The Extinct Art of Diving for Pearls
Braving sharks, venomous snakes and their own human frailty, the pearl fishers of the Gulf of Mannar would plunge deep into the depths of the Indian Ocean to secure their prizes; pristine,…
Colombo
Sri Lanka and the World: Towards a New Approach
Speaking in Parliament in 1996, Anura Bandaranaike dwelt on the legacy of his father and mother. He spoke of how the world had viewed Sri Lanka in their time and how it…
The Slow but Sure Process of Justice and Accountability
The past few weeks have seen a rapid escalation of justice and accountability mechanisms on the national and international landscape for Sri Lanka’s gross human rights violators; the nooses are tightening around…
Life (in and) After Death: A Story in Five Parts
Sudden death has been at the centre of my life the past few weeks. Two deaths that required me to navigate the legal systems of four countries. This entailed multiple visits to…
Rajapaksa Chickens Are Coming Home to Roost
January is usually a grim indication of the perilous state of human rights in Sri Lanka. It is reminder of the many cases that have gone unpunished with perpetrators still at large.…
Fighting to Free Wasantha Mudalige
Among the reprisals faced by prominent leaders of the people’s uprising last year were arrests, detentions, travel bans and continuing court cases. Many leaders have multiple court cases pending against them despite…
New Year Aragalaya
We have reached January 9th, 2023. We cannot go any farther or longer or deeper. We are at the turning point, on the cusp, early in the New Year, and we…
Selling the Family Silver
President Ranil Wickremesinghe has often been accused of neo-liberal tendencies. The term is used as a pejorative; this statement and many before it justify the label and reveals his ideological compass. It…
2022: What a Momentous Year for Sri Lanka
We all knew 2022 would be a challenging year for Sri Lanka even before its arrival. But no one expected it to be this difficult, hurtful, unpleasant, yet memorable. The country was…
The Year’s Fruits
What did this year bring? It brought the Palais des Nations in Geneva to hear my thoughts on poetry and diplomacy in the early months of the now even more…
Ranil Wickremesinghe and the Politics of Incompatibility
A recent World Food Programme (WFP) report underlines the magnitude of the food crisis in Sri Lanka. The report shows that 36% of the country’s households are effectively food insecure while 76%…
After an Extraordinary Year, Uncertainty
In some ways, in 2022, life for Sri Lankans has followed a similar pattern to previous years. A few have prospered greatly or wielded power ruthlessly, many have faced misery, protests by…
Rohingya Refugees in Sri Lanka
On December 17, 2022, fishermen in northern Sri Lanka alerted the navy about a boat in distress adrift in the sea. On December 18, the navy rescued a group of 104 people…
Aragalaya, Tsunami and the New Year Dividend
On this Boxing Day, eighteenth anniversary of the Tsunami I write about the year in which the Aragalaya swept up and dispatched the ruler of the ruling family. He fled first to…
Microfinance: Addressing a Social Disaster
Microfinance is an essential aspect of the economy where low income people often lack access to structured, formal financial services. Improved access to financial services among the low income population assists in…
