Sri Lankans are feeling the squeeze of an economy under severe strain.
Basic goods such as milk and lentils are being rationed, unemployment has risen, and now, the government is making power cuts.
Sri Lankans who lived through the economic crisis in the 1970s worry that it will get even worse.
Al Jazeera’s Natasha Ghoneim has more.
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#SriLanka #Economy
اخي اول كلامي يشهد الله اني لااكذب عليك ولا انصب ولا احتال اني بنت يمنيه نازحين من الحرب انا واسرتي استعجرنا بيت الشهر ب 20 الف يمني والان علينا 60 الف حق 3 شهور وصاحب البيت من الناس الي ماترحم والله يااخي انه يجي كل يوم يبهدلنا ويتكلم علينا ويريد من البيت للشارع لاننا ماقدرناندفعله الإجاريروح الئ ائتلافات نبكي ورجعو تكلمو الجيران ومهلنالاخره الاسبوع معادفعنا له حلف يمين بالله هذا بيخرجنا إلى الشارع رحمه واحنا بلادنا بسبب هذا الحرب ولانجد قوت يومنا وعايشين اناوامي واخوتي صغار والدنا متوفي الله يرحمه ومامعنا أحد في هذا الدنيا جاانبنا في هذه الظروف القاسيه ومامعي اخوان في هذا الظروف اخوتي ولكن انا بنت لااستطيع الاطلاع على البيت للشارع وشافو البيت للشارع وشافو الجيران ياكلو راوقفووعند بابهم لجلوهم ولوخبزه يسد والله الذي له ملك السموات والارض انهم غلفو الباب وطردوهم ورجعویبکوا یمنومن عیش والان لوما احدنا ساعدنا في إيكيلو دقيق اقسم بالله انموت من الجوع فيا اخي اني دخيله على الله ثم عليك واريد منك المساعده لوجه الله انشدك بالله تحب الخير واتساعدني ولو وتطلب اسم بطاقتي وترسلي ولاتتاخر وايعوضك الله بكل خير فيا اخي انت رجال إذاشفت اسرتك جاوعين المستحيل من اجل تامن لهم الأكل ولكن انابنت عيني بصيره ويدي قصيره ليس لي أب مثلك واخواني شوف كيف حالتهم وساعدنا وأنقذنا قبل أن يطردونا في الشارع تتبهدل أو نموت من الجوع أنا اقسم بالله الذي رفع سبع سموات بلاعمدوبسط الارض ومهداني لااكذب عليك بحرف من ه ذا الرساله واني ماطلبتك إلى من ضيق ومن قسوت الضروف والحال الذي احنافيه وانا واسرتي نسالك بالله لولك مقدره ﻳﺎﺃﻫﻞ ﺍﻟﺨﻴﺮ ﺍﻟﻲ ﻋﻨﺪﻩ ﺍﻟﻘﺪﺭﻩ ﻋﻠﻰ ﻣﺴﺎﻋﺪﺗﻨﺎ لايتاخر علينا لحظه هاذا رقمي واتساب 00967716649494 الذي يقدر يساعدنا يراسلني على الواتساب نرسله الاسم الكامل يحولنا بقدر استطاعته الله يجزيكم خير.،……………………….
Send it to china
Putin should invade
Let it become part of China
Blame the economic hitman.
Sad …People select clown … pay off now
It’s sad another economy is going bankrupt. People are the biggest sufferers of some bad decisions by government’s economic blunder.
Just sell another port to China.
Sri Lanka’s problem is Chinese debt.
Sri Lanka owes more debt to Japan and the IMF though…
Its not because of chinese debt its because of corrupt politicians who buying luxurious properties in Australia
hey go check it out. China’s debt is ONLY 10% of total debt.
In fact China helped Sri Lanka when Sri lanka got nothing and going bankcrupt by investing into Sri Lanka. China saved Sri lanka.
your India did nothing
No, it’s Communism
Welcome to India sir come sir india
They pick a CHAV to translate
Sri Lanka is facing its Karma for sitting at China’s lap.
Sri Lanka should get merged with India. India will repay all its debt with its $640 billion foreign-exchange reserves
When you have a right wing government in form of Buddhist fascism then karma sooner or later pays a visit. No sympathies and wish the country goes bankrupt soon.
India and Sri Lanka should become one country. We speak the same Indo-Aryan/Dravidian languages, same religions like Hinduism and Buddhism, same curry-infused cuisine, and Indian prince named Vijaya founded Sri Lanka. So, we should be one country along with Nepal. (Bangladesh and Pakistan now have different religion and adopted Arabic culture.)
@Kevin Castelino I have knowledge of every inche of India. Giving wheat doesn’t change the truth that India has world’s largest number of poor people or 30% of population lives less than dollar a day. Giving Wheat and all this things are just diplomacy.
Starve to death is better than unification with India
@Dewan Ahsan Thats because those countries can afford it .India never be able to afford any kind of sanctions plus I dnt think they want to make a u-turn towards economy that they had in 70’s.
@Dulan W not now, but at the current rate, it will pass the US economy by 2050. It can for sure by then.
