Covid, Climate, Chemicals and Debt: The Perfect Storm That Hit Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka, Serendip, the jewel in the Indian Ocean is facing a severe political and economic crisis.

April 1, 2023 | Source: Navdanya International | by Dr. Vandana Shiva

Sri Lanka, Serendip, the jewel in the Indian Ocean is facing a severe political and economic crisis.

The crisis has multiple roots but has intensified in the last 2 years with Covid, Climate change, the debt crisis, the contribution of chemical fertilisers to debt, climate emissions and climate vulnerability.

The protests we are witnessing now are triggered by an economy of greed, creation of a debt trap and rent collection, rising costs of living and ordinary citizens facing an economic crisis of survival. Such protests were common sights across the world in 2019 before Covid and the lock down. Recall Beirut and Chile. When the cost of living becomes unbearable, people rise. And across the world countries are being trapped in debt to generate billions for the billionaires and banks.

Sri Lanka is facing a serious debt and foreign exchange crisis. This is a direct result of the Neo liberal policies of corporate globalisation that make countries borrow more and more for the Infrastructure of Profits -ports, power plants, highways, resorts – end up in a debt trap, and are forced to pay more for essentials.