The situation: a weak economy- SRI LANKAN ECONOMIC CRISIS
According to reports, Sri Lanka's current
economic crisis started in 2019. The narrative doesn't begin there, though.
While I won't go into Sri Lanka's entire history here, there are a few things
we need to be aware of to put everything in perspective. Sri Lanka had a
welfare state not so long ago. Following independence, the nation benefited
from free job security, healthcare, and education provisions for nearly 30
years. Nevertheless, Sri Lanka chose an open economy in the late 1970s.
They developed an open economy and started to
rely mainly on trade. Being an island nation, imports would always be quite
expensive, and exports would find it challenging to keep up. A country has a
"trade surplus" when its exports exceed its imports and a "trade
deficit" when the opposite is true. The former would indicate a profit for
the nation (based only on foreign trade), whereas the latter would mean a loss.
The nation's shift to a trade-based economy in the 1970s played a role in its
current situation.
The nation's internal strife also made things worse. From 1983 through 2009, a horrible civil war occurred, leaving tens of thousands of people dead and countless others wounded. This internal conflict caused an already fragile economy to lurch toward the storm that would hit it a decade later.
A supporting figure is a person in danger.
Everyone is aware of the adverse effects of an economy in decline. But I wasn't among those who knew precisely how horrible until recently. Long lines of people waiting to acquire gasoline or cooking gas might be noticed if you had followed the news during the Sri Lankan economic crisis. Although I also saw those images, I never gave them any thought. Or maybe it was just more convenient not to think about it.
Because there is no fuel, the typical auto rickshaw driver cannot operate their cars. Their family lacks food since they have no source of income, and even if they did, there would be no gas for cooking. What are the possibilities that they could obtain some rice and vegetables during a fall in agriculture, even if they were fortunate enough to get that? This isn't a pathetic tale. It is true.
Because there is not much money left over, the
government cannot import necessities like food, fuel, and other energy sources.
In reality, the government prohibits the sale of gasoline for non-essential
uses.
People frequently can't get to work or make a
living since fuel is only made accessible for trucks carrying food and medical
supplies. To conserve money, those who can work from home are urged to do so,
while others skip meals entirely because there isn't enough to go around.
Knowledge and wellbeing
Schools have been closed because the nation has
a shortage of paper and energy. To conserve energy, the government implemented
mandatory power outages. The healthcare systems are in disarray due to the
inability to import medications, and lives are in danger. But how did things
become so bad?
As is typical with events of this magnitude, no single factor was responsible for everything. Instead, some variables combined to create the catastrophic conditions of the Sri Lankaneconomic crisis. The plot is only getting more complicated.
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