The Void in the Nation’s Heart
In early November 2019, a 45 year-old man in Northwest Sri Lanka sought divine assistance to find a wife. The intermediary was a former labourer who became a godman after his body…
Pandemic
The Roller Coaster Ride of a Rights Activist in Sri Lanka
COVID-19 has been dominant factor in our lives this year. Restrictions on travel and gatherings have made it more challenging for solidarity and mobilizing by survivors, victim families and activists. COVID-19 was…
Standing Up for Human Rights in the Time of COVID-19
This year’s Human Rights Day theme is “Recover Better – Stand up for Human Rights”. The theme directly addresses the COVID-19 pandemic and tries to recover better from the global crisis with…
A Litmus Test of Governance during the Pandemic
The detection of a COVID-19 positive case from a garment manufacturing facility in Minuwangoda earlier last month sparked new fears among the public while waking the government up from its fantasy of…
Military Drones Flying Over Privacy and Freedom
Many are familiar with drone technology as a highly advanced aerial technology. Drones have become increasingly useful for organizations such as the United Nations to provide relief and essential items including food…
Takeaways and Parallel Lines: 2020 US Presidential Election and Sri Lanka
A deeply polarised nation, a capitalist theme park, an embedded infrastructure of racism and segregation, and one of the poorest social welfare systems in one of the richest countries in the world…
Death in the Time of Corona: A Risky Business for Muslims
The question of the burial or cremation of COVID-19 victims took a bizarre turn to expose a government at odds with itself with Ministers and health authorities sending out mixed messages and…
Uncomfortable Truths with the Pandemic Response in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka is presently in the midst of a surge in COVID-19 cases with a lockdown enforced in parts of country. An island-wide lockdown earlier in 2020 witnessed the country coming to…
A Crisis in Communications
2020 has been defined by COVID-19; a year in which citizens, governments and medical first-responders found themselves in a whirlwind of unprecedented pandemonium. Adding to the confusion have been patterns of broken…
Corona with the Big Brothers
It is increasingly evident that the lasting impacts of the Coronavirus pandemic will not be merely health related. In the early stages of government efforts to contain the virus and over the…
Pandemic Exposes Exploitation of Vulnerable Apparel Workers
With the identification of COVID-19 infected persons associated with the Brandix Factory in Munuwangoda as the second wave of COVID 19, the apparel industry has gained significant attention within the discussions on…
Covid-19, 20th Amendment and the Shadow of Chinese Dominion
“ On October 7, Sri Lanka officially informed the United Nations that the government of Gotabaya Rajapaksas has successfully contained Covid-19. On October 7, 519 Covid-19 patients were identified in Sri Lanka.…
Understanding Pandemic Fatigue
Sri Lanka is seeing an uptick in infections with 1,307 total infections with 1,180 new infections confirmed within seven days, as of October 10. Amidst this increase an unhealthy narrative is starting…
Correct Messaging is Vital to Fight Covid-19
The sudden rise in the number of cases of Covid-19 has caused serious community concerns. Given the devastation that is being caused by the dangerous pandemic, prevention requires even more than eternal…
Human Rights and Democracy: Lessons from COVID-19
The pandemic is not the great equalizer that many claims it to be. In fact, COVID-19 has exacerbated social, economic and class divisions affecting the vulnerable communities the most. It has widened…