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A New Year dawning on the Green

11 Apr 2022

  • People band together to support each other through a weekend of protesting
By Shahaen Vishak  With much of the country shutting down for the Sinhala and Tamil New Year, marking the time for Avurudu celebrations to take place, the traditionally heard cries of the Common Cuckoo, or Koha, have been replaced by the singsong chants of the citizens’ protests against the Government.  Last Saturday (9), people flocked from all over the country to converge on Galle Face Green, resulting in a protest that, despite scorching heat and pouring rain, has managed to continue for over three days, with some taking turns to protest on a shift-like basis, while others have chosen to camp out at Galle Face indefinitely.  Among the tents, set up at the designated agitation site, we met Dinesh from Matara, who told us he had been attending the protest from the day it started, and with a group of friends that run an adventure tour company, brought in and set up their camping equipment to give protestors a place to rest. When asked how long they would keep their equipment on offer, he said: “As long as it takes; until this protest is successful, we will remain here.”  Resting in one of the tents was Rajini from Kotahena, who told us he had remained in Galle Face for two days, adding that this was how he would celebrate Avurudu. “This will be the biggest celebration; once the protests are successful, then we can all celebrate.”  As of yesterday (11), the agitation site had been mischievously dubbed “Gota-go-gama”, as a photo of a sign set up by protestors went viral on social media.  In this makeshift village, we found Madara Samangi Jayasuriya, from Peliyagoda, who had come to Galle Face with her family. They had set up a tent of their own at the agitation site, from which they offered protestors tea, biscuits, and buns for free.  Offering us a cup of hot tea amidst the rain last Sunday (10) night, she told us: “For the sake of our country, we all came out with friends and family to help out the protestors. For Avurudu, we will remain here. We won’t be making kiribath or kavum, or boiling the ceremonial pot of milk, or buying new clothes this year; we won’t celebrate Avurudu until this protest is successful. We will celebrate next year, once the country is in a better place.”  A similar tent had been erected almost directly opposite the Presidential Secretariat, where a number of youth were similarly distributing refreshments. They told us that they were a group of friends, working in private companies, from various areas like Malabe, Piliyandala, and Dehiwala, and had raised some money together to set up their tent.  One of them told us: “We’ll keep distributing tea, biscuits, and water to people throughout, until we see a result from this protest. We’re not sure whether we’ll remain here for Avurudu; it depends on when the leaders step down. We don’t just want them to go, we want the system to change to one where the country can develop. We need an educated set of people to run the country; just like how one needs at least a degree to take up a managerial position at a company. This system needs to change.”  They told us they would go to work in the morning and return as soon as they were done, and in this manner, would continue to participate in the protests through the Avurudu week.  People who had similarly banded together to raise funds and bring in refreshments for the protestors could also be spotted walking around, carrying boxes of food and water bottles, happily handing them out to repeated cries of “Jayaweva (victory)!”  Hasaranga, who was among those walking around distributing buns to protestors, told us he had arrived soon after completing his office hours.  “Some of our friends got together, pooled our money, bought some refreshments, and came here to distribute them. I’m from Kandy, but I won’t be going back for this Avurudu, because my people are going to remain here for the whole week and continue protesting. We want the whole family to go to jail and return what they stole from us. Until then, we cannot be stopped.”  At the same time, there were also those who saw a business opportunity amidst the large gathering, where some people had taken the chance to play loud music and dance on the streets.  Chandana from Kandy, who was selling water bottles and cigarettes from a small cart, told us he used to work in a salon in Colombo, which closed down a couple of months ago due to rising costs. Now unemployed, he had brought his wife along to help him make sales while also participating in the protests, with them alternating between who would operate the cart and who would take part.  As the protest continued into the early hours of yesterday, we also spoke to some of those leaving, looking tired after a long day of protesting.  Sahan Vimukthi, a teacher from Matara, told us he had remained at Galle Face over the course of Saturday and Sunday, evident by the camping bed he was carrying under one arm.  “I would have stayed today also, but my camping bed was soaked in the rain. I’ll visit one of my friends in Dehiwala tonight and return tomorrow,” he said.  “We usually go back to the village to see our families for Avurudu, but this year, we will make our families come to Colombo. We need to bring the whole of Sri Lanka here and show them how powerful the people are. First we need to get rid of Gotabaya Rajapaksa; after he steps down, we can discuss what happens next.”


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