I brace myself against the side of the car as we rattle and bounce down the remote red dirt track that leads to The Mudhouse. Our wheels scrabble for purchase and the driver slows to a crawl. A herd of buffalo – with a dozen egrets along for the ride on their backs – create … Continue reading
In her introduction to Perspectives (which I wrote for the United Nations Population Fund to mark 50 years of their work in Sri Lanka) Ritsu Nacken the County Representative for UNFPA Sri Lanka explains what the publication sets out to do: “This year, 2019, marks two important milestones in the field of reproductive health globally: 50 years … Continue reading
The acceptance letter broke their hearts. Daniel Linsey had got into the university he had dreamed of studying at. Daniel had a learning disability, but it meant that he only worked harder. So at 17 he was volunteering in an Ethiopian orphanage and by 18, he was in Mongolia engaged as an English teacher … Continue reading
Zeynep Tufekci is no stranger to protests. The 90s found the Turkish social scientist in Chiapas, watching as the Zapatistas clashed with the Mexican state; in 2011, she was in Tahrir Square in time for the revolution; that same year found her in lower Manhattan for Occupy Wall Street, where the 99% gathered to demand … Continue reading
July 29, 1999. Vasuki Nesiah was on her way to meet Neelan Tiruchelvam when she heard he would not be able to keep their appointment. As his course assistant, Vasuki had been working with Neelan, helping him to prepare for a constitutional law class that considered how the Tamil epic Silapadikaram and the Greek tragedy Antigone could be ‘sources’ … Continue reading
When Dr. Asha Abeyasekera spoke to a woman named Rojani in 2018, she heard that Rojani’s family had lived in 219 Watte since the 1950s. Rojani’s father had even been given a house-ownership card, issued by then President Premadasa’s government. “She had this whole file, though she was illiterate, she had kept these documents and … Continue reading
Nadeesha* has worn a burqa for 15 years, and the abaya for twice as long. Last week, when she heard that a ban on face-covering was in place, she knew there was a difficult time ahead. “This is a lovely country, it is my country. It has been a paradise on earth, and we have … Continue reading
There are few people who know their way around a Sri Lankan garbage dump as well as Dr.Randika Jayasinghe. However, while you might expect the research scientist to be studying landfill composition or whether toxins are leaching into the groundwater, Randika is actually more interested in talking to the communities in the area. “I look … Continue reading
COLOMBO (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Every month, Fathima Rifka used to suffer the embarrassment of rinsing out the rags she used during her period at a public tap – the only source of running water available in the poor Sri Lankan neighborhood she grew up in. “You have to stand in line, and then you … Continue reading
Southern Province, Sri Lanka – Lochana is 10 years old. Every morning, he gets up and lights an incense stick, which he places in a three-wheeled auto-rickshaw parked outside the family home in Sri Lanka‘s coastal Southern Province. The vehicle is a bright shade of pink and as the fragrant smoke fills the interior, Lochana says a … Continue reading
