Bringing Them Home – The Need of the Hour For Migrant Workers
From Lithuania, Italy, Korea, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and other many countries the plea is the same: bring us home. From cities and villages across Sri Lanka the plea is the same: bring…
Author: Minoli de Soysa
Sri Lanka’s Education System Needs an Overhaul
Achieving a 92 per cent literacy rate, universal primary education, gender parity and free education including at the tertiary level, Sri Lanka should have literate, numerate and confident young people ready to…
Setting the Record Straight on Human Rights
Human rights is a much misunderstood and maligned concept in Sri Lanka. It is sometimes seen as a Western notion and not in keeping with the culture of the country. However, people…
Wanted: A Princess Diana to End the Stigma of AIDS in Sri Lanka
When Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) was first discovered in the early 1980s, it was considered a lethal disease, easily transmitted and a death sentence to all who had it. People with AIDS…
Everyday Traumas for Women Living in a Violent, Patriarchal and Misogynist Society
A senior policeman’s daughter accidently drove into a car showroom, causing costly damage. Her father was so angry that he went to the police station she was taken to and assaulted her.…
Sri Lanka Set to Lose More Forests
Environmentalists are up in arms once again as the government withdrew two circulars that protected 700,000 hectares of forests, which are now in danger of being destroyed so that the land could…
Police Torture Routine, Widely Practised and Accepted
Two young men from Ambilitiya, Shanaka and Eishan Wickramage, were arrested on suspicion of theft. At the police station, they were tortured. Family members said the police denied having taken them into…
Sexual Bribery: The Open Secret
Since 1971, Sri Lanka has been embroiled in two revolutions and a civil war that have seen families shatter, brutal death, homes lost, loved ones missing, economic ruin and psychological trauma. As…
The Government’s Hollow Words Fly in the Face of Facts
The government is being criticised by the UN Human Rights Council and foreign governments for a range of human rights violations including increased surveillance and intimidation of those seeking justice for their…
Fighting the Pillage of Sri Lanka
In a rare victory for Sri Lanka’s environmental defenders, the government has decided to cancel the gazette issuing legal documents to people illegally occupying state lands. A concerted lobbying effort by individuals,…
The Cost of Development at Any Cost
As the country hurtles along the path of development at any cost, its environmental defenders are facing a host of challenges on all sides. From illegal road construction and illegal clearing of…
“Where, where, where?” They Ask
It was a dramatic moment: a tall, well-built young man dressed in white with a black band tied across his forehead pushed his way through the closed gates of the church premises…
Search for the Missing: A Testament to the Enduring Power of Grief
Until recently, the Office on Missing Persons (OMP) was housed in a magnificent colonial building in a leafy Colombo suburb that used to house members of parliament; now it has been relegated…
Violence and Abuse Deter Women From Entering Politics
The Daily Mirror In a country that produced the world’s first female head of state 60 years ago and has since seen the election of a female as its executive president, women…