At a fish market north of Colombo, Mallika Fernando had a message for me via my interpreter. “Tell him to take us to Australia by boat,” said the 57-year-old fish seller. She was only half joking, writes ChrisBarrett_
At a fish market in Negombo, an hour’s drive north of Colombo, Mallika Fernando had a message for me via my interpreter.
Now, as people struggle to make ends meet, some are looking for a way out and the boats towards Australia have resumed. Trawlers anchored in Negombo. The fishermen, intercepted west of Christmas Island on election day, travelled on a similar boat.Closer to Sri Lankan shores, three larger boats have also been stopped by its navy in little over a month – the latest on Tuesday with 76 people on board including seven children and six suspected people smugglers.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s new government has vowed not to divert from turning back boats, unwilling to return to the days during the previous Labor government when 50,000 people ventured to Australia on boats and at least 1200 died at sea.Pradeep Dambarage
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