Life after this Death?
“All that is solid melts into the air…” Marx and Engels (The Communist Manifesto) The socio-economic edifice that is Sri Lanka’s informal sector is collapsing. According to the 2020 Labour Force Survey,…
Human Rights
Yogarasa Kanagaranjani’s Journey for Justice
“March 25, 2009. I remember that day very well. How can I forget it? That was the day I saw my son for the last time. That was the day I last…
Ananthy Sasitharan: One Woman’s Relentless Quest for Justice
Thousands of women across Sri Lanka are searching for missing their husbands, sons, daughters, brothers and sisters. The long and tragic history of enforced disappearances goes back to the first JVP insurrection…
Child Labour: Remedies in a Humanitarian Crisis
Our numbers are good, that is, if you glance at them and move on. We are proud to acknowledge that we have some of the lowest rates of child labour in South…
A Failed Government is Destroying Our Children
In May 2022, over half a million 16 year old Sri Lankan children sat their O’Level examination. Passing this exam is necessary for them to continue with their schooling. This batch (referred…
Moving Towards True Reconciliation
In May this year, a Sri Lankan living in Australia was seen tearing up a flyer on the Tamil genocide commemorations at a #GotaGoHome protest. He said, “Do you think there was…
Chandraguptha Thenuwara’s Covert at Venice Biennale
Welcome to this conversation with one of Sri Lanka’s most renowned artists, Chandraguptha Thenuwara. I don’t think those who are listening need an introduction so I will go straight into ? It…
The Disappeared and the Struggle of Love
“1971 was for a few months. 89 for more than two years, and the war? The war went on for 30 years…10,000 in 1971, 60,000 in 1989 and in the war, of…
Anatomy of Violence
There has been a lot of violence and also a lot of talk about violence in this last month. It shouldn’t come as a surprise because violence has underlined our Sri Lankan…
We want the Power of Equality, Justice and Love. Not Love for Power.
In late April, women from movements and collectives in the North and East marched into GotaGoGama in Galle Face to voice their concerns and issues in solidarity with the struggle in the…
Questions of Justice and Accountability
As videos of helicopters taking off in the early hours of Tuesday May 10 appeared on social media, rumours swirled that some members of the Rajapaksa family had fled Colombo. While the…
PTA Amendment Bill: A Facade for Backdoor Human Right Violations?
Counterterrorism and protecting human rights has been a long standing dichotomy on a global scale. The same fate was experienced in the Sri Lankan context with the civil war and internal insurrections.…
Building Bridges with Stories
Unsalted Porridge “Where do you suppose they must be serving porridge today?” Most of their mornings dawn with this question. Waking early, standing in line, pot in hand – that steaming hot…
The Tamil Struggle, the Aragalaya and Sri Lankan Identity
May 18, 2009. The end of the war. Of the many horrific visuals of the end of the war the one that is etched in my memory is of people crossing the…
Ensuring Political Stability for Economic Recovery
The Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) calling the IGP and the Army Commander for questioning about the failure to prevent the attack on peaceful demonstrators on May 9 is an…
