I’ve been following the feeds from my friends on the ground in Sri Lanka, along with the news at the Times, CNN, etc. It certainly looks like almost entirely peaceful mass protests have finally driven a war criminal and his cronies out of power. Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa said he will resign on July 13.
I’m cautiously glad, and hope that my homeland can finally starting climbing out of the economic hole the current corrupt and greedy government has dragged it into. Schools have been closed, patients haven’t been able to get to hospitals because there isn’t fuel to drive them there, there are food shortages everywhere — it’s a nightmare.
I keep thinking, though — the population was willing to put up with these people in power, no matter what they’d done during the conflict, no matter how many Tamil civilians were slaughtered in the Vanni in the last days of the war.
As long as people can mostly live their daily lives, tomorrow much the same as yesterday, they mostly ignore the government.
I suppose that’s what most people want, day to day, to be able to predict and plan for the future, so they can work towards better lives for themselves and their families. As long as people have that in their own small communities, they’re willing to put up with a great deal of evil and corruption from those in power. Standing by, as their rights (and votes) are stripped away.
Where are America’s hundreds of thousands turning out into the streets to protest Roe?
Bread and circuses — the Romans knew it. When the Sri Lankan government failed to provide the most basic bread, their days were numbered.
Hoping for better days to come, and better leaders. Hoping the World Bank is generous with its loans and doesn’t require austerity measures in exchange that will be more than likely ineffective if not actively counterproductive.
Holding the people of Sri Lanka in my heart.