by Feizal Samath | 26 Nov 2024 | Educators' Catalog, History, Politics, Wh-Y Vote
After failed attempts to topple the Sri Lankan government, a rebel group has come to power through peaceful means, with the help of a youth movement. Youth took to the streets in Colombo, Sri Lanka, 18 March 2022. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena) This article was...
by Feizal Samath | 3 Oct 2024 | Asia, History, Politics, Wh-Y Vote
In Sri Lanka and elsewhere, people are telling elected politicians to clean up their act or find themselves out of a job. Supporters of National People’s Power cheer their leader and presidential candidate Anura Kumara Dissanayake during a public rally in...
by Feizal Samath | 6 Mar 2024 | Asia, Economy, Environment
Sri Lanka is trying to do its part to combat climate change. But it will take a sea change to stop the ocean rising around the island nation. Cracks are visible from coastal erosion on sea shore in Iranawila, Sri Lanka, 19 June 2023. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena )...
by Feizal Samath | 8 Mar 2023 | Asia, Economy
An historic number of workers are seeking work in other countries, many of them professionals. Should a nation depend on the export of its human capital? Mohamed Ishad, left, and his relative Mohamed Fahim wait outside an immigration office in Sri Lanka to get their...
by Feizal Samath | 15 Jul 2022 | Asia, Economy, Educators' Catalog, Human Rights, Personal Reflections, Politics
My family can barely make ends meet amid runaway inflation and shortages of foodstuffs. No wonder Sri Lanka has kicked out a corrupt ruling clan. Protesters take over the office of Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, demanding he resign, Colombo, Sri...
News Decoder correspondent Feizal Samath provides an on-the-ground glimpse of life in Sri Lanka following months of inflation, essential shortages and protests that led to the ouster of the president and the ruling clan. Samath gives context to a situation that many outside of the region ignored until images of protestors storming the presidential palace flooded the media. By painting a picture of his own challenges in procuring fuel and everyday foods, Samath puts readers in the shoes of those whose lives have been disrupted by turmoil.
Exercise: Ask students to imagine a part of the world different from their own and write a first-person narrative of what life looks like for a teenager there. How do the political and economic realities impact their family, their schools or their daily routines?