Why Sri Lanka is Collapsing: the Coming Global Food Crisis

[@PolyMatter]

Very happy to introduce Storyblocks www.storyblocks.com/polymatter as a new sponsor. I've been using their footage in videos for 4 years now and have recommended them to friends countless times. If you make videos or do any sort of creative work, Storyblocks is worth checking out!

[@johnmayfield7662]

Hey dude can you do a Lebanon vid?

[@StartRunning.]

Rehehe

[@gnomechump-stiny7128]

Why don't they just buy ipads🤔🙄 Jk

[@Volodimar]

That ad transition at the end was kind of insensitive 👎

[@logic8673]

Spoke to someone working in London, but family in Sri Lanka -- from top to bottom government, police army, , it is family, relatives ... corrupt.

[@mitchells7634]

I am sad the fertilizer import ban was only covered for 30 seconds. In Sri Lanka, just over 1/4th of the population works in agriculture. That's compared to less than 1% in the United States. When your government is dumb enough to ban fertilizer imports, and massively decrease crop yields, things are going to get very ugly! And that's before the debt, tourism drop, and food and energy prices skyrocketed.

[@RoflcopterLamo]

If a fertilizer ban happened in the USA chaos would still occur even if it’s only 1% working since with mechanization and autonomous tractors and drones allow for a lot of food to be produced and if yield were cut in half shit would hit the fan.

[@mitchells7634]

@@RoflcopterLamo US production would never be halved by a fertilizer import ban. Of the 3 main types of fertilizer: 1. Phosphate, the US is the world's largest exporter of. 2. Potash, if we cut off the Canadian supply of potash fertilizer we would be seripusly screwed in this area, and 3. Nitrogen (the big one), we are a large net importer now, but we do have a relatively massive amount of the raw materials to make it (natural gas), pre-existing plants that can be improved and expanded, people with the technical knowledge on how to increase production, finance and stability to it. So overall, the US is probably good long term in 2 of the 3 categories of fertilizer. If we allow imports from only one country, Canada, we are good in all 3.

[@Ryan98063]

What was their rationale behind banning imported fertilizers? They obviously didn't just do it on a whim

[@thomas316]

@@Ryan98063 They subsidised fertilisers, when they where running out of money they made up some excuse about wanting to go organic so banned them. It was a disaster and has since been rolled back.

[@jonathanodude6660]

@@Ryan98063 it was on a whim. they wanted all food produced in the country to be "organic." unfortunately, "organic" is not sustainable. theres a reason why there are several billion people living on the planet right now. the reason is not just healthcare, we had discovered drugs centuries ago. its modern chemical fertilisers. they are the foundation of the modern world, and the people who complain about them and avoid them are missing the point. we need a way to make the use of fertilisers safer for the environment and less carbon intensive, but right now we dont have the tech nor the practices or know-how to keep everyone alive without them.

[@brownbrudda3338]

Sri Lankan here. Like explained in 13:27 I cannot explain or comprehend how we went from living a middle class life of being able to eat out fairly regularly/ being able to buy clothes/ having meat every other day/ having milk and being able to travel anywhere/ being able to afford things that we wanted....... to not being able to do or afford any of that. We were barely able to buy enough rice and pay class fees this month. We couldn't afford to buy milk powder or gas and we couldn't even buy eggs or fish to feed even our pets. But thank god we live in the country side, so there's enough jack fruit/yams/sweet potatoes in our back yard and we can use wood instead of gas. Looking at the numbers is easy but living this life is hell. Thank you for covering this story. Edit:- So to the people asking how I have internet... Sri Lanka was the fastest developing country in South Asia before all of this went down so our internet infrastructure is usable (it's not good but gets the job done) And also like I mentioned our family was a middle-class family.... So we were able to afford luxuries like phones/laptops/wifi etc. The economic collapse happened months ago so we were able to live normal lives before that haha (also the internet is available to any one with a phone and a data signal so idk why people are so baffled lol)

[@arnavmathur7646]

My god man how did this happen, like how quick did the situation change for you and how are you managing now? How are middle class and rich srilankans are managing? Is aid from India reaching people like you??

[@brownbrudda3338]

@@arnavmathur7646 This all started at the end of December 2021 and the prices of everything has tripled during the last 6 months. The rich and able are leaving the country in droves. The middle class like us can't do that because of the lack of money obviously. We live in the country side so we're managing somehow but the middle class people in cities are suffering because they don't have the resources that we have (like wood and the ability to use wood fire stoves/jack fruit/ bread fruit/ enough land to make yams and sweet potatoes... And we also manage by selling stuff like coffee/pepper/bananas/nutmeg/cloves and beetle nuts etc ) . The aid from India comes in the form of oil/medicine and rice.... That we have to buy obviously ( but the people in poverty are being helped by the Indian aid especially people in the north are being helped by the Tamil Nadu state government greatly ) . Thanks to them power cuts have lessened and there's rice on the shelves. But the hospitals have stopped doing a lot of surgeries and there's a shortage of basic medicine like painkillers and antibiotics. There still are lines for everything from gas cylinders oil to milk powder. And the price of every thing is just unaffordable now. I really do hope this won't last long because peeling nutmeg fruits to sell is not enjoyable and my fingers hurt too much to even hold a pen the next day haha.

[@frank7411]

@@brownbrudda3338 wow, that sounds awful! I'm also middle class in a developing country, so this scenario is far too real and menacing!

[@jarjarbinks3193]

It is really surprising to learn that owning milch cows and selling their milk is really NOT widespread in the Sri Lankan countryside. I know it is just a small thing, but things like that add up in the way they contribute to the economy and reduce foreign imports. Sri Lanka somehow stopped concentrating on growing its manufacturing and services (like IT and BPO) industries. I used to hear that the Sri Lanka economy runs on 3 T's, namely Tourism, Tea, and Textiles. It looks like the first 2 took a big hit because of COVID and the subsequent fertilizer ban. Sri Lanka needs to diversify going forward and start making more things domestically.

[@brownbrudda3338]

@@jarjarbinks3193 It was wide spread before.... But the politicians got bribes or commissions from foreign companies..... So they have stopped giving local milk farmers any encouragement and they also banned them from letting their cows from grazing in a lot of areas. So the industry collapsed because of various factors

[@RAKITHA9]

Sri Lankan here, id like to say that the root cause of this is financial mismanagement and the alleged missing $19bn (debated on how much was actually stolen) stolen over time by powers in charge, this would have gone under had the covid issue not happened - as the three biggest forms of income - expats, exports and tourism stalled. In the past we usually borrowed a few billion to cover the remainder and everything was stable. The organic farming was due to the lack of dollars to import fertilizer, instead of admitting that they had no cash they just decided to cut fertilizer even though advisors were against it. This caused a crash of ceylon tea and the effects of it will be apparent next month as the food stores will be empty (India, Japan and Bangladesh are said to supply humanitarian aid) , there are huge fuel lines, and there were kilometer long lines everywhere - and some people stay and sleep in their vehicles for days and cooking gas is also gone. Yesterday busses halted their services as they cant get enough diesel to run them. Doctors, professionals, workers and students who are able to flee are fleeing in droves and more than 100,000+ escape per month. I work as a mid level IT executive and many peers i know have left or are considering it, being a bit of a stoic if i cant go anywhere else im going to hunker down and ride the storm. But things will be really ugly once the poor hit the streets Update - 10/6 - fuel lines are still present, power cuts still happen and food prices are just the was as it was but large stores in cities are going empty slowly (cities are the worst place to be during a crisis - if you own an apartment then it's game over), the dollar has somewhat stabilized and even the black market has received a short drop, a billionaire has been appointed as a minister (might actually benefit himself and his billionaire pals in this crisis than focus on fixing the issue) economynext.com/sri-lanka-secures-foreign-help-to-recover-rajapaksa-loot-1391/

[@RokeJulianLockhart.s13ouq]

Why not leave? Unless you are truly able to assist your country, prioritise yourself.

[@paulomendoza5606]

wishing you all the best, may you and your family be safe

[@agentofshadowswalkthroughs7410]

get out of there!

[@winzyl9546]

I would just leave if I were you, I bet you will be payed 5 times your current salary on western countries.

[@glennkeppel9836]

@@RokeJulianLockhart.s13ouq These people cannot 'just leave'; no country wants them. I live in Australia and we will soon be inundated with Sri Lankan boat people looking for refuge. If they manage to get here (that is, they don't drown or get forced to Indonesia) our government will lock them in detention camps and eventually forcibly return most of them to Sri Lanka. I do not support this but it is what the majority of Australians support and I'm fairly certain will happen. On the other hand, if they have plenty of money we'll let them in of course.

[@ribbonstar6292]

To my friends in Sri Lanka, hang in there! We in Indonesia experienced the same thing in 1997-1998, we toppled a corrupt & authoritarian regime of 32 years after people fed up of the situation. We couldn't afford fuel, food, milk, as Indonesian Rupiah currency devalued by 600% in a short time. Many people who had money left the country but our family who barely had anything had no where to go but staying put and fight for a change. Keep yourself & your household safe. The storm will pass. 🙏

[@bobsmith5441]

@Abdulaziz Mohammed You have plenty yourselves

[@yeoweehuathuat8926]

Suharto time ur ppl had food to eat! After Suharto gone many beggar around Indonesia now! Hunger and poverty too

[@edumalaysia00]

Yes the storm will pass Thanks

[@bobbypehtrus4954]

Yep and replaced with another corrupt one

[@crowbasen3293]

​​@@yeoweehuathuat8926 did you ever have to live under Soeharto? I'm sure I can count your brain cells with my thumbs alone.

[@nknkannadiga9742]

As an Indian, I feel that all my neighboring countries are going to face this issue. Lately nepal has banned some imports to sustain themselves. Edit: Pakistan has banned mobile, paper and tea import. They are asking their citizens to stop consuming tea.(25/6/2022) 2. Bangladesh has demanded 4 billion dollars from IMF( 27/7/2022)

[@novemberguy9]

Except Bhutan and to some extent Bangladesh are still stable. As stable as India is that is

[@thomas316]

Any country that continues to subsidise food and fuel with borrowed money will have a very bad time. Borrowing money, food and fuel are all getting more expensive.

[@forcehucos2429]

@Mr Wonder ignorance at its peak

[@sherwingonsalves8821]

@Mr Wonder it isn’t. I live in semi rural India there is nothing out of the ordinary happening. If we were on the verge of civil war it would have happened years ago

[@abhinavav7770]

@Mr Wonder I agree, but we are nowhere close to a civil war

[@likdev-2562]

I'm living in Sri Lanka and lots of people just point at the politicians and look away, thanks for educating everyone about the whole story and pray the KZbin AI to recommend this to our people.

