At Pesalai, a fishing village in Sri Lanka’s Mannar district, 59-year-old Sebamalai Cruz and his wife, Sebamalai Anthonika, are mending fishing nets. Waves lash the shore as Anthonika tells Cruz about the long queue at Sathosa, the government’s concessionary retail chain. “How can we live here without food and fuel? How will we support our grandchildren?” she asks, staring at the sea. “Wait,” replies Cruz, “there will be a way out.”
But Anthonika is not convinced. She talks about an officer of the Sri Lankan navy who recently asked her if the family was planning to leave for India as refugees. “I told him that I don’t mind doing so even if we get arrested and are sent to prison,” Anthonika tells THE WEEK. “Everything is expensive here. There is no diesel for our boats to go to sea.”
The Sri Lankan navy has set up checkpoints along the Mannar coast to keep tabs on boats putting out to sea. “They are watching us 24x7,” says Jascintha Cruz, Anthonika’s 51-year-old neighbour who is also struggling to make ends meet. “The cost of one-kilo sugar is LKR 190 now. I used to have tea every morning. First, I stopped buying milk powder, as it became expensive. Now, sugar is also expensive. So I have black tea without sugar. With the ever-increasing prices, the day I stop having tea altogether does not seem very far.”
What is the way out? “What else, we should go to India,” says Jascintha.
This story is from the May 08, 2022 edition of THE WEEK.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the May 08, 2022 edition of THE WEEK.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
There Is A Wind Blowing Against The BJP, And It Will Only Pick Up Speed
Interview - Akhilesh Yadav, Former Chief Minister, Uttar Pradesh
Between hospital and home
Transitional care centres can add a lot to India's health care system
EFFORT VS EFFECT
The government's attempts to ensure quality drugs is evident, but how well new policies can be monitored on the ground remains to be seen
A way to let go of fear
Accepting the use of adult diapers is a journey with various stages-denial, concealment, rejection and reluctance
Mandeeps & a miracle
Two strangers, one deadly disease and an act of kindness. How Mandeep Mann saved Mandeep Singh, an acute leukaemia patient, by donating his stem cells
The A, B, C of cosmetic surgery
Between eight to 10 lakh cosmetic surgeries happen in India every year. Who is an ideal candidate, and what are the risks and results you can expect?
Vaccines and meningitis
In sub-Saharan Africa, from Senegal in the west to Ethiopia in the east, and encompassing the northern part of Nigeria, there exists a region known as the African Meningitis Belt (AMB).
Celebrating diversity and inclusivity
As Indians battle it out in our nation's 18th general election, it is again time for voters to reflect on the \"Idea of India\"-or rather, on two duelling ideas of India that are now before us and between which the nation must choose at the ballot box.
Defendant: an Hermès handbag
When Hermès was hit with a class-action lawsuit last month for \"antitrust\" activities, it didn't see it coming. Most of the luxury world has all eyes on this suit, filed by two interested consumers who claim they were denied a purchase, and whether it would go to trial.
A legacy, bound
Amal Allana's biography of her father, Ebrahim Alkazi, is as much personal as it is historical