politics – Son of the Morning Light

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April 21, 2023April 21, 2023 David BlackerLeave a comment

https://sonofthemorninglight.files.wordpress.com/2023/04/img_6962.jpg

^{• 90mm • f/5.6 • 1/800 • ISO400 • Canon 600D & EF-S18-200/3.5-5.6 •}

No More Street Cred

March 7, 2023March 7, 2023 David BlackerLeave a comment

https://sonofthemorninglight.files.wordpress.com/2023/03/img_6734.jpg — Protestors in Sri Lanka’s capital, Colombo, demand the reinstatement of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and his United National Party government, in October 2018.

^{• 200mm • f/5.6 • 1/400 • ISO200 • 600D & EF-S18-200/3.5-5.6 • polariser •}

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No 13A in Tamil Town

February 20, 2023February 20, 2023 David BlackerLeave a comment

https://sonofthemorninglight.files.wordpress.com/2023/02/img_0731.jpg — A busy Friday evening in Pettah, Colombo’s main shopping and market district. January 2023. Interestingly, while the city of Colombo is mostly Tamil-speaking (over 60% of the residents are Tamil or Tamil-speaking Moors), the sign in the foreground prohibiting parking is only in Sinhalese (the majority language of Sri Lanka), reflecting decades of Sinhalese-dominated governance that many believe has contributed to ethnic conflict. The controversial 13th Amendment to the Constitution, passed by Parliament in 1987, legislated that, amongst other things, Tamil be elevated to the status of an official language, alongside Sinhalese, and that all official communications be in both languages. However, more than thirty-five years later, many clauses of the amendment remain unenforced, despite Tamil demands for equal treatment.

^{• 35mm • f/4 • 1/100 • ISO2000 • Canon R6 & RF14-35/4L •}

Evil Eye

February 6, 2023February 6, 2023 David BlackerLeave a comment

https://sonofthemorninglight.files.wordpress.com/2023/02/img_0727.jpg — Sri Lanka’s Lotus Tower is probably the most easily noticeable symbol of the government corruption and ineptitude that brought on the worst economic catastrophe in the island nation’s history. Ordered by former President Mahinda Rajapakse in 2012, the tower, the tallest in South Asia, and visible from practically every part of the capital, Colombo, is viewed by many as a vanity project, costing as much as $104 million to build, but with little use beyond glorifying the leadership of the former president and his party (the Sri Lanka Podujana Pakshaya’s symbol is a lotus). This photograph was taken from 5th Cross Street, in the city’s market district of Pettah, in January 2023.

^{• 35mm • f/4 • 1/100 • ISO6400 • R6 & RF14-35/4L •}

“Those Days when We were Young…”

September 28, 2022September 28, 2022 David BlackerLeave a comment

https://sonofthemorninglight.files.wordpress.com/2022/09/img_1548e2.jpg — Thus begins the familiar tale often heard when older people lament the prices of things today. But in a Sri Lanka staggering under an economic disaster unknown in modern history, skyrocketing inflation has made the ‘Good Ol’ Days’ seem like just yesterday. In this April 2018 picture, shot for a J Walter Thompson market study, salted prawns at the FOSE Market, in Pettah, Colombo’s main market district, go for just Rs100 (about 65 US cents at the time) for 100g. Today, the rupee price of this is almost seven times higher (though still just under $2, due to the nose-diving rupee).

^{• 105mm • f/4 • 1/50 • ISO400 •}

When it All Began #2

August 19, 2022 David Blacker1 Comment

Before it became the ‘Aragalaya’. Before it became a bandwagon for the JVP. Before the antharé and the political speeches and the Gotagogama. Just regular Sri Lankan people, desperate and angry and demanding change. Green Path, Colombo. 4th April 2022.

^{• 70mm • f/11 • 1/500 • ISO800 •}

When it All Began

August 17, 2022August 17, 2022 David BlackerLeave a comment

https://sonofthemorninglight.files.wordpress.com/2022/08/img_4541.jpg — Before it became the ‘Aragalaya’. Before it became a bandwagon for the JVP. Before the antharé and the street performers and the Gotagogama. Just regular Sri Lankan people, desperate and angry and demanding change. Green Path, Colombo. 4th April 2022.

^{• 120mm • f/5.6 • 1/400 • ISO400 •}

Gota’s Gone. Now What?

August 11, 2022August 11, 2022 David BlackerLeave a comment

https://sonofthemorninglight.files.wordpress.com/2022/08/img_8246.jpg — Police barricades smashed aside by protestors on 9th July 2022, lie by the side of a street leading to Temple Trees, the official residence of the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka, one of several government buildings stormed and sacked by angry mobs demanding the resignation of President Gotabaya Rajapakse. By the end of that fateful day, Rajapakse, accused of corruption and ineptness, and blamed for creating an economic crisis unparalleled in Sri Lanka’s history, would announce his resignation, and flee the country four days later. A full month down the road, Sri Lanka remains in crisis; led by a caretaker president picked as a successor by Rajapakse himself, and with a cabinet full of ministers who legislated the very policies that crushed the economy they’re now tasked with repairing. Much to the chagrin of large segments of the population, no charges of corruption have been brought to bear on Gotabaya Rajapakse, now living in self-imposed exile in Singapore, or on his brothers and nephew, powerful cabinet ministers in his government, and still members of Parliament. Instead, the authorities have focused on dismantling protests and targeting individual protestors with petty — though punitive — charges of trespassing, vandalism, and theft. While the past month has seen some easing of fuel shortages, mostly through much delayed rationing, Sri Lanka still hasn’t seen any of the economic measures necessary to begin the long process of recovery.

^{• 18mm • f/3.5 • 1/125 • ISO1600 •}

Open to the Public

August 4, 2022August 3, 2022 David BlackerLeave a comment

https://sonofthemorninglight.files.wordpress.com/2022/08/img_8244.jpg — Protestors stroll freely in and out of the once heavily barricaded rear gate of Temple Trees, the official residence of the prime minister of Sri Lanka, unhindered by the police. On 9th July 2022, protestors stormed several government buildings in Colombo, including President’s House and the Presidential Secretariat, in spite of initial resistance by the authorities, who used water cannon, tear gas, and even live ammunition on the advancing crowd, holding them off until President Gotabaya Rajapakse had made his escape. In contrast, the president’s brother, Mahinda Rajapakse, who had been forced to resign as PM in May, under the weight of public demand, abandoned Temple Trees well in advance of the protestors. The president himself would announce his resignation later that afternoon, and flee the country four days later, leaving the country in the hands of a caretaker president, Ranil Wickremesinghe who, in late July and August, would oversee the arrest and detention of many protestors, charging them with petty violations, such as trespassing, vandalism, and disturbance of the peace.

^{• 18mm • f/3.5 • 1/200 • ISO1600 •}

Forbidden Ground

August 2, 2022 David BlackerLeave a comment

Special Task Force policemen look on as protestors stroll unrestricted through the grounds of Temple Trees, the official residence of the prime minister of Sri Lanka, once one of the most heavily guarded and fortified spots in Colombo. 9th July 2022. Forced, by the weight of public protest, to resign in May, Mahinda Rajapakase had fled earlier that day.

^{• 18mm • f/3.5 • 1/100 • ISO800 •}