[@pathummihiranga3683]

polymatter cut off some parts of the story, they are trying to talk about the global crisis, sri lanka is just example, so to make sri lanka fit they cut of parts like, 1) finance minister sitting their and doing nothing for the whole of 2021, did not even go to imf.if they went imf in 2021 crisis would have been reduced. 2) how priministers tugs attacked protesters. and how president priminister and finance minister are all brothers. If they just hold election and make away for new people protest will reduce in major way. they ruined our country and still in power, to bring some stability , to go to imf they need to go home #gotagohome

[@TheHiroClaw123]

I've seen the whole story, and I'm still pointing at politicians and walking away

[@dstinnettmusic]

Famine is always a political crisis. Choices were made that let some be comfortable and others be less comfortable, rather than let everyone be moderately miserable together.

[@user-DongJ]

Totally. Fortunately/Unfortunately for those who took the effort to understand war, money & reality from works like Sun Wu's Art of War, Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations & Carl Sagan's Vision of Humanity, s/he/they will realise there exist many who will seek profits/opportunities from this crisis. This may explain why many elites/experts from states like US, China, EU, India, UK, Russia, AU, Brazil, etc. groups like IMF, WHO, UNP, RSF, ICC, WFP, TSB, POG, etc. & firms like Apple, Tencent, Samsung, Nestle, Loreal, Tata, Sony, Siemens, etc. are already making their moves in the cyber/shadow space.

[@dstinnettmusic]

@Hernando Malinche as if they have any control over that

[@flonga1]

This can happen anywhere. Protect your rights as citizens, vote local to national, and “tend to your garden.” Appreciate your community and rise above adversity, corruption, and evil.

[@eatersofdead]

Can't change the world unless your own back yard is fixed first. May the wings of Liberty never loose a feather. I am American, I am with anyone liberating themselves feom the Bonds of Globalism. I am with anyone that wants to be Sovereign and rule them selves. You now have a country of your own. Do not go to the Communists or go to the people that caused this. If you do. You will have lost your chance to be free. May my God of Abraham, Issac and Jacob be with you.

[@asan7708]

Great message ❤️

[@rajeshupadhyay5683]

Well said! I am also here to learn how to invest after listening to a lady on tv talk about the importance of investing and how she made 7 figure in 3 month, somehow the video taught me nothing and left me even more confused, I'm a newbie and I'm open to ideas on how to invest for retirement

[@lezliewhicker8450]

@@rajeshupadhyay5683Think long term, personally i ventured into the market so i won’t be stranded after i retire. A colleague of mine introduced me to CFA " Priscilla Dearmin-Turner " who drew out retirement plans and they all aligned with what i wanted and had to pick one plan and with her exit and entry strategies on commodities , securities and digital assets, my portfolio has really been diversified with good ROI. I am really impressed by how much i have achieved

[@davidhudson3001]

Investment now will be wise but the truth is investing on your own will be a high risk. I think it will be best to get a professional👌

[@oshadhafernando]

Well I must add, the sudden shift to organic fertilizer was actually because our country being unable to afford chemical fertilizers. And to save face "Organic Farming" was introduced without any warnings or prior practice. With 1/4 of Sri Lankans being farmers and barely making enough food supplies to sustain itself, the drop in yields hit us hard.

[@MerchantsOfMisery]

Thank you for clarifying this-- it's something a lot of western media gets completely wrong because they push the "organic farming" narrative so hard.

[@ivangamer8022]

You guys multiply like roaches. This is the issue. Not the economics

[@sanskarbarhai4741]

Do you read manhwa/manhua ?

[@belivuk2526]

Did you start getting offers for your land to be brought by private entities and if you refuse "oh no, your wheat is on fire"?

[@jonny-b4954]

@N Fels Not necessarily. You're excluding tons of factors. Even of which this video only briefly touched on.

[@duoandaone3223]

As a Sri Lankan I'm thankful to people like you, for making it so that everyone else can learn from our mistakes.

[@bletrick3352]

I hope the situation improves ASAP for you guys!

[@saranshjoshi3167]

Prayers for Sri Lanka from India

[@duoandaone3223]

@@guts197 thanks. Also meet the Robinsons?

[@duoandaone3223]

@@bletrick3352 thank you

[@WiseOwl_1408]

Good luck. Hope you and your family fair okay during this rough time

[@virathdealwis5312]

As a Sri Lankan, despite the topic, I'm happy one of my favourite KZbinrs made a video about us... Could you by any chance make a video going more into what can be done? Specifically how corruption can be overturned or the necessary steps.

[@grimaffiliations3671]

Watch a professor called fadhel khaboub, he covers the problems faced by Sri Lanka and other developing nations

[@rext4607]

@@julm7744 lol "homeless people should just buy a home" vibe

[@ccdsds3221]

You can’t, it’s your fucked up culture.

[@gynem1047]

@@julm7744 maybe those were the only running/ allowed to run. Though I can't say for sure because I'm not Sri Lankan, but just because you live in a democracy doesn't mean you automatically get good choices or even that many.

[@alstbond1379]

One thing for sure, elect a better one. Problem is, no one is good from the choices

[@chalanivlogs]

Hi. Very informative video. As a Sri Lankan I highly appreciate your efforts and your honest opinion about the current situation.

[@thomas316]

“At first you go bankrupt slowly, then all at once.” - Ernest Hemingway's 1926 novel, The Sun Also Rises

[@jeanettedadzie2208]

My country Zimbabwe went through this terrible phase in 2008. Highest inflation on the world. A trillion dollars in your pocket and you couldn't even afford a loaf of bread. Queues for basic commodities became the norm. It got to a point where the super rich political elites could not even enjoy the money they continuously looted from the country they had destroyed so thoroughly as every sector of the economy collapsed. Unfortunately we are at the beginning of the same all over again like our government learned nothing. It is so disheartening. People underestimate how important good leadership is and it seems Zimbabwe has been cursed with some of the worst out there.

[@rockyanthony8326]

What does "Queues for basic commodities became the norm" mean? Perhaps a direction towards a solution.

[@diligentone-six2688]

Rhodesia was great when it wasn't governed by Communists.

[@luckymel7335]

Oh well,atleast you got your land back from those naughty whites

[@charananekibalijaun8837]

And Rhodesia was the bread basket of Africa

[@funmilayotijani3119]

At this current rate, Nigeria is also headed that way 😓

[@robertscheinost179]

My University in the USA had many students from Sri Lanka 25 years ago. They represented the largest group of Foreign students at School and I became very friendly with several of them---They were great people! I was aware of their Country's problems but I didn't think it was THIS bad (and getting worse). My heart goes out to all of Sri Lanka's population. I hope things change for the better SOON!

[@anypercentdeathless]

Your university doesn't require a basic grasp of English punctuation?

[@spiderwings1421]

@@anypercentdeathless touch grass

[@Dockhead]

@despacito dave doesn't look like a joke...

[@robertscheinost179]

@@anypercentdeathless Troll.

[@paradise_valley]

@@anypercentdeathless no need to be rude man, there are more pertinent issues at hand and keep in mind you’re on the internet, an informal platform for discourse. So kindly avoid being a grammar Nazi unless it’s to the detriment of the meaning behind a comment itself. If you have nothing else to contribute to this discussion, it’s best not to say anything at all. We’ve got people suffering on one part of the world and you choose to complain about some grammatical errors. Seriously, how out of touch are you?

[@ck3908]

This collapse was very well explained and the seemingly dry economic jargons like trade deficits, balance of payments, foreign reserves etc... is so well put into relevant context and in layman's terms so the viewer with average background in finance can really understand how global economics impact local economies. Sad to hear what is happening in Sri Lanka but bravo for the channel in putting this very interesting and educational piece here.

[@sanjeays]

As a Sri Lankan and a long-term subscriber of this channel, it breaks my heart to see us being featured this way. But excellent summarization of the crisis and hopefully, more Sri Lankans will see this in their feed.

[@sangbeom6245]

Long Term Vision...10-20-30-50 year patience. Grassroots Politics. Educating about Civics, Social Justice, Economics, Capitalism, Governance, Electoral Systems. This is what the US does. We have dozens of potential candidates in even local elections. They do like bracketed playoffs up to primaries of parties and then in the end general elections of the voted individuals representing each party. Also we never elect uneducated inexperienced people. Even if we disagree with their political views we still elect them because they are good managers and at delegating. And we try to elect people who are ethical and moral and spiritual. Hence the US likes very balanced well rounded individuals who also advocate for healthy living and healthy clean environments and philanthropy and volunteerism. You will see this from both Democrats and Republicans. We have corruption but it's typically LEGAL crony capitalism. They still gotta work for it lol and compete.

[@rajeshupadhyay5683]

Well said! I am also here to learn how to invest after listening to a lady on tv talk about the importance of investing and how she made 7 figure in 3 month, somehow the video taught me nothing and left me even more confused, I'm a newbie and I'm open to ideas on how to invest for retirement

[@lezliewhicker8450]

​@@rajeshupadhyay5683 lookup Priscilla Dearmin-Turner, this is her name online, she have been our real investment prodigy since the crash and have help me recovered my loses

[@davidhudson3001]

Investment now will be wise but the truth is investing on your own will be a high risk. I think it will be best to get a professional👌

[@dr.ervingalen1777]

@@lezliewhicker8450Thank you, Going through her profile in her webpage, she smashed all her state certificate and accreditation

[@BangMaster96]

If the Pandemic has revealed anything, it's how connected we are as a Global Economy, and how inefficient and inadequate Governments are at dealing with crisis.

[@ihaka439]

They could end up like Marie Antoinette

[@ramarne578]

@@ihaka439 "off with their heads!"

[@johnwong5317]

It's also reveal when things matter, every countries are for themselves first. That's why many countries are moving out of China and invest some at home or at several different countries instead of just one.

[@bangla70s]

More connected means less resilient. Lesson not to be learnt.

[@huskavarnapunkband]

It's a planned incompetence. And they are real good at it

[@allenpradhan2063]

I think Sri Lanka is fairly lucky as it has a strategic location in the Indian Ocean and as a result India has been giving billions of dollars in aid and loans to keep the country afloat. If they are lucky Sri Lanka will bounce back with help. But other countries Lin Africa or Latin America might not be too lucky or don’t have a strategic position to exploit

[@retired-s5h]

Indian hasn't given billions, but they keep asking China for more loans.

