Sri Lanka: Trouble in paradise

Sri Lanka, the ultimate island travel destination, has been in the headlines for all the wrong reasons. We are in the middle of our worst economic crisis in history, with rock bottom foreign reserves and absurdly high inflation rates. All major sectors are affected and people are lacking basic essentials such as food, medicine, cooking gas and fuel. Daily electricity cuts and queues of unimaginable scale have become commonplace across the country, resulting in the deaths of fifteen people so far. 

In response, a people’s movement unlike any seen before in the world – insofar as the speed at which those in power were disposed of peacefully – has bloomed. As the movement has emerged, so too has the hope for a new Sri Lanka and all that encompasses; economically, politically and culturally. I am humbled to have been a part of this ever-evolving movement and share it with the world.

Roots of crisis

As wonderful as this paradise island is, Sri Lanka is a post-colonial, developing nation that’s had its fair share of hardship. The bloody civil war – that endured for almost thirty years and ended as recently as 2009 – devastated lives and families, rendered the North-East of the island inaccessible and underdeveloped and resulted in the loss of around 100,000 lives. 

The war resulted in a bloated military budget that has…