After the Blaze: Review of Venthu Thaninthathu Kaadu
I went to watch (Dark Days of Heaven) with some trepidation as I had no prior knowledge of the film or its director and no recommendations to go by. I feared it…
Districts
Postponing Elections and Voting Dilemmas
The recent suggestion by United National Party (UNP) General Secretary Range Bandara to hold a referendum to postpone elections by two years caused an outcry and was quickly denied by senior UNP…
Sri Lanka Falls Short in its Responsibilities Towards Refugees and Asylum Seekers
In 2023, the number of refugees and asylum seekers (those with pending refugee applications) in the world increased about 8.75% from 45.9 million to 50.3 million, according to statistics of the UN…
The Impact of the Gig Economy After the COVID-19 Pandemic
The tides of work in Sri Lanka are shifting and Gen-Z is at the forefront of this change. The COVID-19 pandemic served as a catalyzing factor to throw young adults into this…
Searching for Pride: Learning to Unlearn
June is the #Pride month where we commemorate, celebrate and recognize Two-Spirit (North American specific term to recognize two-spirit Indigenous folks), Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex, Queer, Questioning, Asexual and additional sexual…
Lending Sri Lanka’s Voice to the Palestinian Cause
Although Sri Lanka is a world away from Palestine local activists, motivated by the slaughter and suffering that the Palestinian people are undergoing in their own land each day, are carrying out…
New Strategies Needed to Fight Rising Online Child Abuse
The increasing prevalence of online child abuse has emerged as a pressing issue not only in Sri Lanka but globally as well and demands urgent and multidimensional responses. The digital age has…
The Unmet Mental Health Needs of the North
The ramifications of Sri Lanka’s civil war live on in the north, especially in the matter of mental health where the lack of human, physical and financial resources to address complex trauma…
Former Female LTTE Cadres Face Challenges with Reintegration
With the end of the war 15 years ago, thousands LTTE fighters surrendered to the government and were sent to rehabilitation camps, which they refer to as detention camps. The government considers…
Climate Change: How Serious is Sri Lanka?
Climate change is one subject that has consistently dominated the world headlines over the past decade. Increasing consumerism fuels large scale fossil fuel usage and damages the natural environment. This results in…
The Folly of Delaying Elections
President Ranil Wickremesinghe, unlike his predecessors, was not elected by the people of Sri Lanka. He was appointed by SLPP MPs to replace the ousted President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. Mr Wickremesinghe is working…
Reconsidering the De-gazetting of Vidattaltivu Nature Reserve
As both a developing nation and a biodiversity hotspot, Sri Lanka has to tread a delicate balance between conservation and development. The recent decision to degazette portions of the Vidattaltivu Nature Reserve…
Sajith Premadasa and A.K. Dissanayake Tied in Voter Poll
The Institute for Health Policy’s (IHP) Sri Lanka Opinion Tracker Survey (SLOTS) MRP provisional estimates of presidential election voting intent in April 2024 show support for NPP/JVP leader A.K. Dissanayake dropped to…
Sri Lanka and India’s Regional Dominance
When the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) was hosted by India a couple of months ago everybody sat up and took notice, especially those old enough to recall that once-revolutionary movement’s strident, even…
Presidential Elections: A View from the North
For the first time, Sri Lanka’s presidential election in October will have three main contenders – President Ranil Wickremesinghe contesting under an independent symbol, the SJB represented by Sajith Premadasa and the…