[@stevegracious3787]

@@retired-s5h India has sent 3 billion, as an aid to Sri Lanka if I am not mistaken...

[@malithaw]

This is partially true. The strategic and economic potential of Sri Lanka's location was never realized. I don't trust the current aid from India is just from mere benevolence, its just how it is. They are sensing good chance of taking us to India's camp after decades of flirting with China by Rajapakshas. But lack of strategic location alone doesn't dictate a nation's success. Look at swizterland, it's just a rugged mountainous country but most importantly land locked. That didnt stop them, did it? Just hoping this curse of deep running corruption, instability and foreign interventions in global south will stop.

[@allenpradhan2063]

@@retired-s5h 2.4 billion dollars of deferments of loans to ACU, 1 billion dollar loan given by the State bank on India along with a lot of aid.

[@siddhantgarodia3381]

@@allenpradhan2063 there was some currrency swap too i guess, idk if that counts as aid or not

[@Grantos1ea]

In the late 70's I was in Sri Lanka. I was shocked to see the lights out in Columbo. I was told that the power was turned off to most of the city from 6PM to 6AM, except to Hospitals and Police Stations. An other exception was the higher end Hotels who had their own generators. The sight of gas lanterns and the smell of charcoal grills filled the air. Everything seemed to run smoothly though. It was fascinating.

[@SkullTraill]

What I really appreciate is the high quality, and relevant stock footage used. Not just some old footage from rural areas designed to make the country look bad, but real, modern, relevant footage that shows the reality of the situation in the country now. And also a very balanced and unbiased video. Well done.

[@troll2637]

This. I am a Sri Lankan and it makes me mad every time when I see people using footage of a toothless old man riding a cow. Or a family living in a mud house with coconut leaf weaving for a roof.

[@user-bear27]

@@troll2637 I'm Indian and i feel this so much😩😩😩

[@sanskarbarhai4741]

@@user-bear27How can you be Indian when I am Indian? 🤨

[@user-bear27]

@@sanskarbarhai4741 waaa magiccc🤯🤯

[@colinmickelo6205]

​@@sanskarbarhai4741you just got lucky

[@LunarPriestessYT]

This is hella scary. Prices for everything have gone up a lot here in my small European country too while the wages have not risen that much.

[@akiraraiku]

Printing money since 2008 to save their cronies in the banking sector by letting all the banks off the hook.

[@thetaomega7816]

@@ccdsds3221 cringe lord

[@aturchomicz821]

@@ccdsds3221 Tankie logic moment

[@frosty3693]

He only touched on the "going green" debacle. And that is waiting for all countries that pile on that bandwagon. Go woke go broke is not just a meme.

[@QuietEscapism]

@@ccdsds3221 "im an edgy contrarian and everything that is mainstream is cringe"

[@michaeladu6120]

It's scary. It's happening in my country Ghana right now. Rising fuel prices, food prices, delayed salaries, etc. And seeing this video just confirmed my fears. Things are only going to get worse.

[@foxpro3002]

It's happening in the uk as well but at a much slower pace, it all seems like the world is going to sh!t but the best we can do is hope and pray things get better.

[@bunnyben5607]

@@foxpro3002 It wont. Things are going to get a lot worse, even become terrible before there's any semblance of them getting better. We're not talking years, but decades even, and in the end we'll probably never get back to the way the world was post 2008, it's a new 2008 but probably even worse.

[@elijah1278]

Same in Kenya,it's very worrying

[@volodumurkalunyak4651]

Reading you'r comment from Ukraine. I do really feel bad for you. One possible help - to help my military so Ukrainian food exports can come sooner to relieve global food prices.

[@uncletiggermclaren7592]

Good luck Michael.

[@mohnjayer]

Watching this the day after Sri Lankans stormed the presidential palace and the president fled. I honestly had no idea this was happening. It’s horrifying.

[@oswald1555]

They ban the chem. fertilisers coz they don't have the money to import it, in fact government was trying to hide the problem in the name of organic farming. Which tends to lead the lower yielding of crop and food scarcity. As food is the essential item now they need more money to import it

[@hkchan1339]

Importing fertilizers to grow food to feed the population is still cheaper than to import food to feed the population ... dumb govt

[@bunnyben5607]

You see the thing is that moving back to doing agriculture without fertilizer is doable, but you actually have to know how to farm without fertilizer to do it. The last time the west didn't use fertilizer was long ago, so almost nobody knows how to do it, it's probably the same situation in Sri Lanka.

[@oswald1555]

@@bunnyben5607 In modern world you'll always get low yields without pesticides and chem. fertilisers. We basically forgot the organic farming & I'm not against the organic farming , in the end it's best way to prevent groundwater to get polluted but the thing is that they implemented it at the worst time of their economic crisis. Mostly governments takes this type of decision when your economy is stable not when your economy is scrambling (when big chunk of your GDP depands on agricultural 💀) and fool the people that they are going toward organic but in reality the government doesn't want to expand a single cent on imports of fertiliser.

[@sangbeom6245]

Yep. Culturally Sri Lankans are the worst at saving face

[@watchm4ker]

@@bunnyben5607 It's also a lot less efficient, at least in the short term, since you have a lot less control over soil chemistry, and fewer tools to deal with diseases, parasites and other pests. The benefits are all long-term, and like all investments, can be a hard sell for a farmer looking at next season's harvest.

[@zachblue5189]

As a Sri Lankan, watching this video made me cry😣. Due to the increase in the dollar to sri lankan rupee exchange rate, all of my university expenses tripled in Sri Lanka. The most upsetting truth is that we never stole dollars from our country; instead, it was the politicians. Due to something we did n't even do, we are today suffering greatly.🥺

[@panayiotisyannopoulos2668]

Sounds and feels so true and real I fear unfortunately

[@mgheichert]

WHO voted these politicians into power? Who voted to pay lower taxes or for lower, subsidized prices?

[@chrislee3739]

I feel bad for you. Next time, vote wisely. Never choose a family to power. The power should be distributed to different people.

[@Kumar.saravana09]

You country problem is not policy or mismanagement but the PPL itsel.Your country is high in racism and hate which will definitely bring down your country.you guys will fight and die with the current pace

[@rahulwijayakulathilaka]

@@chrislee3739 they are all the same. It doesn’t matter who comes to the power, the only thing they do is steal.

[@lyndxnjoel6917]

I’m praying for my brothers and sisters in Sri Lanka. Wish I could do more than that. Love from South Africa 🇿🇦 ❤️ This can happen to any country. I hope economic recovery comes sooner than later.

[@moetheuglyhoe]

Since it's all planned for the 4th industrial revolution, it unfortunately won't and will soon make many other countries struggle the same. We can all just pray for each other and stand together as a human family, against those old greedy, self-called "global elites" !

[@lyndxnjoel6917]

@@moetheuglyhoe it’s just hope. But I know all about Klaus Schwab an his gang.

[@Dylan-lw1xc]

Your country will be devastated too soon enough by this sadly. Good luck and don’t participate in any genocides that will happen.

[@mgheichert]

*We need to let Ukraine PAY FOR IT'S BAD CHOICES.* If not for the Ukraine war would we be having rocketing food and fuel prices? WHAT did Ukraine think would happen when they turned off water to Crimea? It's not like Ukraine NEEDED the water for itself, it didn't. Of course Russia is going to make sure the water is turned on and create a land bridge at the same time. Russia has a HISTORIC claim on Crimea, it was left part of Ukraine during the hectic breakdown of the USSR. They aren't members of the same country anymore and Russia wants their warm water base back. Why tell the world you want to join NATO & EU showing you have picked a side OTHER than Russia? *What would America do if Mexico or Canada told the world they were going to let Russia and or China build bases along the American border?* JFK almost took us into a nuclear war over missiles based in Cuba. Ukraine makes peace, sanctions are dropped then food and fuel are shipped from Ukraine and Russia lowering food and fuel prices worldwide.

[@cfoster6804]

@@lyndxnjoel6917 OK so you know it's their desire for this to happen in ALL countries then.

[@geethikaisurusampath]

As a Sri Lankan witnessing this, "We have more than 12people died waiting in queues for petrol, we have people committing suicide because they don't have money to buy even rice." If you imagined the situation here after watching this video, now multiply it in 100x. It's more than depressing. 😑😑

[@judi112]

😢🙏🏾💓

[@foreman_spike]

🇨🇦

[@MarionHope]

In Kenya we say wueeeeeh

[@curtbowers7817]

So sorry to hear that about your country. Hopefully Aid can arrive and stabilize the situation. God Bless from the USA

[@MegaJae]

You still can use cell phone

[@EpicPBear]

The Sri Lankan author Sunil Yapa wrote a book called 'Your Heart is a Muscle the Size of a Fist'. The fiction covered the 1999 WTO Seattle protests. It's overtly sympathetic to the protestors and definitely isn't apolytical, but it explores how sudden and broad global economic integration can negatively influence a country and their people.

[@grimaffiliations3671]

They failed to invest in food and energy sovereignty and became dependent on low value added exports. Also much of the debt was denominated in foreign currencies so they had not control of the interest rates

[@akiraraiku]

Sovereignty, invaluable on its own. The glass may be half empty, but it's my glass. As De Gaulle put it. Yet in europe most nation states are willingly giving it up to a self avowed globalist proto world government bent on destroying history and identity of member states that they are killing a bit more day by day. For traitorous elites, the paramount importance of Sovereignty looks like it will only be learned again through pain and the clamor of the people in the streets

[@thomas316]

If you look at food commodities on an inflation adjusted basis food is actually incredibly cheap. Despite this booming global population farmers have consistently raised yields in excess of that required which has driven down real (inflation adjusted) prices. However mostly that's been achieved by wealthier, industrialised countries whereas most population growth is in low income, less industrialised countries.

[@user-op8fg3ny3j]

I thought they don't have enough money in the first place to invest when they are already borrowing money to pay off loans and welfare?

[@carlosquinto1383]

answer is quite simple don't over complicate: socialism. It leads to the same every time and yet people always wonder, lol.

[@yudeok413]

​@@carlosquinto1383 yeah the reason everyone doesn't come to your answer is that... It's wrong.

[@devinmickey8125]

At 16:01, the video clip was from Singapore, NOT Sri Lanka. Also, I took my family to Sri Lanka last month to visit, and you're right, we exchanged 1 USD for 380 lkr at most jewelry and gold shops while the banks were only exchanging at 320 for 1 USD. The banks were overvalue-ing their LKR. Sri Lanka People were amazing when we were there, so if you want a perfect travel destination and you have a small budget, we recommend Sri Lanka as it has beautiful beaches, mountains, and safaris.