@Dewan AhsanAs well they might have doubled the number of mouths to feed plus dont have enough oil storage to run the economy for along time
Sri Lanka votes repeatedly for right-wing nationalism, autocracy and military dictatorship so that’s what they get. This population should start to learn to think instead of always voting for the same corrupt family which is only good in looting money for their own big pockets and excel in making propaganda against minorities. This country has so much potential but they do not want to use it. It is sad but they have written their own sad destiny.
How long have they been voting for the same family? What is the name of this wealthy political party?
Communist Party is ruling country, explains all
You are on obviously wrong. But far rightwing call everything communism so that figures.
Ideology
Social democracy[5][6]
Sinhalese nationalism[7][8]
National conservatism[9]
Left-wing nationalism[10]
Anti-federalism[11]
Anti-Imperialism[12]
Populism[13]
@Hans Bjorkman But Sri Lanka has government regulated economy with too much focus on dump wellfare schemes and oppression of free media .
@Hans Bjorkman bla bla here comes psudo-intelectual
Sri lanka should merge with india…we will repay all your loans…our south india is quite similar to Sri lanka…
We will happily starve to death rather than merging with your Incredible India at any point…🤢🤢🤮🤮🤮
@Jeewani Wijesinghe stick to that decision. The tamils will be very happy.
@satyaambler oh really… Sri Lankans included several millions of tamils as well..happy to see that tooo
@Jeewani Wijesinghe 👏👏👏 this is price you pay for voting those pseudo nationalists rajapakse brothers. Their hands r dripping with the 🩸 blood of tamils.
@satyaambler if some random looser like prabakaran happen to appear again some where in our country and tries to bring back their tamil eelam, we will happily vote for anyone who can crushed them to death…
Now you keep on clapping idiot..
Blame the loans from china
More like the politicians who squandered the loans.
The people who took the loans benefited. The country will be bankrupt forever now. Corruption
Blame it on the Crypto Miners🥲
This is what BJP wants in India as well
India belongs to Hindus. Go back to Pakistan.
@True That 🤡🤡🤡
I am a Hindu. Bjp did only good to corporates not poor hindus
Another beggar neighbor of India. We don’t have money to give to your people. Go beg from someone else.
i hope india next
Srilanka commited the worst genocide on native tamil people.
Now Karma is catching up.👍
Happy begging Srilanka 😂🤣🤣😂
Another poorly run country. Lots of debt and now its pay time.
Exactly what happens when the corrupt politicians get loans from china and fill their accounts. All the forex goes in paying interest in dollars.
China dead trap 😂👍
Covid 19 has taken it toll on the entire world.
things were difficult enough with austerity and recessions and then c19 .
Sri Lanka is with only 1 other country, i hope they get better, they seem like a nice geographical location.
Why did this country allow China to enter its territory.
Famine?
Hope situation will improve quickly.
Perfect situation for China.
I wish well for our neighbors and hope the economy becomes better in this year.
Thank you
Haaa every india neighbour which has good relation with china is going bankruptcy 😢😢first srilanka then nepal and pakistan always have been
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Majority of people should responsible for re-electing the most corrupted political family to the power, lot of outrageous going around the country at the moment.
Vietnam no gas too!
China thanks for lending them further money for the ports they no longer control.
Super corrupt nation as always, the few live life’s of luxury the rest are pizz poor.
ගොන් යක්කු, නාඩගම්කාරයෝ වගේ ගොන් නාට්ටි බල බල ආතල් එකේ ඉදපල්ල, උබලට ඔහොම වෙලා මදි.
Join the Indian union as a autonomous state as we share total cultural and religious lineage be it buddhism begining from Ashoka the great’s time😌🙏🙏🙏
@Jeewani Wijesinghe You just better care about your high living standards..lol😂😂….China and India are there to fulfill your basic needs😂😂😂
@Shubham Jadhav no I will keep on telling that till I get bored..🤣🤣🤣
Your conversation is too tempted to stop man..typical Indian😆
There’s nothing better in social media than having some Indian bragging about their country while degradating all the others around 😂😂😂
@Jeewani Wijesinghe Now you are becoming ungrateful backstabbing Beggar…..this is not the way you should talk to your master😂😂😂😂😂😂
@Jeewani Wijesinghe me too enjoying conversation with typical Hifi lankan….lol😂😂
@Shubham Jadhav You never need to declare a crisis when those things are already exists for decades.
இலங்கை நாசமா போக காரணம் தனி தமிழீழம் பிறக்காததே
Must respect to all ethnic community.Using tactics to humiliate others for staying power Will boomerang.It’s happening now.Should get lessons.
its karma of what they did to Tamilians
every sri lankan is hit by this what is your problem? irrational idiot
You idiot…Sri Lankan tamils are not spared by any of these problems…
Sri Lanka should give back the Island we gifted them near tamil nadu
@Kartik Chauhan no no you are from ‘Incredible India’.how can I get wrong
@Jeewani Wijesinghe Sri lankans live in a Delusion of them being superior in South Asia
@Kartik Chauhan No way….how can we think like that when best of the whole universe Great Bharath is our next door neighbour??
