Sri Lanka is in its worst economic crisis and the country is facing a steep challenge to pay back its crushing 4.5B debt problem. These are debts accumulated through borrowing from foreign countries to build large scale projects to revive the economy after a natural disaster in 2004. Unable to pay off these debts, equity of these large scale projects now belong to countries like China. The country’s 22M people are facing the most painful economic downturn since the country’s independence in 1948. With no food, no fuel, or no medicine available to Sri Lankans, the people are losing confidence in their President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. Protests swelled demanding the president to resign and crowds have attempted to storm the homes of government leaders. On April 19th, Police in Sri Lanka opened fire on crowds protesting at fuel shortages during the economic crisis, leaving one man dead and 11 others wounded.
Sri Lanka is in its worst economic crisis and the country is facing a steep challenge to pay back its crushing 4.5B debt problem. These are debts accumulated through borrowing from foreign countries to build large scale projects to revive the economy after a natural disaster in 2004. Unable to pay off these debts, equity of these large scale projects now belong to countries like China. The country’s 22M people are facing the most painful economic downturn since the country’s independence in 1948. With no food, no fuel, or no medicine available to Sri Lankans, the people are losing confidence in their President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. Protests swelled demanding the president to resign and crowds have attempted to storm the homes of government leaders. On April 19th, Police in Sri Lanka opened fire on crowds protesting at fuel shortages during the economic crisis, leaving one man dead and 11 others wounded.