As Sri Lanka witnesses massive protests demanding the resignation of Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa over the government's handling of the island nation's economic crisis, many students from different institutions in the country are also getting out on the streets to raise their voices.
President Rajapaksa, who had imposed a national emergency following the protests, revoked it after criticism from the public and lawmakers. A crisis, which has led to a shortage of essential goods such as fuel, cooking gas, and power cuts for 13 hours a day in some instances, has made people from different walks of life protest against the government. As many students from Sri Lanka have taken to the streets.
“We are currently seeing the effects of inappropriate management and corruption by the current government. There’s no fuel and electricity, power cuts happen for prolonged periods every day," said a Sri Lankan student named Chris Sheron who is pursuing Medicine.
Another student from Sri Lanka, who is currently in Bangalore, lamented how the current crisis will affect his life in a foreign country. “If things continue this way, our cost of living will take a hit since we are in a foreign country. The current situation which has affected both the rich and the poor in Sri Lanka makes us wonder if we will be able to receive enough money from our homes to take care of our expenses in Bangalore,” the medical student, from Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences, added.
Students in Sri Lanka are not optimistic about the current situation and worry that this crisis will have long-standing implications. "Though we currently have our vacations, the situation has affected us too. Students and professors always come out during such protests to be the voice of the people which is admirable," said another student from a University in Colombo.
Students have also found support among faculty members in the country. "No way we can even do our lectures on zoom because the servers need diesel to run. There's no paper for exams and no electricity to even get a photocopy. Students can’t attend lectures because of a shortage of buses due to the fuel crisis," said Vivimarie Vanderpoorten, a member of the Open University teachers association of Sri Lanka's Open University. "Universities were recently ordered to send their hostel students home and we believe it’s probably because the government is scared of students gathering and being mobilized to protest," added Vivimarie who teaches at the Department of Language Studies in the University's Colombo branch.