@Jeewani Wijesinghe 😌
Now you are on the track
Good
Just Spread This Message All Around Sri Lanka
😂🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
@Kartik Chauhanoh sure my lord..now plz go back to your royal sleep & keep on dreaming..
countries calling it a squeeze but its far worse then that every where .
The govt who took those loans benefited as individual and their families. The citizens are now paying the price for the legal looting of their country
Working class both Sinhalese and Tamil must be friend. Ruling Sinhalese leader played ethnic card majority people get addicted and now facing the consequences.
This country killed more than 100,000 Tamils and committed war crimes to eliminate Tamils aspirations to live in peace and harmony with their cultural identity. And still after 12 years of war no solution to Tamils living in north and east . No surprise that their sins pays its wages
Don’t show off your stupidity here…every srilankan, including all tamils living here are equally affected by all these economical problems..
The hand of idlers leads to poverty,
the hands of the industrious enriches.
The way things are going, I feel we all need to step up our games. I’m a huge fan of earning more money, and I think everyone should have a side hustle. Side hustling can allow you to earn that little bit of extra money that can help you achieve your financial goals faster – whether it’s paying off student loans or saving for retirement.
@Jarrett Macurdy I totally agree. Not everyone has the capacity to achieve that. But then they are more useful ways to achieve than just letting your money rest in the bank. And yes I don’t do it all by myself I invest across the top markets but not by myself though. I follow the guardians of my IA. I can correctly say she’s worth her salt as an investment advisor as her diversification skills are top notch. I say because I see that in her results as my portfolio grows by average of 30 to 60% on a monthly basis. She helps people in gaining financial freedom
That’s great , your investment advisor must be really good,I have seen testimonies of people using the help of investment advisors in making them more financial stable. Do you mind sharing more info on this person?
@Jarrett Macurdy yeah she is thankfully I’d definitely be glad to recommend her and Sure. Just check her on the internet her name is JANE POLIDORO PAGE. She works with anyone independent of their location
Sorry If I am interrupting, I have heard a lot about Jane polidoro page on Facebook and on the web and also I have seen a lot of testimonies of her on some YouTube videos.
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A country that treats its citizen,badly, no respect for rule of law, fails to maintain social harmony and justice will collapse.
People forget so fast – only reason for this situation is because of COVID. Government prioritized health over economy. Sri Lanka was brilliant in controlling covid and saved many lives.
But this meant that TWO years of tourism revenue was lost because the country was closed- that’s $5 billion per year for a total of $10 billion, 10% of GDP annually. If this regular income was there there would be no Forex crisis, no oil purchase crisis and therefore no powercut crisis. If also not for COVID there would not be an inflation crisis – which is affecting most countries in the world.
Keep things in perspective people.
Sri Lanka soon ready to join with Venezuela Lebanon and Zimbabwe
It is called Karma for what they did to the Minorities since 1947, specially what they did to Tamils in 2009, Srilanka really deserve this.
Sri Lanka had structural issues
Bloated public sector
Corruption and impunity
Labor laws that’s has hardly changed with time
Central bank goes on rampage with money printing in lieu of currency board
Loss making SOEs
Just to name FEW
ලන්කාවේ පකාලට මොලේ නෑ.. පෝලින් වල ඉදපන් ලයිට් නැතුව ඉදපන් .. කාලකන්න් දැන්වත් පුරුදු වෙයන් උපයන් කන්න ..ලගට ගෙනත් දෙනකන් නොයිද
උපායන් කන්නේ කොහොමද හුත්තෝ ගෑස්, තෙල්, විදුලිය නැත්නන්. බේකරි, බස්, මාළු බෝට්ටු, ගාමන්ට්, ගොවිතැන් එතුලු එකී නොකී මොකක්වත් කරන්න බෑනේ හරකෝ
@Max Liya ඒක තමයි පකෝ කිවුවෙ. නොකා ඉදපන් පකෝ අපට පුකද😂😂
@Max Liya තව ආතල් ඉස්සරහට… අඩෝ කාල රීල ඒව කාපන් .. අන්න ආයෝජන
Chinese want to help let millions of them move there they will bring prosperity
When Covid retreats, tourism will flourish again. Hope SriLanka remains strong and pulls through this year, without falling prey to any more debt traps of China.
This is what happens when rulers for the last 3 decades are full of corruption…..
Srilanka can join india with autonomy.
Ruler’s responsibility, nothing else
People should start considering solar.
But they still playing good Cricket
One country different laws where the common citizens are allowed with rationalized fuel ⛽️ which can be utilized only by spending hours in queues outside fuel stations. Having such challenging situation still the superiors / leaders use a vehicle squad of 3-6 vehicles to travel to different places within the country… Facts to think twice… Not only the leaders responsibility the attitude of higher seats in government institutions which needs to be immediately fixed. In a country like Sri Lanka where we have numerous possibilities for power generation yet we are utilizing imported oil resources for the supply of power to the nation but why? It’s all because each an every person gets a cut aka commission at each stage of acquiring the required resources. In a financial crisis like this our Mr. President asks for loans and build the roads, what if we don’t have fuel for the vehicles, power generation, would the roads / transportation infrastructure help?