[@davidjones7493]

Will crime become a problem soon?

[@matasa7463]

@@davidjones7493 More like complete chaos. The country is about to fail. Like actually fail, fall apart, and mired in endless civil war.

[@BritishBeachcomber]

I have visited beautiful Sri Lanka several times, both during and after the civil war. Even then, the country was not as troubled as it is now.

[@PikaPluff]

Very ignorant of the lives lost but that's ok! I would think the people being shelled and losing limbs and dying and getting shot by government officials would be worse.

[@MC-yj7qg]

Excellent information!!!

[@kunjalssj]

Thank you so much for making this! Amidst the Ukraine crisis, most of the Western world had forgotten that large parts of the rest of the world are in turmoil too. Hopefully, this makes everyone aware of how serious this Sri Lankan economic crisis has been.

[@John_Smith_86]

Nah, it aren't anything even close to the Great Ethiopian Famine of the 90s or the Great North Korean Famine of the early 00s. This is nothing.

[@Dakarai_Knight]

Honestly at the moment a lot of Americans forgot about Ukraine. I rarely hear about it anymore from anyone. The communal attention span is not great.

[@jsmoo1206]

@@Dakarai_Knight Ok? We as Americans have our own problems, why not try to handle problems yall self besides having yall hands out for money WE DONT HAVE???? We didnt start the war nor do we live close, call NATO..........

[@ayinesguerra1411]

@@jsmoo1206 thats harsh

[@puraLusa]

@@jsmoo1206 North Atlantic means countries in north atlantic ocean... Please don't show another murican bad at geography....

[@kdigitalproductionservices6581]

This one hit hard. I grew up in Zimbabwe and the symptoms of their situation almost bring tears to my eyes.

[@arnavmathur7646]

Whats happening in Zimbabwe now?

[@no1reallycaresabout2]

Interesting to see this comment. My parents are from Sri Lanka and I have made the Zimbabwe comparison re: currency issue when talking with others in the Sri Lankan diaspora.

[@ansc6472]

Blame Robert Mugabe

[@peepeetrain8755]

@@arnavmathur7646 Not now, like 10-15 years ago, Zimbabwe's economy collapsed and the 2nd? highest inflation in history. Where the infamous $1 trillion note comes from.

[@Healingson]

@@shinrapresident7010 As a Black South African, I think you should've taken the offer. It's time for Zimbabweans to go home and fix their country

[@Private_Duck]

Unfortunately this was the situation about two months ago. Current situation is even worse. This economy crisis is similar to the chernobyl crisis. Everything that could go wrong went wrong. A stupid, stubborn and corrupt government, the high approval rate, years of economic mismanagement, nations dependance of government subsidies, covid, 2019 easter bombings, all these factors played a significant role causing this crisis

[@honkhonk8009]

tbf, with chernobyl, anything that could go wrong will fuck everything up. Sri Lanka is honestly similar. They were just barely passing on by with their shitty politicians, but then that entire house of cards got obltierated by the slightest economic turmoil.

[@pedrohmantelli]

Around this part of the globe, something very similar happened to Venezuela about a decade back. The crysis lasted for years, their democracy disfigured into a repressive dictatorship as the country ran out of food and basic goods (even though they have lots of productive farmable land). Money got so devalued people started throwing it away or burning it. Up to this day things haven't changed there, despite the dictatorship having been able to stabilize itself in absolute power

[@robertagren9360]

Sri Lanka been like this for decades, it's a small island with hella lot of people living like sardines in a tomato sauce cannery.

[@chamara5309]

@@robertagren9360 lmfao true, my old class had 60 kids and we shared tables. but for economic reasons I'm sure the birth rates will drop a bit, can't manage the expense of a child, let alone travel to a hospital for delivery if you need it.

[@sekainiheiwa3650]

@Suraj Upadhyaya come and join them .. than after few month we can talk digitally

[@yummyreadygo5036]

Well summarized news and thank you for sharing

[@ezekoren]

The same thing with the Sri Lankan rupee has been happening with the Argentine peso for many years, it's horrible and devastating

[@yakuzarage2301]

You know what's sad about this? The ones in seat of power will walk away from this still rich while the citizens are left to pick up the pieces. The future looks bleak for your country, you may elect another government but if those one also are inept you fall further into the black hole. Praying for you 🙏 my friends. Stay strong.

[@rexeuver]

Dude, this is the clearest and most helpful explanation of this topic on the internet. Period. From Pakistan here, and can totally echo everything you said. We are seeing those inflation rates and economic unrest ruining everything we built in the last decade, all due to political unrest within the country. Thanks for echoing it out on the internet like this. You earned a Sub and a viewer.

[@sk-pp8uj]

It seems like you learned nothing from the video, it makes it clear that what happened over the last decade wasn't building - it was using an overvalued exchange rate to import more and give the illusion of progress. Not to mention the other points in the video, like not taxing properly, failing agricultural productivity, and not strictly sticking to IMF plans. Pakistan is one of the few countries in the world where exports actually declined until 2019. Who does that?

[@currycel470]

Don't vote for imran Khan, he make your country Chinese colony. Vote for sebaz sarif, he will start trade with India, USA which will be more beneficial for Pakistan than China.

[@rryzzzi2026]

All the best for upcomming election. Love from India ❤️🙏

[@dickgrayson4237]

@@sk-pp8uj Pakistan's current economic crisis can be traced back to 2013 when the goverment did the exact same overvaluation and kept pkr close to 100 per 1 usd as to increase imports, took huge loans and keep inflation stagnant causing a huge rise in the rate once the curtain was up. That same goverment is back to power and is likely to win the upcoming election. God knows what they are gonna do now.

[@warpdrive9229]

India is waiting for a chance to pounce on Pakistan, just when you guards will be down. May Allah give Pakistan Hidayat and protect it from disbelievers of India.

[@chaseg8888]

Brilliant analysis, this is much more complicated than presented but a closer approximation!

[@inejklaus3047]

This is heartbreaking. My heart goes out to all Sri Lankas, praying for you and your safety, and a miracle🙏❤️

[@angrynoodletwentyfive6463]

Maybe the issue is that people as a collective need to stop "praying" for Divine intervention and do things that are statistically known to help people who are in a crisis or helps to prevent crises in the first place... To be clear this is not directed at you the youtube commenter as an individual. I am talking about the wider phenomena of a collective populace "sending prayers" to an issue in lieu of demonstrable aid or solutions and then calling it good enough. While prayers are a nice gesture, people can't eat prayers, and Magical thinking like "praying" or "miracles" without action on a community wide scale can actually do more harm then good when it comes to crises, because praying does not create tangible results that we can then build a plan off of.

[@inejklaus3047]

@@angrynoodletwentyfive6463 fair, i dont think it does more harm than good but other than that you're right we should donate. British Asian Trust works with Sarvodaya, theyre a website we could all donate to, and I will too

[@colinmickelo6205]

❤

[@johnmayfield7662]

Living in Lebanon makes me worried that this will happen to us

[@grimaffiliations3671]

You should listen to Fadhel Kaboub

[@Snp2024]

Why don't Lebanon join France now I am not even kidding at this point sadly

[@satyakisil9711]

@@Snp2024 If it joins France then France will become worse but Lebanon may not necessarily get better. I doubt France would want that.

[@youcantalwaysgetwhatyouwan6687]

why Lebanese people in Lebanon were poor while Lebanese people in Latin America and Sub-Saharan Africa dominates almost everything economically?

[@mjjjuly]

@@youcantalwaysgetwhatyouwan6687 survivor bias. What you are seeing are the ones who succeeded. Those who failed went back home or are just not noticed. Heck, even to emigrate takes alot of either money, will, and/or luck, so they are most likely to succeed in the first place. While those left in the country is a mixed bag of people, thus you're getting an average view. This is true for a lot of developing countries btw.

[@phileon2323]

What is happening in Sri Lanka is just a walk in the park compared to what's happening in Lebanon. You probably should take a look into ine of the worst economic collapses since we dtarted keeping track of them. With only 2 hours of electricity a day and schools ending weeks earlier this year because they don't cannot afford to go on and people actually dying of hunger. The life work of generations was wiped in a matter of months.

[@thomas316]

Not really comparable. Lebanon should not exist. They are in a deliberate depression orchestrated by the countries elite. It will likely need the country to entirely collapse and be reborn in one way or another to have any meaningful economic reform.

[@tukkajumala]

Man, that really sucks. And to think I have been aghast of higher gas prices and grocery bills, while living otherwise normally (at least so far).

[@John_Smith_86]

Nah, it aren't anything even close to the Great Ethiopian Famine of the 90s or the Great North Korean Famine of the early 00s. This is nothing.

[@egg-iu3fe]

third world countries trying to out third world each other (and before you say, I am from a third world country too)

[@neddiego2570]

And Sri Lanka is going the same path as Lebanon.

[@aleeoo7208]

your storytelling skill is next level

[@ninoellison7793]

One of my most beloved countries. My heart breaks for these beautiful and hospitable people 😥

[@TheKurdong]

Sri Lankan people are one of the nicest, kindest people I've met. They deserve better. Hope everyone can stay strong.

[@s9ka972]

But their politicians are super corrupt . They show their land to China as a leverage against India and take loans . This made them end up in huge economic Mismanagement

[@dhruvramansingh6417]

@@ykcirnhoj2225 That was a foreign ISIS module taking revenge for Christ Church New Zealand attack. In no way did it reflect the attitudes of the Sri Lankan people.

[@ykcirnhoj2225]

@@dhruvramansingh6417 anyway i wasnt implying anything about the sri lankan people was poking fun at the condesending statmengt of gourd

[@saskatchewansporting6190]

Yeah they may deserve better but we are all going to get worse. We will reap the rewards of aimlessly supporting governments in the name of consumer culture

[@BingusDingusLingus]

1. Banning chemical fertilizers was silly & stupid. Most organic farmers acknowledge fertilizers work, they’re just bad for stream health, water table etc. 2. They didn’t bother to teach people how to do permaculture, make compost, irrigate their fields effectively, etc. 3. The S. Lankan gov seems to have poorly run almost everything, education included, they probably didn’t teach their citizens to take care of their land, as they are politicians and have no idea how to farm

[@richdobbs6595]

There is speculation that it was driven by trying to avoiding importing fertilizer.

