Four Sri Lankans talked to The Post about their fears and even despair as economic distress and political chaos ensue in the island nation.
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — Gotabaya Rajapaksa has left the building, one joyous Sri Lankan wrote on Twitter after the country’s presidentThursday. The island nation’s extreme economic distress and political chaos had triggered huge protests calling on “Gota” to quit, and while his sudden departure brought an end to those demonstrations, it left the government in the hands of an unpopular acting leader and most people deeply worried about what comes next.are visible throughout the capital.
I don’t know what else to do; I have to ensure my children have a future. If someone offered me a job abroad, I would go. I never wanted to leave, but there is no point now in living here.A single woman living alone, Mudalige loved her job at one of Colombo’s largest malls — helping people shopShe would dress up every day, put on makeup and on her break from work enjoy a meal of nasi goreng at the food court. Such meals are only memories these days.
I eat a quarter of what I used to eat. Right now, all I have left is half a plate of boiled rice, a little tea and one packet of biscuits. I go to the protests to get food to eat. The crisis has forced me to become a beggar.No one has asked me in all these days how I am doing. You’re the first. I pray to Lord Buddha to send me a savior. I have given my passport to an employment agency to look for a job abroad.
Last year in August, when I saw a huge queue for cooking gas in my hometown, I told my father that if people came on the streets to protest, I will join them. I was doing a Facebook Live near the presidential office when the police tear-gassed the crowd. There was no plan to storm any building; the police action propelled the public.
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