As governments fail to establish a common cause in the face of economic disaster, Sri Lankans are fleeing to India

New Delhi : 19 Sri Lankans arrived in Tamil Nadu on Sunday as the country’s economic crisis worsened. The number of Sri Lankan economic refugees in India has risen to 39 as a result of this migration. The most recent refugees to arrive in India said they sold everything they owned and paid Rs 2 lakh for each family to board a boat to India. The families were given food and water by some local merchants. The migrants have been lodged in the Mandayam camp by local officials, who expect more refugees to migrate to India as a result of the fuel and food shortages. On the evening of Sunday, the much-publicized talks between Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and his former supporters, led by Maithripala Sirisena of the Sri Lankan Freedom Party, produced neither reconciliation nor answers to people’s sufferings. Sirjsena had approached Rajapaksa with a specific request: that the president forms a new administration free of his family members. This newly allocated government would also propose remedies to the ongoing inflation and shortages of vital goods and food, according to the agenda.

 

With the aid of allies, Rajapaksa’s party, Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna, was able to gain two-thirds of the vote in the 225-member legislature. The SLFP, which includes other allies, has reaffirmed their support for Rajapaksa and resigned from their ministerial positions, although they have not yet joined the opposition. People are occupying the Galle face seashore in Colombo, adjacent to the secretariat, causing havoc in the country. Angry protestors have also invaded President Rajapaksa’s and his brother Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa’s homes in the last two weeks. Sajith Premadasa, the leader of the opposition group Samagj Jana Balwegaya, said the protests are an organic movement in response to the never-ending demonstrations. He also thanked India for its assistance to the people during their difficult times and appealed to the rest of the globe to assist his country. Last week, the speaker of the House of Representatives warned that the country would face hunger if political leaders did not find immediate solutions to the economic crisis, which is rapidly morphing into a humanitarian crisis. Doctors in the country have issued a warning that life-saving drugs are rapidly running out, posing a threat to people who are already struggling to find food and dealing with frequent power outages.