Sri Lanka crisis: Everyday heartbreak in a country that has gone bankrupt

Right now in Sri Lanka, you are losing before you wake up.

Sri Lanka crisis: Everyday heartbreak in a country that has gone bankrupt

Right now in Sri Lanka, you are losing before you wake up.

Power outages that last into the night cause heat exhaustion and can disrupt sleep. Whole families are left feeling exhausted from months of living with power cuts.

It is a long day. There are errands to run, work days to be completed, and daily necessities to be purchased at twice the cost of last month.

You're now a lot more broken than last week.

After you have had breakfast, you will need to locate transport.

Fuel queues clog entire suburbs like gargantuan metal Pythons. They grow longer and fatter each day, crushing livelihoods and choking roads.

Drivers of tuk-tuks with eight-litre tanks must wait for hires to resume. They may have to queue up for days, perhaps for as long as 48 hours, before they can again run them.

For a time, upper- and middle-class people brought food packets and soft drinks to those queuing in their neighborhoods.

The cost of food, cooking gas, clothes, transport and even electricity has risen so dramatically that the rupee's worth has plummeted that even the richest have been in short supply.

Families in working-class neighborhoods have started to gather around wood fire stoves to make the simplest meals, such as rice and coconut sambol.

Even dhal has been made a luxury in South Asia. Meat? It's three times more expensive than it was before? Forget it.

Once fresh fish was plentiful and easily available. Because there isn't diesel, boats can't sail out to sea. It is only the fishermen who can sell their catch at a high price to restaurants and hotels that are able to take it to market.

The majority of children in Sri Lanka have been forced to eat a diet that has almost no protein. This crisis has affected every level of society, from the macroeconomic to molecular.

Is it possible for children's brains to function properly? Are their organs and muscles functioning well enough? The majority of milk powder is imported and has not been on the market in months.

The UN warns of malnutrition, and declares a humanitarian emergency. Many here have been experiencing this crisis for many months.

People who are able to find rides often commute by bus or train, which is crowded with more passengers.

Young men clutch onto their feet for their lives, while the mash throngs inside gasps for breath.

Sri Lanka's public transport system has been failing to make adequate investments for decades, and the island's wealthy residents continue to complain about the indifference of trishaw and bus drivers.

A growing belief is that the nation's downfall has been caused by the disdain that regular citizens have for the financial and political elites. Yet, the economic crisis has been most severe for the working and lower-middle classes.

Although they are less efficient than before, private hospitals still function. A 16-year-old victim of snakebite in North Central Anuradhapura died after his father ran from one pharmacy to the next to find the anti-venom.

Many life-saving medications are no longer available in the healthcare sector. A jaundiced 2-day-old girl died in May after her parents couldn't find a trishaw that would take her to the hospital.

Economists point out that it was the 2019 tax cuts - which were lobbied and cheered by many corporate and professional organizations - that led to Sri Lankan's debt crisis and brought the country to the brink.

Fuel can still be purchased on the black market at astronomical prices. Some of the fuel is used to power larger private vehicles and home generators.

People lower down on the economic ladder try to purchase bicycles for trips to work but find that the exchange rate makes it impossible to do so.

It was the worst of the power outages that had triggered Colombo's protests in March. In the hottest weeks this year, 13-hour-a-day power outages had left the nation completely exhausted.

This fatigue had caused widespread fury and thousands of people descended upon Mirihana in eastern Colombo, where the president lives.

This was the most powerful demonstration in the country's history. In a motorcycle helmet, a man spoke out against the media, clergy and political forces that had led to the destruction of the nation. He also criticized the government for being self-serving and inept.

Sudara Nadeesh was later brutally beaten by police officers and taken into custody along with several others who also suffered the same fate.

Sri Lanka was ravaged by a 26-year civil conflict. However, even though that period was brutal, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, former defence secretary, has been the president of the island's military top brass.

In the last few months, the south discovered what northerners knew for decades: that state violence is routinely used to suppress dissent.

Live rounds have been fired into peaceful protestors, and tear gas was indiscriminately used to target small children. The most vehement protestors in lines for essentials have received brutal beatings.

Although police claim that some officers were injured by stones being thrown at them, protesters have died or been admitted to hospital and the police response has been seen as wildly outlandish.

Politicians use social media to show sympathy and post photos of people in distress, while also asking for change. This has largely only sparked more anger. Were not politicians responsible?

Despite nationwide protests calling for the President and his associates to be removed, they continue to be stubbornly in place. Their apparent disdain for public will is evident in the backroom deals many feel continue poisoning the island's politics.

These same leaders who crashed Sri Lanka into the ravine insist that they are the only ones capable of lifting the island from the abyss. Their policies are sharply criticised.

For example, there is a concerted effort to send more Sri Lankans abroad to work as housemaids or drivers in the Middle East. Emigrants are expected to return their earnings.

This could only make the situation worse for many of Sri Lanka's most vulnerable citizens. Poor Sri Lankans without any hope of finding employment locally are forced to move away from their families to live in countries with little protection and limited agency. Online, an anthropologist described Sri Lanka's vision as "the vampire state".

You're exhausted beyond belief by the time you get home from Sri Lanka's emergency. The lack of petrol and diesel has made it almost impossible to commute to work. In addition, everyday operations of workplaces have become fraught with crises. Supply chains have collapsed, potential customers have long refused to buy anything except essentials, and staff are not showing up.

You find yourself in a situation where you are unable or unwilling to pay for the food you have bought.

Schools are currently closed because there isn't enough fuel. For the third consecutive year, classes are available online.

The government is constantly failing to deliver on its promises, family and neighbors call to ask for money, the military and police keep an eye on your finances, and you are still grateful because so many people have it worse.

A mother and her two children threw themselves into a river last week.

Every day brings a new heartbreak.

Andrew Fidel Fernando, an award-winning journalist and author, is based in Sri Lanka.