The battle for rights and justice

The battle for rights has evolved into a fight for survival, indicating that Sri Lanka's future is uncertain. More than 500 years of colonial rule, natural disasters, civil war followed by Easter riots, and the spread of the coronavirus have led to a social and economic crisis, a political crisis, and the loss of many people's livelihoods.
This is not a typical protest for political change against opponents or other groups that are against the ruling party. Instead, it is a protest in which people from all parts of Sri Lanka, regardless of caste, religion, wealth, or poverty, come out onto the streets to fight for their lives and the future of their children and wait for a solution. And this protest is seen as the voice of a unified throng without expectations, with the zeal of young people, the worry of parents for their children's future, and the dedication of every Sri Lankan citizen.
The current generation of Sri Lankans expects a level of political chaos and a collapse of the currency that has never happened before in the country's history. People are unable to get necessities such as gasoline and cooking gas. Queues are becoming longer and longer. Not just in metropolitan regions but also in rural ones, gasoline and gas lines, as well as food lines, are becoming longer. Many wait in lines for not just hours but even days.

People dying in lines for petrol, gas, and basic needs such as food have never been witnessed anywhere else in the world except in Sri Lanka. Numerous individuals have died of heart attacks and other illnesses while waiting in line for basic necessities. A woman gave birth while standing in line to get a passport. It is difficult for everyone to endure such a challenging moment. Incapable of living in Sri Lanka, several individuals are attempting to exit the nation. Many are waiting in line at the passport office, while others risk their lives and those of their children by crossing the ocean by boat.
Families that have no desire to leave the nation and are unable to remain in it are unable to satisfy their daily food demands and are battling on the streets. Youth, adults, and children have taken to the streets in large numbers to protest. The protest field known as GotaGoGama, established in Galleface, has thousands of tales. Fathers and mothers face different social and economic problems and work hard to make changes so that their children can have a better future with food and education.
This is a historic event in which all those who have participated in the protest are strengthening the protest by giving their contribution to the protest in a way that they can, like nowhere else globally, be seen as an important issue in this protest that is currently taking place in Sri Lanka. From ordinary citizens to wage labourers, three-wheeler drivers who meet their daily needs by driving three-wheelers, military personnel who lost limbs while fighting the civil war, university students, lawyers, legal and political advisors, professors, artists, and individuals from all backgrounds directly enter the protest field and lead or contribute in some way according to their abilities.

​​​​​​​As an artist or social activist who cares about social issues and wants to get history right for future generations, I had no trouble or doubts about how to write about this protest. As an average Sri Lankan citizen stuck in a socioeconomic crisis, I am also denouncing the government's corruption and protesting against it. I am a witness to the origin of this crisis scenario and the extent to which its roots have impacted the economic and political stability of my nation. So that I was able to come closer to discovering and documenting the various faces of the crisis and the stories of individuals who have been directly and indirectly affected.
My photographs are compiled together to tell a story as a series, and even when viewed individually, they are photographs that show different perspectives and moments of the protest that reveal the current crisis in Sri Lanka.