New Zealand’s Sri Lankan community is raising funds and lobbying hard, as an economic and political crisis deepens in their homeland.
There are fears ordinary people could face starvation, as the embattled Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa clings to power.
On Friday the streets of Colombo saw some normality, after fiery protests engulfed the capital earlier this week. However, the quietening of protesters doesn’t mean the economic crisis that’s affecting the island nation of 22 million has disappeared.
“There is no gas, there is no petrol, there is nothing to eat, there is no medicine,” says a Sri Lankan resident.
At the markets today, vegetable sellers finding it hard to make a living. “However much we earn is not enough to live. We cannot even save,” says one of the sellers.
For weeks now people have been protesting against the government’s mismanagement of money, leading to skyrocketing food prices and a dire fuel shortage.
One Sri Lankan resident who spent hours waiting in line to get fuel says, “they’ve deployed the army because people are killing each other at fuel queues”.
Without power and fuel, businesses and schools have had to close for long periods, and surgeries have had to stop midway.
All this leading to protests erupting in police clashes this week.
Tear gas and water cannons were used to quell the peaceful demonstrations. A social media blackout was imposed for a few hours and so was a curfew, but protesters continued to take to the streets.
“I went for one [protest] on Monday and that protest ended up being one of the largest ones in Colombo. It was like every race, every religion, every economic background, so many people united together is just an indication of how bad the situation is. Even though it was a very sad situation I was proud to be Sri Lankan that day,” says Sri Lankan Kiwi Shaarya Karunaratne.
He went back a month ago to visit his dad who he hasn’t seen in over a year. His trip taking quite the turn this week.
“There are 13, 14-hour long power cuts, there’s been a shortage of petrol, but personally [I’m] coming from a place of privilege because the things that other people have to deal with, people just can’t afford to live anymore. There’s just shortages of all kinds here, so it’s a really scary situation,” he says.
Doctors have been out on the streets too this week warning the entire health system could collapse. A medical emergency was declared, the country bracing for shortages in medicines like Panadol in the next two weeks.
And it’s all being blamed on the Rajapaksa’s. They’re a political dynasty notoriously known for nepotism.
At one stage over 40 family members held government roles when Mahinda Rajapaksa was President. He’s now the Prime Minister and his younger brother Gotabaya Rajapaksa is President. They’ve faced lawsuits in the past for war crimes allegedly committed during the country’s civil war.
This week some of their own family members walked out of parliament, leaving Gotabaya Rajapaksa and his party scrambling for solutions. Resignation however not one of them.
“What they’re doing is reshuffling their cabinet so someone will resign, and they’ll put the same person into a different position,” says Karunaratne.
How Kiwis can help
There are 16,000 Kiwis part of the Sri Lankan diaspora here in New Zealand.
“I have my cousins, uncles, aunties, good friends... all are there, I’m worried about the situation in Sri Lanka,” says the president of the United Sri Lankan Association in Wellington, Ranjith Nanayakkara.
Their association is planning a fundraising event in the coming weeks to help their homeland, and they’re urging Kiwis to get on board.
“This situation, we have to sort it out very soon otherwise its going to be a disaster,” says Nanayakkara.
As Sri Lanka’s foreign reserves dwindle he says the best thing to do is to send foreign currency.
“Desperately at this time Sri Lanka needs foreign currency, so it goes to the banking system, and they can cash that money and get food items. We have to have some kind of a tangible solution. This will actually help in two ways, one is we give help to needy people but at the same time the country gets foreign currency,” he says.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern yesterday said they’re monitoring the situation carefully and seeking policy advice.
Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta said in a statement to 1News: “New Zealand strongly upholds democratic values and institutions, including free speech and the right to peacefully protest. We encourage all parties in Sri Lanka to continue to work to find a peaceful solution through dialogue, exchange and democratic processes."
Last Sunday there was a silent protest held in Auckland and tomorrow there will be yet another one held in Wellington, with demonstrators calling on the government to condemn the current Sri Lankan regime. A petition has also been launched for this.
“I saw a lot of people here appreciating the support from around the world, but people are just tired and angry,” says Karunaratne.
The Sri Lankan government is now seeking help from the International Monetary Fund, as mass shortages cripple the lives of its people.
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