[@7_years_and_]

I don't think fertilizer ban was a choice to adopt a green revolution or organic crops .it was out of desperation which rulers of that country only knew .they don't want to spend money on the least important import .

[@puraLusa]

They made the law but not the steps to make it into fruition... Zero common sense!

[@rlvsun]

they banned it because they were already bankrupted. The organic excuse, it is just that an excuse.

[@0MVR_0]

Still the excuse is desirable. Fertility management should have been investigated to maintain agricultural production a variety of techniques exist to enrich soil yet the farmer needs to be educated and the market must facilitate a gradual shift. An outright ban is asking the sailors to swim the rest of the way because the captain needs more room for leisure.

[@vivianidelacerda9708]

Thanks for posting this video. 👊

[@justanothermortal1373]

I'm 17 and Sri Lankan. I'm beginning to fear that I won't be able to have a future here. And I'm afraid of living anywhere else because I fear I won't fit in as much I do on the soil that raised me. This whole thing makes me extremely depressed and angry sometimes. I'm very worried about the mental health of children like me, how they are taking all this.

[@sriyanandadiyabalanage531]

I'm also 17 and I'm not sure about my future here I'm so sad to say that we can't adjust our future life in our motherland

[@mtae5]

Try to come to the US or Canada, you'll fit in fine. Your country is falling apart man, and there's nothing anyone can do about it. Sri Lanka will still be there and you may be able to help it more from the outside.

[@Talkwithtina808]

Don’t ever be afraid to live life. Life is short move and trust in God.

[@rayy6096]

@@anacowa221 in as much as that sounds like a heroic move or something of the sort, it's easier said than done considering how with even all the protest the problems just keep getting worst, not trying to be negative or anything but i don't see how a 17 yr old can change anything when the combined efforts of all their religions and people only amount to so much🥲

[@mtae5]

@@anacowa221 It's a complicated topic, but we're so interconnected now there's no point trying to stop immigration. We're either going to drag everyone into a better place, or we're all going down together. That's if I accept your premise, but someone coming here working is a net benefit, or at least that's the other side of the argument. But it's complicated, I won't pretend I have all the answers. If you pretend you have the answers, then I know you don't.

[@MichaelSmith-ij2ut]

As a collapsing economy myself, I'm happy to see this video

[@yashwardhansable5187]

Lmao xd

[@TommyJefferson1801]

Lol which country you belong to?

[@ZeroNumerous]

@@TommyJefferson1801 He's saying he's personally collapsing.

[@kenos911]

@@ZeroNumerous yo, me too!

[@TommyJefferson1801]

@@ZeroNumerous got it

[@PlaAwa]

this is excellent guys, covering just about all bases in a very short span of time along with brief lessons in economics etc. to complement it. thanks for taking the time and for choosing Sri Lanka, which is very often overlooked, even in times like this.

[@ghostman1931]

You’re a good story teller I watched the whole video thanks! 🙏🏻

[@AhsanKhan-es7xg]

As a Pakistani, it is unfortunate that I can imagine a similar outcome for my country. Overvaluation of the currency, depletion of reserves and trade deficit is exactly what Pakistan is facing at the moment.

[@uzochiokeke4328]

its imran khan's fault

[@Reth_Hard]

Well... That's what happens when your leaders doesn't know how to do basic additions and subtractions. lol

[@tupac888]

@@Reth_Hard but i dont think pakistan will collapse , it is nuclear power with 6 th largest millitary , srilanka dont have physical power nor economic power now , but pakistan has

[@IDK-fv3hu]

@@tupac888 What is a military supposed to do, though? The military can't help with economy.

[@tupac888]

@@IDK-fv3hu u are right only loans can save , which willl not save just delay

[@FR4M3Sharma]

You earned another sub with this video mate, I honestly can't believe how an entire Country can fall in a matter of weeks, Those citizens of Sri Lanka have every right to be mad at the Government.

[@widuth]

Sri lanka has been falling for sometime we just didn't knew 😢. We were borrowing endlessly and now we have hit the wall

[@hellion6737]

@is$a_ And from the ashes Lanka will rise as a phoenix and become an empire.

[@robertagren9360]

It's nothing new. It's been going on for decades.

[@roshanchachane142]

Sri Lanka is a classic example of what happens when you live beyond your means. Sri Lanka looked shining from the outside with all the borrowed money but as soon as that rickety structure hit a small storm, it started collapsing.

[@randomcatmeow1394]

Singapore government is not really in debt though, they run a pretty balanced budget and have plenty of surplus. Although Singapore does import alot of products and can get hit hard by the increase in price.

[@CutePuppy520]

@Zaydan Naufal you’re crazy... Singapore is one of the most economy crisis tolerant countries in the world. I am from Malaysia, I know full well how Singapore runs its economy. doesn’t matter if it’s the 1997 Asian financial crisis, or the 2008 sub prime mortgage crisis, or the 2020 Covid, Singapore barely suffered a scratch....and job security in Singapore is high especially if you are a Singaporean citizen, Singaporean citizens job hops all the time because of the readily available jobs opening. Also, the Singapore dollar is going from strength to strength year after year.... And, despite being a tiny country which imports everything from a-z, including drinking water, Singapore is at a trade surplus position, meaning they export more than import, this is achieved by Singapore’s focus on developing high value goods and services and fully utilising their highly skilled workforce and next to zero corruption problem.

[@CutePuppy520]

@Zaydan Naufal err....are you dumb?...what are you talking about? The exchange rate of Bruneian dollar vs Singaporean dollar has always been exactly 1:1 since decades back, it’s made this way so that it’s easier for the ppl Brunei to go over to Singapore for shopping trips.

[@CutePuppy520]

@Zaydan Naufal stop talking nonsense... Almost everyone I know in Singapore are spending their ass off left and right for years doesn’t matter if it’s Covid/trade war/crisis... Everybody knows Brunei is a lousy place to live in... nobody ever goes there, not even for vacation... Brunei living standards is shit, there is absolutely nothing going on in Brunei...even Thailand is better the only good thing about Brunei is that the ppl are not starving, and if they don’t work much and just laze around all day the can still send their kids to school+get free healthcare, all thanks to the subsidy given by the sultan But, nobody wants to move to Brunei...coz it’s a shit hole, you can’t earn a good living in Brunei because there is no industry going on, no shopping, no entertainment, absolutely nothing... Brunei has a trade surplus because most Bruneian are too poor to buy anything, most Bruneian only buy what’s needed to survive Only a few selected Bruneian, usually the rich Chinese businessman will be able to spend lavishly on luxury goods. Most ppl in Brunei live a kampung lifestyle whereby you just laze around all day long without spending much money

[@troll2637]

Well, people bought expensive cars.... Lived like there's no tomorrow. I blame the people too.

[@irynad2141]

finally I've found reasonable explanation. thank you very much!

[@MrBlackspoon]

Sri Lanka has such a perfect strategic location for freight forwarding and airport activity. Sad they didnt utilise their position.

[@malithaw]

What do you mean? We have already utilitized it reasonably well. Port indsutry is actually one of the few indistries in the Sri Lanka that is both competent and long-term strategy oriented. Port of Colombo for example is the largest and most efficient container hub in south asia, acting as the main transhipment hub for traffic bound to India, Babgladesh, Pakiatan etc. Unfortunately, port industry alone will never be able to save sri lanka.

[@7_years_and_]

Didn't utilise their transist location ? Then you know nothing about srilanka .google world's emptiest international airport and srilankan newly built port leased to china for 100 years out of desperation

[@imaadhifthikar4054]

It wasn't done to the fullest extent because of the protectionist policies the SLFP implemented throughout its stay in power

[@MrBlackspoon]

@@7_years_and_ why did it fail?

[@7_years_and_]

@@MrBlackspoon those huge projects failed to make profit . What happened is biting too much at once than one can swallow .then entire body fall ill to grab any more

[@paulwarren4947]

Dude, you're the best storyteller ever. Love it.

[@geethmadusara7337]

I am living in sri lanka and the economic situation in here is so grim. There are are long lines for fuel and gas and the prices of the essential items have skyrocketed .

[@arnavmathur7646]

How are middle class srilankans managing? Is aid from India reaching you

[@Daniel1111gallo]

Great video and how to understand the crisis, thank you.

[@AMonkeh]

I worked with a man from Sri Lanka, his family was wealthy and owned a bunch of land. He said if you put your property up for sale the government claims it before you can sell , so his family mostly moved to America, and left a few behind waiting to sell off property when the government changed up. Not sure how true it was, but crazy if it is.

[@HTV-2_Hypersonic_Glide_Vehicle]

I hope he is enjoying America, but it is currently suffering from a shooting issue.

[@AMonkeh]

@@HTV-2_Hypersonic_Glide_Vehicle its not as bad as it seems , we don't have tanks rolling down our streets , so safer than alot of places in the world atm.

[@TomorrowWeLive]

@@HTV-2_Hypersonic_Glide_Vehicle "shooting issue" because of minorities, like the man in the comment

[@RokeJulianLockhart.s13ouq]

Who?

[@invictusazmun9247]

I live in Srilanka and I (as far as I know )have never seen this. plenty of people I know have moved or sold their land without it being taken by the government.

[@malithaw]

Great video and insight, without going for typical basic arguments, like blaming China for all the problems when most were created by us Sri Lankans ourselves. Even the Pandemic cannot be blamed, as it didn't cause it rather hastened the incoming downfall. Real sources of this catastrophe is the usual suspects - corruption and mismanagement, lack of proper policies and kleptocracies and nepotism. Some corrections though - The 30 years long civil war that ended in 2009 was not fought between Buddhists, Hindus, Muslims and Christians. It was a civil war based on ethnicity and language. Religion comes forward because the two ethnicities that mainly fought, SInhalese and Tamils were predominantly Buddhist and Hindu respectively. There are Sinhala Christians and Tamil Christians all the while most Muslims speak Tamil as their main language. It is confusing but it is incorrect to say all the religions fought each other. The Government forces were also supported by other two religions, Christians and Muslims, as they were often targeted by LTTE terrorists (Kattankudi Mosque Massacre). ps- This is just a correction and not a discussion of why and what is the civil war. So please dont come at me whitewashing or blaming all the parties involved in it.

[@singularityraptor4022]

Don't expect foreigners to understand nuances lol.

[@kugelblitzingularity304]

looking at the civil war, if it only ended in 09, but the country is able to be one of the best tourist attractions after a decade, there is definitely potential and talent in the government somewhere, despite the disaster now. there may just be some competent people that may get you all out of this current situation.

