A day after the fatal bomb blast at the St. Anthony's Shrine in Kochchikade, a resident walks around offering bottles of water to security personnel posted in the area. Heartwarming moments
#lka
#SriLanka
April 13, 2022 🇱🇰 10:30 pm. Ordinarily streets would be empty, as a country awaits the dawn of the traditional new year. This year, they wait for the President and his government to go home
#SriLanka
#lka
#GotaGoGama
#GoHomeRajapaksas
My heart is heavy. Not just because my country is burning, but because tonight I feared my own people. Covered riots, protests, but none like today where I feared being a journalist. Yet I'm grateful to be home in one piece. Thank you to everyone who wished us journos well 🙏🏽
It’s a damp, cold Monday night here at the Galle Face Green. Protesters & journalists are offered food and drinks by volunteers in raincoats for the third consecutive day. Have covered many protests over the years but none like this. Truly heartwarming moments 🇱🇰✊🏽
#lka
#SriLanka
Not only is this protestor assaulted in broad daylight, but a journalist is prevented from doing his job too!
@ReAdSarath
don't citizens of
#SriLanka
have a right to protest and be informed?
Shout-out to all fellow journalists who have been sleepless since Thursday night, working with power cuts, social media bans & sluggish internet. More power to your journalism ✊🏽
#SriLanka
Left Temple Trees a little while ago. Similar to the night in Mirihana, only so much of tear gassing one can take. But unlike that night, what I saw on my way back home scared me more than the scenes at protest sites
Seeing very very disturbing scenes here at the Temple Trees protest. Young men are equipped with makeshift batons, steel rods, sharpening various objects things against walls. This is their response to reports that an STF attack is imminent. If you are coming out here, take care
On my way home from work with a journalist from a sister editorial "ජාති ආගම් වලින් පොලිටික්ස් කරපු කාලෙ ඉවරයි. මෙයාලට ආයෙ ඒවා කරන්න බෑ" he says.
What wonderful words of hope for Sri Lanka
By this afternoon, many public figures have woken up to post messages of solidarity with the Sri Lankan people. But none hold a candle to
@Rosh_Maha
who called a spade a spade.
#SriLanka
needs more leaders like this
A 26 year old protestor who suffered from breathing difficulties following tear gas attacks at the protest site has died.
Tear gas is no joke!
Please take extreme caution if you are out there.
#SriLanka
#lka
20 minutes into the Parliament proceedings this morning:
@sajithpremadasa
is conducting an English lesson for the MPs who claim they can’t understand certain English words 🤦🏻♀️
At Walukaramaya Temple PM Ranil is asked why do you think you got the moral mandate to run Sri Lanka.
“Churchill had only 4 members backing him in 1939. How did he become Prime Minister? Because of the crisis. I have done the same”
@RW_UNP
answers. “Learn history” he adds.
My aunt in Kandy called me to wish us a happy new year and promptly asked what is happening at GotaGama. I told her about how people are celebrating the new year there. "ඒවා ඉතින් tv එකේ පෙන්නන්නෙ නෑ නේ. නංගිගෙ whatsapp එකට එවන්න, අපි බලන්නම්. පරිස්සමින් අරගල කරන්න” she said.
Some observations from yesterday at Independence square:
I've covered quite a few of these protests across Colombo by now. It was wonderful to see the youth of this country fighting for their rights, for their future with such passion. The founding father would have been proud
It’s one thing to know how bad your country is doing. It’s a completely different thing to hear from your Prime Minister in exact numbers and figures, just how bad it is.
Need a moment to recover from that speech
Last few days were depressing. Family and friends are leaving Sri Lanka because
@GotabayaR
left no future for them. I don't know when I'll hug my cousin again, or if I'll see my friends again. But the worst is not even being able to say goodbye, because there's no damn fuel!
Hit by tear gas and water cannons, protestors managed to salvage what was left of the food at
#HoruGoGama
and were seen disributing biscuits to fellow protestors ✊🏽
#SriLanka
#lka
Love or hate Ranil, I can only imagine the pain of losing a collection of books you love. I don’t have Kissinger on my shelf, but I’d be devastated if I lose mine
A vehicle inside the Temple Trees compound has been set on fire. Some protestors here say that a truck was set alight by persons inside the compound
#SriLanka
#lka
Friends abroad reach out to ask how I am. My response has been “alive”. Didn’t realise how this might sound to a person who isn’t in Sri Lanka. Sorry, I don’t mean to sound so grim, but I really can’t seem to find a better way of describing what we are going through
"I wrote this book for you. This is a win at a time when the country has lost. Our people are suffering, I don't have the weapons to change that. But let's accept this victory & go on to win the T20 world cup!"
@ShehanKaru
tells
#SriLanka
receiving the Booker Prize
Went to Keells after a week to discover that 10 eggs cost Rs. 520. Been telling my family that I can’t risk grocery shopping, because the possibility of me collapsing in some aisle is very very real!
Bar Association of Sri Lanka President
@saliyapieris
explains the Constitutional provisions in the event of a President's resignation. "The President must submit a signed letter of resignation to the Speaker"
.
Video via
@NewsfirstSL
livestream
#SriLanka
#lka
#SriLankaProtests
Twitter verified today. As a kid, I dreamt of being a journalist, never thought I'd actually be one. So for me, this is a reminder of how unexpected this long journey has been, of mistakes I've made & of struggles to come. And of course a humble satisfaction that my words matter
Just walked out of Granbell in Colpetty where I was told that none of the tuk drivers here, take local hires. Only foreigners.
