Mothers starve as crisis pushes more Sri Lankans into poverty — in pictures

Hit hard by the pandemic, rising prices and economic mismanagement, the nation is in the throes of its starkest crisis since independence

Nilanthi Gunasekera, 49, holds her family’s last remaining handful of dried fish. She is one of the millions of Sri Lankans battling a sharp decline in living standards. All photos: Reuters

Dilhani Wathsala, 14, eating lunch cooked by Gunasekera, her mother. 'Before the economic crisis, we ate well and we served meat or fish to our kids at least three or four times a week. Now fish is out of the reach of our family and so is meat,' said Gunasekera.

'We had a good business at our kiosk,' said food kiosk owner Chandra Thushari Peiris, 42. 'Since we used to eat the leftovers from our kiosk we didn't have any problem with food.'

'But during the pandemic, and more so the present economic crisis, we didn't get any customers. Although we want to restart we don't have any capital,' Ms Peiris said.

'Our water and electricity supplies were disconnected during the Covid-19 crisis but still we had food,' said road sweeper W.M. Irangani, 58, 'but this is far, far worse,' she said.

Ms Irangani added: 'I am scared to borrow as I have no way of repaying. Already I am in huge debt. I only pray that this economic crisis improves for all and we have enough food to eat.'

Oshada Fernando, 11, plays with a kite his uncle made for him. 'With the economic crisis we haven't bought any toys for our son,' said his mother, 42-year-old Anusha Priyadarshini.

'Just a couple of months back some robbers broke into our house and stole the small gas cylinder and the cooker we had,' said Vidyathipathige Nihal, 62.

Mr Nihal, holding two small bags of chickpeas and rice, the only grain his family currently has, is now forced to cook with firewood.

'I joined the Sri Lanka Army in 1989, and in 1992 I lost my leg to a land mine,' said retired soldier Saman Priyantha, 51.

Mr Priantha said he is receiving a pension but it is not enough to feed and look after his family of five.

"I am a heart patient and have to take medicine every day," said Manel Peiris, 68. "Hospitals used to issue medicine for three months. But ... hospitals don't have medicine and so we are asked to buy from pharmacies."

She said that sometimes her husband has to borrow or get an advance from his workplace to buy the medicine.

'For the last two years, I have sewn clothes for a kids' clothing shop,' said K.P.R. Priyadarshani, 54, who lives with her 16-year-old son Ramika Lakdin.

Ms Priyadarshani said that with the onset of the economic crisis, people don't have money to buy food, let alone clothes.

Sivaraja Sanjeewan, 31, takes a bath at a public well at Wanathamulla, Colombo.

Auto rickshaw driver Mr Sanjeewan said: 'We have a tap water connection but it's very difficult to pay water and electricity bills in addition to the rising costs of food. So now I bathe in a public well more often to save money."

As desperation grows, the government is seeking a multi-billion-dollar bailout in talks with the IMF, but major financial assistance is still months away, so few Sri Lankans are expecting to see light at the end of the tunnel soon.

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