[@malithaw]

@@singularityraptor4022 Yes but considering the accuracy and relevance of the rest of the video, I am willing to cut him some slack lol. When your country has not suffered through any kind of war (invasions and "war on terror" doesn't count folks), racial tensions, lack of political accountability or daily protests, it is kinda hard to understand deep and varied issues like this. Also I dont expect any westerner to understand civil wars properly.

[@malithaw]

@@kugelblitzingularity304 True to a extent. But the problem is the massive brain drain in Sri Lanka. A problem in other developing countries as well. The system is so corrupted that even if you are the most competent and morally good person, they will find a way to discourage such people from continuing careers in public services and politics. Most will convert into crooks and the rest, the most valuable people will leave the country. All that is remaining is the dull, braindead worth for nothing corrupted scum. Of course this does not include the few good people and the most who are not able to leave the country like the few who has choice, merit or luck to leave Lanka.

[@realrhetoric]

Some correction though -- the conflict was internecine within the Jaffna Tamil community. The Plantation Tamils were not a party to it. Both the Low Country and the Up Country Sinhalese had their own reasons to be at odds with the Jaffna Tamils, but not enough to go to war with them. It was a caste war between castes within the Jaffna Tamil community, which used the fight with the Sinhalese as a kind of diversion or excuse in their fight with the other Jaffna Tamil caste. You're wrong about China, too. China is the problem. When Mahinda and his Chittna came in, that's when the country started going to shit. Chandrika thought she could use Mahinda to stay in power behind the scenes, but Mahinda instead turned to the Chinese to get rich himself. He allowed the Chinese bullshit infrastructure projects to ship in shitloads of Chinese criminal elements who then became the spearhead for an invasion with colonialist overtones. Sri Lanka is headed in the same direction as Tibet.

[@johnxina987]

This is even sadder considers that Sri Lanka is positioned in one of the worlds most prosperous area in regards to trading routes. They can easily be as wealthy as Singapore yet government corruptions and war have devastated this country.

[@thetaomega7816]

unlike singapore it is very easy to circumvent sri-lanka. Singapore is almost impossible to avoid without extra long shipping routes

[@neddiego2570]

We have already sold terminals in our main port & built another useless one with Chinese loans.

[@testacals]

@@neddiego2570 the gov takes the loans and make the most useless shit with it.

[@hellion6737]

Just need to keep your homes high!

[@dlewis9760]

@@neddiego2570 Shhh. Not a problem according to the KZbinr. The next loans will come up for payment and China will just take over something else as payment. Next up will be military bases. You know "For SL protection". Completely defensive.

[@MrSridharMurthy]

Great report sir! Keep up this good work!

[@manilkasheran2934]

You've clearly outlined where we are as a country and how we got here which, I must say, a lot of people in power here have failed to do.

[@paradise_valley]

Yes, fairly thorough for an outsider. Wel researched.

[@sirmount2636]

Obviously the people in power want to minimize their own responsibility as much as possible

[@Darduel]

This is sad.. I have visited sri lanka just before the pandemic hit, at January 2020 and I loved it, good people, good weather and beautiful locations

[@Alpha-iy8sm]

We knew that some sort of crisis will arrive upon my country since the start of the pandemic. Being a Teen, it's hard to comprehend what the hell is going on. I was hoping this channel would cover this economic crisis (I've been a viewer since 2020) and it's comforting to actually get a solid idea about this. We had plans to move to Canada (where my dad resides) but those plans are also under risk. We just hope to get out of this mess as quick as possible, but just like our PM said, it's gonna get worse before it gets better.

[@Dennzer1]

I am one Canadian who welcomes you 100% if you made it here.

[@Talkwithtina808]

Move to Canada you will love it

[@Dennzer1]

@@Talkwithtina808 I'm sure they would if they could. Let's hope they find a way. It's got problems, but I'd rather live here in Canada, rather than at least 90% of other countries.

[@samadqazi1967]

Thanks for getting this out

[@normaneinstein9714]

I spent time in Sri Lanka 4 years ago, Great place, nice people. For a tourist it was excellent value, safe and interesting. I'm hoping the current issues are solved and these wonderful people get to enjoy their own country and the return to the prosperity they once had. Good Luck!

[@its_deer]

It feels so awful to be essentially powerless when watching this situation unfold. Sri Lanka will not be the last developing country to face these harried times. Telling these people to 'stay strong' from my comfy armchair in a western European land I feel is just adding insult to injury. I'd donate to development programs or other charity organizations but they're known to be even more corrupt than some of these governments are. I feel so bad for all the people who have to endure this ridiculous bullshit that the decisions of a few individuals have more or less caused.

[@dasbubba841]

The world is going to get a lot nastier in the next few years.

[@Jeepster353]

Please do not donate, do not give to the country either cuz the govt is corrupt. If you can come visit when the country is doing better! Cheers.

[@rejvaik00]

you are not adding insult to injury by expressing your condolences and empathizing with someone who is going through hard times never *ever* think that by emphasizing with someone who is suffering through hard times that you are insulting them

[@avakmar21hadio59]

Thank you so much as someone who live in south Asia too and my country is almost in a situation like Sri Lanka (I live in Pakistan btw) I'm very scared but this give me a bit of hope

[@Lord_Alhaitham]

@@avakmar21hadio59 We're in far better condition than Bangladesh and India

[@TheDeathopper]

You could switch out Sri Lanka for Lebanon and describe the situation of my country perfectly.

[@thomas316]

Lebanon was a bit worse though. They'll never get rid of their parasitic elite.

[@Boltazzes]

Although Sri Lanka has a bit more energy indepence. And is it true that you experience 20 hour long power outages.

[@Kuri0]

@@Boltazzes Sri Lanka is going to be just as bad when it doesn't rain and money for coal runs out. They already don't have enough money to import fuel for diesel power plants which generate about 40%

[@Boltazzes]

@@Kuri0 diesel stat is a bit misrepresentative. Its so high cause only a few diesel plants can be used for grid frequency control , but hydro is used for frequency control too . And when peak demand hits they need all the hydro and diesel to meet demand. Therefore under normal conditions diesel is used as a sort of base load power and peaking power .However with sufficient load shedding (specially during power consumption peaks) diesel can be largely eliminated from the energy mix.And will only be a massive issue come February of next year.And as for coal , its dirt cheap , at around 300 dollars per ton. and based on some calculations the coal plant should be using some where in the region of 50 -60 million dollars of coal a month. And even for a bankrupt country that's not too much.As opposed to Lebanon which use diesel exclusively as a power source.

[@habibhteit6715]

@@Boltazzes 22 now

[@zeea320]

Probably the best video on global economics I have seen on a long time ….thank you 🙏

[@timothysands5537]

loving your style of presentation. very educational, clear, comprehensive, and interesting videos. always a pleasure to learn

[@petersmythe6462]

The thing about poor governance is it's really common. Right. Not every government is playing 4D chess. In fact, a lot of countries have political parties making moves in 2D chess just to show they are, or to enrich themselves and their cronies, or to appeal to tradition, or appeal to futurology, or trying to appeal to a vague sense of superficial progress, freedom, or equality, or doing whatever their corporate overlords tell them, which usually works out much better for the corporations than the voters, or not making any move at all as the timer ticks down. There are a lot of countries where some kind of level-headed strategic analysis of the issues by a widely popular political party with some grasp on reality is simply not happening. Right, it can't be emphasized enough how common poor governance is. Most countries are vulnerable to things that prey on poor government, because either they are incapable of acting at all, incapable of acting as as an agent, incapable of acting as an agent with long and medium term majority interests in mind, or are incapable of looking past their ideological bias in key areas.

[@pierrecurie]

Not to mention the power of many multinational corporations. A $1M bribe to secure $10M in gains (whether lower taxes/purchase agreement/etc) is pocket change for the company, but will screw the country by a lot more than the value of the bribe.

[@GoreSpattered]

which is why we need true democracy, banning corporate lobbying and installing internal federal cabinets which specifically investigate government corruption. hopefully it's not too late.

[@Dockhead]

@@GoreSpattered democracy runs on corp lobbying wtf are you even on about, democracy is another niche system favouring the rich. they pretend you have choice, they pretend you have multiple choices, but doesnt matter if percy pig or charlotte the spider are in fucking charge, they get lobbied, and will result in so because money gets made and the top sectors are what run the economy. america is the biggest example of how broken democracy is, its a system in which corporations get to made laws and pretend that we have choice over it... capitalism is what directly strings and holds up democracy i should say. exploiting labor force in communism to help maximise profits.

[@dingfeldersmurfalot4560]

Poor governance is as common as average or outright dumb people, or smarter people who should know better getting greedy. It's amazing that we do sometimes find its opposite, because that lotus flower has a world of muck to rise through.

[@AkamiChannel]

The problem is thinking that way more intervention is needed that actually is. America got to its position by laissez-faire capitalism, not by doing things like banning the import of chemical fertilizers. The people calling the shots in Sri Lanka are clearly economically inept, which is par for the course. Most people and most politicians in the world are economically inept, including in the US. Even this video got some basics completely wrong.

[@worlddknowledge5730]

As a Sri Lankan I can assure that the real cause for this crisis was the over consumption of the people. We spent more than what we have. We borrow debts which were clearly unable to be paid. Middle class people enjoyed a high level of consumption making them debtors to financial companies. Finally what happened was entire country lost all most all money reserves and became bankrupt. Rest is more scary. As a witness what I have to say is DON'T SPEND MORE THAN YOU HAVE. Now we have fallen. Nobody knows what will bring next.

[@hellgorama]

Fellow Sri Lankan here. I'm happy to see a fellow Lankan understand the true problem. It is easy to blame to bad politicians, corruption and bad governance. But no-one seems to ask where these crooks came from. Before the bad politicians were... well politicians, they were regular people. For example Maithripala was just a farmer before he went into politics. Forget gov't. The people need to reform FIRST. The rest will follow.

[@WanderTheNomad]

@@hellgorama I think this would appliy to most, if not all, countries with corruption. It's just that most of them are not bad enough for people to want to change anything.

[@testacals]

Dude the country is suffering dude the loans taken by the gov. People taking loans within the country doesn't matter.

[@widuth]

Mainda pakaya thama kawe රට shek

[@sangbeom6245]

Yep the country has a debt issue from the government to the common citizen. That's one of the biggest problems. Also whatever is earned is not re-invested properly. Usually material wealth and massive illogical weddings and vacations. Very backwards economic thinking.

