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On the Road to a Mine Free
Sri Lanka
Minoli de Soysa
A protracted war leaves behind many legacies – grieving families, shattered limbs, destroyed homes, disrupted education, lost livelihoods and psychological trauma. One of the lesser known legacies is land blanketed with landmines and Explosive Remnants of War (ERW). In Sri Lanka this translated into 1.6 million landmines and ERWs spread over an area of 2,000 square kilometres.
Watch the video, view the photo gallery, or read more here.
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Rural Women Demand Relief from the Vicious Cycle of Debt
Nedha de Silva
In Sri Lanka, the introduction of unregulated microfinance based on neoliberal global and local models mushroomed in the late 2000s to a total clientele today of 2.8 million. Of this, 2.4 million are women. A decade later, stories of women victims of microfinance highlight that the reality is far from the rosy image portrayed at the introduction of microfinance.
"When these people came to the village it was like fairy tale come true but then it spread like a virus!”
Read more here.
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Where is the Kindness in Our Covid-19 Health Policy?
Shashika Bandara
Towards end of March, about two months into the pandemic, a TV program discussed the challenges of the pandemic response with politicians. A disturbing theme that was too prominent to ignore was the labeling of minorities as scapegoats for COVID-19. As a behind the scenes segment later showed the targeting was intentional.
The lie that a select group of people was solely responsible for the spread of a disease is like wildfire burning through communities. It is reckless, damaging and hurts us all.
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Saving Sinharaja: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly Green
Tharuka Dissanaike
The Sinharaja Rainforest has been in the public eye for a few weeks now. Is it being threatened by encroachment and development? Will it lose its UNESCO World Heritage status? Are there new hotel projects on its boundary? Will the Government construct reservoirs in its forests? Or, as the State media asserts, is this fake news expounded by environmentalists – political opponents of the government – with vested interests of their own?
Read more here.
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Bitter Sugar, Poisoned Oil
Uditha Devapriya
The recent scandals involving sugar and coconut oil should point the country to the dangers of private sector mafias and rent seekers. These are not your typical consumer goods: they are fast moving necessities, consumed by every class, from every income level.
Read more here.
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Drowning in Debt, Women Farmers Take a Firm Stand
Minoli de Soysa
Trapped between unscrupulous microfinance companies and duplicitous governments, Sri Lanka’s rural women farmers are drowning in debt. Over 200 have committed suicide, some with their young children; families have been wrecked and hard-earned possessions lost as they struggle to meet impossible demands made by big businesses intent on increasing their profit margins.
Read more here.
Groundviews spoke to victims of Microfinance loans who were inolved in the protest. Watch video excerpts from Priyanthika and Janaki.
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Bridging the Generational Divide to Prevent Future Conflict
Lionel Bopage
In my youth, in the 50s and 60s, there was no rapid industrial development. The JVP, the People’s Liberation Front of Sri Lanka was made up of university students, school children and unemployed Sinhala Buddhist youth who were battered by but aware of the deteriorating socio-economic and cultural situation in the decade of the seventies.
Read more here.
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