Sri Lankans sweat and seethe as economy grinds to a halt

Sri Lankans sweat and seethe as economy grinds to a halt

COLOMBO:  As Sri Lankans faint in day-long queues for fuel and swelter through stifling evening blackouts by candlelight, anger is mounting over the worst economic crisis in living memory. A critical lack of foreign currency has left the island nation unable to pay for vital imports, leading to dire shortages in everything from life-saving medicines to cement. Long lines for fuel that start forming before dawn are forums for public grievances, where neighbors complain bitterly about government mismanagement and fret over how to feed their families as food prices skyrocket.

“I’ve been standing here for the past five hours,” Sagayarani, a housewife, told AFP in Colombo while waiting for her share of kerosene, used to fire the cooking stoves of the capital’s poorer households. She said she had seen three people faint already and was herself supposed to be in hospital for treatment, but with her husband and son at work she had no choice but to wait under the blistering morning sun.

“I haven’t eaten anything, I’m feeling very dizzy and it’s very hot, but what can we do? It’s a lot of hardship,” she said, declining to give her surname. Trucks at the port are unable to cart food and building materials to