[@rami7428]

As a lebanese, this hits home. Every info in this video applies to the lebanese crisis. Thanks for this video and love to our sri lankan brothers ♥️

[@StevieFQ]

What for competent governments was an inconvenience is a catastrophe for poorly managed countries. Fixed it for you since as you mentioned all countries in this debacle are defective, i’d add to Pakistan Turkey since it’s also largely in a similar situation just diversified in some areas that they can rely on to compensate.

[@HarshRajAlwaysfree]

I'm really happy India showed middle finger to the west and bought Russian oil Helped a lot with inflation.

[@puraLusa]

Turkey is just so big and has such a regional influence that it's a disaster times 10.

[@kacperwoch4368]

If your country is made out of cardbord, no wonder it burns down quickly when it gets hot.

[@puraLusa]

@@kacperwoch4368 the vast majority are card board countries.

[@StevieFQ]

​@@HarshRajAlwaysfree Pretty sure India showed the middle finger to nobody since RuZZian oil and gas was not sanctioned. The prices fell because companies didn't like the risk. And it would be hypocritical of EU to sanction other countries for something they themselves are still doing. Unfortunately EU will be giving RU money for gas for years to come until they are fully divested/diversified. And frankly I live right next to UA and I understand why IN chose to not get into it with RU over UA. It's a conflict happening half a world away and IN has enough "interesting" neighbors as it is. And really due to lack of pipelines it's not like IN is singlehandedly saving the RU economy. Even CN couldn't do that without damaging their own and that doesn't even take possible sanctions into account.

[@princetandukar9290]

I would like to humbly request you to take a moment to notice that I really appreciate your videos. They are brilliantly researched, beautifully presented and never fails to blow my mind. Thank you for making these amazing videos, wish you and your team all the best!

[@solinvictus4367]

We are experiencing a Bronze Age collapse all over again... how many shocks can the current system withstand before it starts to unravel like it did for the civilizations of the Eastern Mediterranean thousands of years ago

[@evannibbe9375]

We will still retain a written language this time, Facebook will not allow the English language to die off.

[@kenos911]

@MR map I don’t think it’s gonna separate in two, but imagine

[@solinvictus4367]

@Aidan Collins That's what the Romans said all the way up till the Vandals burned the Eternal City to the ground. "It will be fine, Rome always bounces back, we'll come back stronger then ever"

[@solinvictus4367]

@Aidan Collins well I do have a degree in history and many of our demographs are the same. We both have our origins as an oppressed people looking to overthrow the rule of a foreign power (Etruscans Kings of Rome to a republic, British monarchy colony to a republic), we expanded and colonized lands at the expense of native peoples (Rome colonizing and wiping our native populations in Gaul, Hispania, Africa, Illyria/the United States expanding west, manifest destiny, forcing native Americans into reservations), both powers had a decay of Republic institutions due to infighting between major political factions (Rome - populares and optimates, US - Republicans and Democrats), both republics have a populist leaders who rally the people behind them but get brought down by the government because they threaten the status quo (Rome - Gracchus brothers, US - Trump and Sanders) If you are curious read the book the Storm before the Storm that focuses on the internal problems of the late Roman Republic that ultimately led to its downfall and transition into an empire and you can clearly see the comparisons between Rome and the US. History truly does repeat itself Also stop using cringe to make yourself sound edgy. You sound like a 4chan user trolling Reddit

[@solinvictus4367]

@Aidan Collins masters and my capstone was on the Bronze Age collapse. What my university is is frankly none of your business and whether you believe me or not is none of my concern. I have more important things to do than argue with an internet troll. The facts are there as I arrayed them and you can sit there and dispute them all you want. It is a theory so we can argue in circles all you want. What I don’t believe is that you are a nice person because you came here like a pretentious troll to post cringe and make fun of my username because you lack any other material to make fun of. You really just made your KZbin channel to annoy people. Quite sad actually

[@johnswanson217]

Well, as a country, you should really try to diversify your industry. The worst thing is that you rely on few types of resources or industries. You should at least have to know how to feed, house and clothe yourself without outer help. Or at least you have to stockpile resources needed for survival. Think how even ancient societies found way to stock food by fermenting.

[@ranilabeyasinghe]

Thanks for covering the topic mate. Very rarely do I see top notch channels mentioning anything about my country, so I really appreciate it. :)

[@TheShibbybear]

I love your channel, and your insightful, articulate communication of the critical messages. Keep doing what you do

[@jtgd]

I’m lucky to be in a country that doesn’t already struggle with food security

[@TomorrowWeLive]

Luck has f all to do with it. Don't discount the achievements of your ancestors.

[@AyedYoutube]

@@TomorrowWeLive he's lucky enough to be born/live in a country that doesnt struggle with food security

[@thekrakenrises9040]

@@TomorrowWeLive He's talking about the lottery of birth.

[@feetfeetfun]

That's a weird flex.

[@rejvaik00]

@@TomorrowWeLive you are correct the United States is an example of a Nation with food security because the United States is now one of the only Nations that was successful in driving off its endemic parasite towards agricultural output the Rocky mountain locust to Extinction And as a result of that the agricultural boom that the United States experienced in the beginning of the 1800s to the late 1800s was mind blowing The United States and by extension North America is now one of the only Nations and continent that does not suffer any locust populations within its borders

[@speedbumpz]

It's been so weird to realize over the last decade that we're really just going to experience watching everything die from the terrible choices our leaders make without being able to do anything.

[@namenameson9065]

The worse realization is that leaders sell these bad policies to people convincing them it'll lead to a better future, like people cheer banning fertilizer, but then complain when they run out of food! That's how they rule us, through the naivety and ignorance of the herd.

[@millevenon5853]

Everything? Don't exaggerate. Get off the news

[@no.1fan156]

@@millevenon5853 It's a reality waiting to happen, shit like this is the first step. Maybe you should start thinking about the future and take a hard look at the economy, I'm filipino and our prices are skyrocketing, go and guess why.

[@dragonbones3885]

You will live in the pods, eat the bugs, own nothing and be happy

[@victormiguel5316]

By watching and listening to the comments in the social media and other forums, I get the impression that our folks do not understand the root cause of our problem and they talk about treating the symptoms. It is absolutely essential to understand the root cause that led to SL becoming “the laggard” in the region over decades and subsequent collapse. We know that, it is the parliamentarians who set the right fiscal policies and other progressive law and order policies essential for robust continuous economic growth. Sadly, absence of good fiscal policies, independent judiciary and law and order agencies led to corruption and financial ruin we have faced now. So, it is absolutely essential we elect “capable” characters with good “moral values” (absent in the current bunch) to the legislature/parliament to pave the right way forward in the very next election. The current undemocratic electoral system (introduced by evil old man JRJ) where candidates have to win votes at a very large district level, gives an unfair advantage to the candidates of cashed-up major political parties and prevents decent capable independent candidates from being elected. Major political parties are infested with morally bankrupt cashed-up characters who are incapable of governing the country. I honestly can’t see capable people with decent moral values coming through any of the major political parties under the current electoral system. So, the current system where candidates have to win votes at a very large district level must be replaced with small electoral divisions (single-member electoral divisions) where good candidates with modest funds could effectively campaign and win. This reform must be followed by the abolition of the executive presidency. Some argue for a more ceremonial presidency but that will leave room for unscrupulous parliamentarians to play games - increasing and decreasing presidential powers through amendments in the future. Hence, complete abolition of the Presidency is the most desirable. Don’t even leave a strawman as the President. During this crisis it is up to the people in the central bank to work-out the framework for debt restructuring and propose a short-term fiscal budget to satisfy IMF requirements. The IMF will release money in several small tranches, continuously monitoring the implementation of the fiscal policies by the parliament. They will not allow non-revenue generating infrastructure projects. This will starve the current bunch in the parliament who are used to spending borrowed money like drunken sailors. I see present situation as a once in a 100year opportunity to exert pressure on the current incumbents in the parliament to vote for a fundamental change in the current constitution: a) Abolish the Presidency altogether b) Change the electoral system. Immediately pass a bill to revert from proportional representation to the pre-JRJ electoral system (single-member electoral divisions) and call for a referendum to ratify the bill. These two changes are absolutely essential for the long-term progress of our nation. If we don’t force the current parliament to implement these vital changes right now, it will never happen and voters will have no choice but to vote for morally bankrupt candidates put forward by the major parties again and again. At least changes to the electoral system must happen now, during this term of the parliament. To achieve this, I propose a multi-pronged strategy initially focusing on changing the electoral system which is the most important in my mind (critical mass of good people in the parliament will keep even a bastard-President under check in the short-term until Presidency is faced out altogether at a point in time): a) File a fundamental rights petition in the Supreme court of Sri Lanka against the undemocratic electoral system where citizens are indirectly denied of electing capable candidates with good moral values outside major parties, citing major parties are stacked with morally bankrupt characters unsuitable to govern a nation. Demand for implementation of single-member electoral divisions so that people can elect good candidates with limited funds to the parliament. b) Do the same in the European court of Human rights. If this is not possible then write to them explaining this gross violation of electoral rights and seek intervention. Ideally, such a request must carry signatures of prominent internationally known and respected national figures. c) Write to IMF, World Bank, and parliamentarians of Advanced nations and our trading partners and seek their intervention to change the electoral system. d) Intensify public protest and civil disobedience because the outside world typically gauges our stability by watching images of rolling protests. Protestors must carry visible placards demanding electoral reforms (parliamentary bill and referendum to implement single-member electoral divisions) right now. Sadly, I haven’t seen any such demands by the protestors. Demanding 225 go home has no value at all because majority of them will return to the parliament in the very next election. As usual, they will buy votes of the starving poor folk with their stolen money and country will lose again. No other result is imaginable in the current unfair electoral system. Do not expect large investors come and rescue us as long as we have this corrupt to the very core system (legislature, judiciary, law enforcement and the lot☹). The IMF and sympathetic nations may drip feed us just to keep us alive. Please wake up folks.

[@fullautomaton5948]

You're close, except the IMF and world banks are the ones creating this intentionally. You would be writing useless letters to the people trying to bury you.

[@victormiguel5316]

@@fullautomaton5948 I found enough people who got sufficient IQ to understand what I am saying. Sadly, you are not one of them. Don't forget IMF bailed out India few decades ago.

[@chiranthgowda8386]

If only the general public of Sri Lanka understood how an economic crisis is created instead of rioting and storming to make things worse, they wouldn’t be in this situation.

