Language Be a member Fact CheckWorldLawExplainersNewsDecodeHealthMedia BuddhiWeb StoriesBOOM Money Home  »News »’Here Till Rajapaksa… ‘Here Till Rajapaksa Resigns’: Sri Lanka Protests All Night From Tents BOOM spent a night with protesters at Galle Face who have camped in tents, cars refusing to leave till President Gotabaya Rajapaksa leaves. bombaybombilBy – Nivedita Niranjankumar 14 April 2022 1:15 PMFollow us on Colombo, Sri Lanka: It’s 11:30 PM in Sri Lanka’s capital city. It’s not a usual sight. A 4-year-old Shanvika Senanayake is humming the catchy tune of Basil, Basil, Basil while waving a Sri Lankan flag, all the while sitting on the shoulders of her father. They are surrounded by a sea of sleepless protestors at the Galle Face in Colombo. “I am here with my wife and daughter to show support to the protesters against President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and his brother Basil Rajapaksa,” says Sadesh Senanayake, the 4-year-old’s father who has camped at the protest site. Protesters chant Basil Basil Basil against former finance ministerband brother of #gotabayarajapaksa Basil Rajapaksa at the #SriLankaProtests pic.twitter.com/bh4EmAnyj0 — Nivedita Niranjankumar (@BombayBombil) April 14, 2022 “We came here on the second day of protests and went back home due to the rains but then today they told us we could stay in a tent,” he said. So, the father and daughter packed some clothes and essentials and planned to stay the night, protesting. “She is continuously chanting GotaGoHome,” he said. ‘GotaGoHome’ has become somewhat of a national slogan in Sri Lanka amid the economic crisis that has crippled the country. The island country of Sri Lanka is facing its worst ever economic crisis with prices of essential goods and fuel soaring high coupled with a shortage of medicines and power cuts in most areas. Economic mismanagement by successive governments plus the country’s tourism industry crippled by the COVID-19 pandemic has left the country grappling. Several cite that the crisis was in the making but election campaign announcements like deep tax cuts, banning chemical fertilisers by the current President Gotabaya Rajapaksa accelerated the economic downfall. The crisis has led to Sri Lankans not being able to afford fuel, dal, rice and even medicines. Queues going about kilometres mark fuel stations and small business owners have to deal with constant power cuts. Also Read:Sri Lanka Is Running Out Of Insulin, Anti Rabies And Cancer Drugs The Senanayakes are one of the many families who have decided to camp in tents or their cars at the protest in Galle Face. Tens of thousands have gathered at the sea facing Galle face road which houses the Presidential Secretriat at one end and Temple Trees – the Prime Minister’s official residence on the other. Tents have been set up on the grassy patch for people to rest and continue their protests. Volunteers distrubuting food, coffee and biscuits are spread out. Three tents are filled with medical supplies with young doctors and nurses volunteering their services while two tents have become home for independent artistes to come and perform. The unrelenting rains made the grassy patch slushy and muddy, so the protestors formed a small human chain and help others avoid accidents. Pernita D’silva, 55, says she accompanied her granddaughters to the protest. “They had been coming here without informing us. When we realised they were protesting, I decided to join them. This is my country which is beautiful with a history that is traumatic. We need to stand together against those who are ruining our country and that is why I am here. I cannot chant slogans loudly but I can walk around and encourage the youngsters who are chanting. Our presence matters and that is why I will be here till Rajapaksa resigns,”she says. Some enterprising youngsters geopinned the protest site as GotaGoGama. “Gama means village and Gota Go Gama is the village we are staying in where we won’t leave till he resigns.” A protester printed out the name and put it up as a board at the protest. The sign now greets visitors as they enter the protest site. Harsha Aravinda receives a resonating applause as he sings a Sinhalese folk song about a kite flying high in the sky. A vocalist with a Sri Lankan band called Local, Aravinda says, “The song depicts freedom, asks people to pull themselves and not oneself back. I think Sri Lanka needed such a people’s movement. We have been a country that is politically active but in the last few years we had quietened down. This crisis has woken everyone up again, brought them together seeking one goal in one voice : that this government be brought to task.” Aravinda is one of the many artistes who have joined the protest at Galle face road. Armed with speakers, guitars and violins, the artistes move from one empty tent to the other, to perform. When a tent is unavailable, they set up near a vehicle and strum their guitars. Sahan Wiratunga, a 27-year-old social worker who has been at the protest site since the first day said he decided to camp after volunteers started donating tents to the protest site. “I saw some people getting their own tents but since I don’t have one I was staying in my car. But then someone donated about 50 tents and I managed to get one,” he explains. Wiratunga says that while he is from a background which is able to afford essentials, he is protesting for those who are in a dire state. “Those who are fully impacted by the high prices and shortage are not able to come to the protest because they have to work every minute just to be able to afford a basic meal. When they are not working, they are standing in queues to buy essentials. I am here to lend their voice against the government and ask the government to wake up to the plight of the people who actually elected them to power,” says Wiratunga. The protest is alive and buzzing till 3 am in the night. Street side vendors have set up stalls, selling the local delicacy of prawn vade and naan with prawn gravy. Some sell paan, others sell the Sri Lankan flag. “I set up my stall two days ago when I saw the crowds. People are staying here and need to eat so we are selling our meals to them. I cannot afford to give out for free and in fact the protesters have been offering extra money wherever they can,”says Sriranga Vithange, a 60-year-old who has set up the prawn vade stall. “Things have been very difficult for us. I used to have a stall at the street food market but due to the power cuts, I was not able to open my stall everyday. Even buying regular ingredients and fule for cooking has become difficult. Since I can’t close down my stall and protest, I am here participating by selling what I make,” he says. Locals in Colombo say this protest is a milestone in the history of Sri Lanka as it has brought together people from all religions and ethnic backgrounds together. “There are Muslims, Buddhists, Christians, Tamilians and Sinhalese here all together fighting for the same cause. I have been here with my cousins for the past three days despite Ramzan month. We break our fast here at Iftaar every evening together. The energy at the protest site is full of unity. People are angry but everyone has found a way to direct it by dancing, singing and raising slogans. If the government thinks we are going to give up, they are wrong,” says Ishara Ahmed, a 22-year-old student. As the night stretches, Galle face gets brighter as someone sets up a small portable flood light atop their car so people can finish their dinner. For those who are unable to be at the protest site, their vehicles and horns have become their tools to mark their presence. The vehicles passing by honks to the popular chants of Go Home Gota, they honk to Basil Basil Basil when it starts playing. “We are here and we will be here. We elected Gotabaya Rajapaksa to power and we will show him that we can get him to resign too,” says 17-year old Darshana with a determined face as she walks holding a flag that reads ‘Power to the People’. Sri Lanka Srilanka Sri Lanka Protests Colombo Gotabaya Rajapaksa Galle Face protests Sri Lanka protests Go Home Gota  If you would like to republish this story, please get in touch with us at decode@boomlive.in If you value our work, we have an ask: Our journalists work with TruthSeekers like you to publish fact-checks, explainers, ground reports and media literacy content. Much of this work involves using investigative methods and forensic tools. 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