millions causing the value of the Rupee to plummet. All of these issues have affected the most marginalised, and the least economically prosperous, the worst — and is quickly making its affects felt upwards to the middle class and beyond. Yet the government, it seems, has refused to listen or even acknowledged their larger responsibility to the population. Sure the pandemic, and other incidents, can be construed as valid reasons that led to the current situation, but, as the party that has been tasked with guiding a nation forward, the administration seems only to hold up their hands and profess that, since this is not their fault; it is not their responsibility — conveniently scapegoating circumstance, and the population, for the situation the nation finds herself in.

The government front men have been happy to indulge in travel to destinations both near and far, partaking in the celebrations of others as their country slowly but surely falls further and further into ruin. A largely family run affair, not unlike what used to be, and still is to a large extent, in the Maldives, ministers and other government officials react in a manner that paints them far detached from the challenges of the everyday Sri Lankan — divorced from those who stand in fuel queues and are suffering through power outages that affects everything from little comforts to home-office, or other home based small businesses. They play act in their media appearances, at the expense of their constituents, and they waste precious time even during parliamentary proceedings set to discuss imminent issues. Even the opposition, much like in Sri Lanka’s neighbour towards the equator, has largely failed their duty to the public, and to the nation’s democratic ideals.

As such the current wave of anti-government protests have been a long time coming. The administration of the day has had every opportunity, and then some, to civilly respond to its populace — and they have failed to do so at every single turn. Now the calls for reforms echo in social media and spill out onto the streets. #GoHomeRajapakshas and #GoHomeGota speak to the pent up frustrations of the local populace speaking to the ineptitude and the detachment of the governing elite from the people.

The protest have largely been civil, controlled and anchored in a desire for the current administration to step down and make way for a government that will put serious consideration towards fixing the problems of the day. Throughout the country people of all ages, races, religions and social backgrounds have gathered, peacefully, calling for the current administration to step down. While the government has made a show of “adjusting” policies — the entire cabinet, sans the Prime Minister and the President, resigned only for some of those who resigned to be issued with alternate portfolios followed again by resignations as protests went unabated — it is clear that current tactics are laced in the need to still cling on to power in an environment where the public largely has no confidence in them. However the fact that such tactics are being deployed might suggest that the government is now aware of how unpopular they really are. And the fact that the protests have kept up momentum, yet have not devolved into violence, might give them the indication that the inevitable is here.

To be clear, the departure of the current government, through loss of public confidence, is only the first in a long laundry list of things that the nation has to go through in order to right a ship that has been taking on water for an unsustainably long time. But, given the current environment, the longer that transition takes, the harder it is going to be to get the nation back on its feet.

The Sri Lankan people have spoken time and time again. They have taken their voices out into the streets because the government has otherwise refused to hear them. It is well past time that the people, who the government is supposed to govern for, be heard. And as a people who are in solidarity with their neighbours to the east, Maldivians will forever hope for the good of their Sri Lankan friends.