Turns out you don't have to travel down south to be discriminated 💁🏻♀️
#SriLanka
The truth is, we are not gonna get the Rajapaksas to go home, revive an economy, fix our foreign service, address human rights abuse, discrimination and misogyny all in one go. But this moment in history can certainly be a time to question ourselves: How can I do better?
Public Utilities Commission requests
TRCSL & Telcos to unblock social media platforms immediately, as they are unable to inform consumers of power cut schedules
#SriLankaEconomicCrisis
#SriLanka
After PM
@RW_UNP
claimed that the
@NewsfirstSL
journalist stumbled & fell, now MP Wimal Weerawansa
@weerawansa_w
claims that they organized an attack on him.
Fascinating how these MPs are mighty confident that they’d be able to still walk amongst the people with no problem
Asalanka takes that second wicket & I scream forgetting where I am.
Tuk driver hits the brakes and I apologize profusely.
Then he asks with a grin: ඇයි මිස් විකට් එකක් ද? කමක් නෑ මටත් ඇහෙන්න දාන්න 😄
P.s. Support your team but don't scare your tuk guy
#SLvsIND
#AsiaCup
At Colombo City Centre’s food court this evening, I had apparently tried to enjoy a meal, while seated on a bug infested chair. The entire time there, I was uncomfortably scratching my back, wondering what was wrong, only to find that I was having a reaction to these bugs!
Family weddings in Kandy gave me a brief escape from the newsroom.
It's a strange disconnect from what I see and feel when in Colombo, as if two worlds exist in parallel. In between my musings, snapped a pic because this moment was too beautiful to forget
No, Sri Lankan parliamentarians have not learned a thing from mass protests. Vote underway to elect Deputy Speaker. This is despite protests from several MPs
#SriLanka
#lka
Dear minister,
An inconvenience is when someone is late for a meeting!
An inconvenience is not:
*People dying in queues
*Having to cook a hath maaluwa in a rice cooker at the crack of dawn to feed the family
*Camping overnight @ fuel pumps
*And certainly not 10 hour power cuts!
Firstly I want to state that I apologize for all the inconveniences the people have had to endure.These are difficult times but I believe we will overcome them.I had no scheduled event in Welimada this is a misunderstanding & a rumor spread on my account.
I understand that
@anuradisanayake
needs to answer the questions re the video that is circulating on SM. But I can’t express how disappointed I feel that once again, this House is only debating their own problems & safety. There is a country in crisis for heaven’s sake!
#SriLanka
Waking up to all sorts of terrible news this morning but this was gutting.
Very few Sri Lankan actors have left the kind of impression he did.
Gone too soon
Young Sri Lankans! (35 and under) I want to hear about how you feel right now. About being a SL citizen, thoughts & concerns re future & employment. Hope to piece together an article. DM if you'd like to share or reply👇🏽how I can get in touch with you. TIA
#Sri
#lka
#SriLanka
It baffles me how President
@GotabayaR
thinks that a man with just one parliamentary seat out of 225 commands confidence of the public or the parliament!
A demonstration led by a group of monks currently underway opposite Nelum Pokuna under the campaign slogan "ව්යාජ අරගලයේ නමින් සිංහල බෞද්ධ ජනමතයට අත නොතබනු" - loosely translated to “Hands off the Sinhala Buddhist mandate”
#SriLanka
#lka
“Whether
@GotabayaR
sends his resignation letter or not, the Parliament should be convened tomorrow to elect a new President. A letter is futile when the President has fled the country” - Vijitha Herath
The final video I took last night as RW's house was torched. Lights out, security withdrawn, nothing felt right. Everything felt à la May 9th.
I tried to record until I heard the calls from the crowd; don't record! which can be heard in this clip
It is with profound sorrow that I learnt of the crash of the
#Boeing737
#ChinaEastern
flight carrying 132 passengers and crew members. I wish to express my deepest condolences to the families of the deceased. Our thoughts are with them as they grapple with their loss.
I don't know if
@GotabayaR
government thought Bandu = Zelenskyy but every single day you think this government can't do worse, they just prove you wrong!
#Lka
#SriLanka
So here's my cautionary tale on sanitizer: Earlier today I walked into
@pizzhut
Kadawatha for a quick bite. The guy at the door checked my spouse's temperature and then promptly turned to spray sanitizer on my forehead. TWICE. As in like, two good sprays!
At my childhood bestie’s wedding, was introduced to a mix of academia from Kandy. One gent promptly googled my last piece on the saree & went “Aha! So you’re the one against saree, but you’re in one today!”
Always fun being a journalist 😄
Also is
#SareeTwitter
still a thing?
Sri Lanka Police have enough & more resources to track down & arrest activists at
#GoGotaGama
sites across the country, but are helpless when it comes to tracking down privileged MPs, their offspring & completely blind to fuel bowsers doing home deliveries 🤯
Absolutely! A few incredible tons by baby Namal, a clinical bowling attack led by prince Namal and a composed captaincy by the minister of everything is what led to this series victory against the mighty Aussies!
@dasunshanaka1
and co. you can sit down now
This is an old click. You can hate him but he and his team predicted this day and trusted the young team. He made strong changes in Sri Lanka Cricket 🏏
Family came to Colombo to join the protests today. Adding to the list of things I never thought I’ll see: my little nieces & nephew telling me what a protest is
#GotaGoGama
#SriLanka
Central Bank Governor Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe warns economic situation will further deteriorate if political stability isn't established.
#SriLanka
#lka
@CBSL
Spent the last few days here at a training, away from social media as much as possible, where I got a much needed journalistic reset. Feel like I’m back in the right headspace to continue doing what I love.
Would have loved to stay & explore more bt grateful nevertheless
#Nepal