[@victormiguel5316]

@@chiranthgowda8386 Borrowing huge sums and spending like drunken sailors on useless non-revenue generating infrastructure projects that allowed politicians and their cronies to steal big time lead to this situation. They also siphoned out lot of money to offshore accounts. These figures (large black holes) were reported in the now retired auditor generals report couple of years ago. They understood parts of the collapse but not the root cause. As I mentioned the root cause is undemocratic unfair electoral system that prevents decent candidates from being elected. I do not promote violence but this is their only chance to force the weakened government with peaceful demonstrations to change the electoral system.

[@chiranthgowda8386]

@@victormiguel5316 i completely agree with you, you have eloquently explained the root causes of this crisis Sri Lanka has gotten itself in , im just thrown off by how quick people resort to violence and rogue acts instead of understanding why they are in the situation

[@Ironbanner12]

As an Indian I am very shocked to see what happened to them. Wish the best for Sri Lankans. 🇮🇳❤️🇱🇰

[@rollinglama]

thank god we live in India. our happiness index might be low but our community index is high.

[@nickgermanic8505]

India is not far from this reality. It doesn't produce enough food, it imports a lot of its food and the leadership is not the brightest one around. Furthermore, Baba Vanga prophesized that India would suffer a series of drought that would bring a lot of hunger. A complete disaster if you ask me as hundreds of millions would starve.

[@rollinglama]

@@nickgermanic8505 baba venga benga i dont know. i talk on the basis of what I experience as an Indian. I have seen things changing towards a better tomorrow. As a part of a democracy I might have some difference of opinion with the present govt. But, i cannot deny the real things happening. India has been fscing droughts for last many decades. but still we grew. India has many problems but we do not push them under the carpet. so don't worry about India.

[@nickgermanic8505]

@@rollinglama You should probably research baba vanga. Also, I'm not sure you understand how big the problem of water scarcity will be the next 10 years or so. Noticed I said HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS will suffer hunger in India, at least that's what the prophecy says.

[@rollinglama]

@@nickgermanic8505 baba venga tenga said summers will be hot, mentis will attack etx etx. lol. summer is over and it is raining heavy. baba venga tenga has proved ro be wrong

[@vichetkeo8302]

Thanks for the insights, man. I like how it’s ideology-independently explained. I’m so sick when other analysts/KZbinrs blame specific countries for this crisis.

[@informant09]

Usually they just blame the US for absolutely everything..

[@chamara5309]

this, honestly. Its the fucking leaders of our country to blame for stuffing anything they could get their hands on into their pockets, failing A/L economics, and making bad decisions because of that. China didn't fucking land here and give us debt bro we got into this mess ourselves.

[@s1rpent122]

Watching this as a 17 year old makes me kinda depressed for the future that I am going to be living in.

[@colinmickelo6205]

Please stay strong. People all over the world are trying to make it a better place than the way we found it. You're our future and if you're so mindful and empathetic. Things will change

[@traewatkins931]

Im not an economist but I have been saying my entire adult life that we were in trouble when we really started globalizing trade but didn't globalize currency. Industry and governments dont want this simply because it profits the rich.

[@tonysu8860]

Your thoughts don't have to produce inequality. The post WWII World Order the US set up and most countries with few exceptions have voluntarily participated in have all had similar opportunities to do whatever they want without anyone else interfering. If a country just wanted to exist, it could do so and remain a small, backward economy if that is what it wanted. If it wanted to produce or grow something that any other country was willing to pay for, the system allowed those crops to be bought and sold. Rights are established that all countries rich and poor were obligated to follow if they wanted to participate in the World Order, following rules like "Don't invade, conquer and kill your weaker neighbor." Common maritime and maritime economic zone rights. Right to free passage further than 12 miles of the coast and no country claiming outrageously amounts of ocean. Disputes resolved by negotiation and recognized international institutions and not at the point of a gun. Although some countries were satisfied to simply produce something and sell to others, some like China, Japan and Germany raised themselves out of the ashes of backward agrarian economies and wartime destruction to become leading powerhouse economies of the 21st Century. Every country can decide what they want to become and no country is telling another what to do except that all are expected to abide by the Rule of Law and work within the established World Order.

[@honkhonk8009]

How does that even make sense. How does "globalizing currency" only profit the rich? I understand if your a third world country and you need to make your currency stable, so you give it a fixed exchange rate. But for countries like the US or Canada, they use a floating exchange rate because of the self correcting property that gives it. I dont see how thats a bad thing if you use it right

[@mikearchibald744]

@@honkhonk8009 COuntries can control their currency, this is well known. Canada keeps its dollar pegged well below the US in order to gain trade advantages for many of the big ticket trade items because it gets killed when the dollar is at parity because the US simply self produces or buys elsewhere. The idea that a country could choose its destiny is absurd, do you even KNOW history? Would you like a list of countries where the US outrightly overthrew their governments? Anybody that knows anything about maritime law knows there's no such thing. You think most sailors in the global supply chain are Indonesian just because they are good sailors? Please! Thats naivete beyond almost anything I"ve heard. It wouldn't matter though evne if currency were at parity, most places are not self sufficient, and that comes back to haunt them.

[@midimusicforever]

We have some dark years ahead of us, and it's the people in the poorer countries that will suffer, especially those that import their food.

[@Chasing-the-outdoors]

Since the pandemic began, I’ve been yelling Great Depression 2.0. I think the entire world will fall and I point to these as examples. So sorry to hear Sri Lanka has been suffering. Wish you could have mentioned ways to offer relief from the outside.

[@StefanReich]

It's the idea behind the plandemic, also called "great reset"

[@NarasimhaDiyasena]

Yup, it was a Plandemic to create a black swan event. The WEF will have their ‘Great Reset’, one way or another. Small countries like Sri Lanka never stood a chance

[@belkYT]

Looking back, 2020 really was the worst year.

[@Chihirolee3]

Economists have been red flagging this since 2020 via an inflationary depression (in the US)...but people havent listened and solely blames the president.

[@sukryronde460]

A very good meaningful insight. Appreciated.

[@markaus404]

Thanks Polymatter for you work on this video. I certainly found it confronting and I hope it brings everyone’s attention to the issues faced by the people of Sri Lanka. Do you have any clear insight into how foreigners can assist albeit in some small way?

[@Mark-xg3zn]

Hey Sri Lankan here, its corruption and economic mismanagement which got us here.

[@Ventbrise]

@@julm7744 idk. because everyone who runs for the president is from the same family??? idk idk just a thought. edit: if you guys are confused on what i replied to. basically someone said "why are you people voting for these corrupt politicians" or something.

[@RedLancerMoto]

Lolol

[@ramanabharathi376]

@@julm7744 not like they had a choice dude. Just because your country's politics are better, doesn't mean everyone has the same privilege. Talking like you led political movements and set govts straight.

[@Mark-xg3zn]

@@julm7744 I personally didnt. The president manipulated majority of the citizens, created racism and came into power his corruption and crimes started way before he became president.

[@Ventbrise]

​@@julm7744 we get that you live in a good country. but unlike what you think, countries are *different* , from eachother just research it first, k bud?

[@7bombarie]

One thing about Chinese loans: contrary to IMF c.s., they do collect their securities, which means that the Sri Lankans can't make money from investments. But still have to pay interest.

[@roberts2697]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/aqXHgXqYfMx1sKM

[@ryandavid8247]

Still going to Sri Lanka in September, as I have had the trip booked for ages. There's also the argument that the tourism industry has once again come to a complete stop since the majority of tourists see the news and don't want to go. however, the tourism industry hasn't been that badly affected apart from the curfews, cramped public transport and power outages, which have been lifted now

[@sauceontoes3457]

Pretty sure there will be no electricity in the hotels you are gonna be staying in or any fuel to travel

[@Kaile1789]

@@sauceontoes3457 power cuts are limited to 1-2h now. So they have electricity : )

[@raunakshahi8485]

That's wonderful! Honestly one of the best way to help out a country in need is to spend money there, helping the local shops and the government (by paying taxes), just make sure you're safe because if the political instability lasts, bad events can happen threatening everyone's safety.

[@krzheph7373]

In three months it will either have bounced back or be in full scale civil war - so you will know either way. Still you are brave - hope you have a great trip.

[@jasonmac3018]

As long as you don’t blame on your government if you are stuck there without money and they cannot help you travel back to your country. Economic crisis is worse than covid

[@jessn1511]

PolyMatter's reasoning in the video: Blame 80% of the stuff on the global happenings, 20% on the govt. Reality: 80% of the blame is on the internal political mess of Sri Lankan ruling govt and that 20% of the global happenings which sealed the deal. Literally a single family is ruling Sri Lanka. Edit: tbh I really didn't expect PolyMatter to exclude the details of the Sri Lankan govt. He always provides complete information, especially if it's China, Taiwan or other SEA countries. I come to PolyMatter to watch the complete info about stuff, if I wanted to just know that "global happenings = bad" I would just watch mainstream media.

[@RealManasBose]

NOT REALLY ITS LIKE A BUILDING A STRONG HOUSE. TOO MUCH EXPENSIVE HENCE NOT MANY PEOPLE WILL BUILD ONE. INSTEAD USE THAT MONEY FOR DECORATION. ONLY AFTER A FLOOD THEY WILL REALISE THEY SHOULD HAVE BUILD A STRONG HOUSE INSTEAD. SO 80% BLAME IS ON THE FLOOD, BUT 20% IS ON THE OWNER. (KIND OF)

[@ddc171]

I don't think a monarchy is bad, IF they want to do good for the people. There are shit democracies, there are good democracies. There are shit dictators, there are good dictators. There are shit monarchs, there are good monarchs

[@Vichu.]

@@RealManasBose you can atleast type that all in lowercase

[@Vichu.]

I mean he did account the government as the reason a lot and 20% is low

[@zeroyuki92]

Not sure if I'm watching the same video or not, while he's not saying names a lot of things thay he mentioned are directly under responsibility of government. However after that he indeed tried to link that stuffs that is happening in SL could easily happen in other countries and trigger much wider backlash, which is an approach I approve. We could stretch this video to hours to list every single things that SL gov did wrong, but what is more relevant for everyone else is that we can't afford to have another decades long turmoil caused by a single event (e.g Arab Spring, or more precisely all events following it)

[@a.s.h.5774]

Really great job on this mini documentary. This is the perfect depth and scope that you were able to share in just the right way to really spread the message and educate folks (like me!)

[@marcomondragon7276]

thxs for the insightful explanation.