After decades of work, Christian World Service’s partners are hoping the political and economic crisis in Sri Lanka will lead to significant change for its people.

Young people have been rallying on the streets since early April as the country faces severe shortages of food and fuel. Support is growing as the government controlled by the Rajapaksa family refuses to step down or address the issues the people are facing.

Food prices have risen 25 percent between January and April 2022. Cooking fuel and petrol have doubled over the same period. At the end of April the World Bank stepped in when the government could not meet a debt repayment.

Padmini Weerasooriya of the Women’s Centre points to the deep tax cuts that only benefitted the richest people in the months before the arrival of the Covid-19 virus. The pandemic has wiped out parts of the economy, notably the lucrative tourist industry and remittances from family members living abroad, she says.

In April 2021 the government banned all chemical fertilisers, hitting the farm sector – a decision later reversed but widely noted as a precipitating factor.

Desperate to increase foreign exchange, the government put pressure on garment sector workers as an essential service. The workers have to work in close quarters at the country’s factories without breaks or extra salary, despite the efforts of the Women’s Centre and the Free Trade Zone Union.

Padmini says factory workers do not have time to queue for food. Workers on the minimum salary of 16,000 rupees (around NZ$75) a month are in an impossible situation, especially those trying to send money to family in the country’s rural areas.

The Women’s Centre, Devasarana and Monlar (Movement for Land and Agricultural Reform) are supporting the people’s call for justice and a better Sri Lanka for all of the country’s 22 million people.

Devasarana Centre and Monlar work primarily with the rural sector promoting agro-ecological techniques in an effort to improve livelihoods and replenish the land. All three partners support the plight of plantation workers and actively bring together Tamil, Sinhala and other communities to break down the barriers that have been used by politicians to divide the country.

“CWS partners are sharing skills and resources with some of the most vulnerable families in the country. Staff and supporters are organising local communities to sustain livelihoods, foster understanding and push for fair wages and conditions. We stand with them in their dedication and commitment,” says Murray Overton, National Director.

In early April the National Christian Council of Sri Lanka released a statement expressing the need for more action from the government.

Caption: In mid-April representatives of the Devasarana Development Centre visited the protest village in Colombo. The marches and protests spread to many villages and cities including Kurunegala where it is based. They have been supported by people from all walks of life, including artists, scholars, professors, dignitaries and student groups demanding a change in government.