Colombo, April 13 (Agency) The mass of Sri Lankan people are today fighting for very survival, a newspaper here said on Wednesday, warning that attempts to rouse religious and racial hatred at this juncture may lead to the island nation’s “Somalisation”. The Daily Mirror said in an editorial that under Sri Lanka’s worst crisis since independence, “people’s lives are fast becoming unprotected, with hospitals running out of medicines for heart disease, rabies, diabetes and anti-venom serum”. World Bank statistics show that around 70 per cent of the workforce in Sri Lanka comprised informal workers, mainly workers in the tea, rubber and coconut plantations and the construction industry.
According to the Ceylon Workers Congress, a worker is paid Rs.1,000 a day for 20 days work a month, if work was available. “At today’s prices a family of four would need at least Rs. 30,000 per month if they are to have two square meals per day. “In turn this means, a majority of families in the country are not only able to provide their children with two square meals daily. It also leaves them with no money to meet medical expenses, educational needs, travel, clothing or recreation.” The daily quoted noted MP Vasudeva Nanayakkara as saying that 60 per cent of the country’s population was malnourished.
“Prices of all commodities are way beyond the reach of a majority of the population, and cooking gas needed to prepare meals is not available. “Today the vast majority of our citizens are fighting for their very survival. It is not only the poorest of the poor, but has grown to include the middle classes as well.” Referring to the unending protests across the country, the daily said: “There is also a danger of unscrupulous elements rousing religious and racial hatred bringing to mind ‘men of the cloth’ in Myanmar leading attacks on minority communities. “Such an event would spell disaster to any chance of obtaining an IMF debt rescheduling facility and will lead to a ‘Somalisation of Lanka’.”