Nestled beneath the southern tip of India’s Tamil Nadu province, the tiny island of Sri Lanka has been repeatedly referred to as ‘Serendib’ or a place where pleasant yet unexpected discoveries take place. Its tourism-driven economy, historically amicable demeanor in its foreign policy, and charitable orientation have been well documented, despite being repeatedly placed in the ‘Upper-Middle Income’ to ‘Lower Middle Income’ bracket of economic and human development. What is commendable, however, is that even after the aftershocks of the 2019 economic crisis, which resulted in bankruptcy, a rising sovereign debt, and a complete financial meltdown, Sri Lanka has stood by morality, constructivism, and humanitarianism when it comes to "Israel’s" genocide in the besieged Gaza Strip. As evident in its civil society-centric donation drives, Sri Lanka’s drive can be contrasted with certain Western countries that have chosen to ignore the genocide.  

While Sri Lanka has not made global headlines barring developments associated with the 2019 crisis, it deserves greater coverage for its flailing corporate sector raising funds amid attempting to stay afloat in a crippled domestic market. This includes challenges such as declining consumer demand, lower income levels, and soaring inflation. Yet, a fundraiser in the capital Colombo stated that ten percent of its proceeds would go to Gaza, while most vendors in the capital donated their entire income. The usually quiet ‘Dolci Falasteen’ restaurant in Colombo, for example, witnessed a surge of young entrepreneurs uniting for a common cause to raise funds for Gaza the moment Israeli barbarity was unleashed against innocent civilians. Spearheading these drives is twenty-four-year-old entrepreneur, Aisha Altaf, through the LURE foundation, with stalls being set up in businesses to donate at least ten percent of their proceeds to Gaza. 

It is worth noting that the LURE foundation partnered itself with the Africa Muslims Agency of which the latter was set up in 1987. In late November 2023, the foundation raised $6,400 from the fundraisers, which is a considerable amount given that Sri Lanka’s GDP per capita is expected to reach only $3,833 by the end of 2023 as per the Trading Economics global macro models and analytical predictions. Such drives are not limited to financial assistance alone. As per organizers, plans are afoot to provide winter apparel to Gazans, including women and children, blankets, food supplies, and shelter. The efforts and sentiments are both palpable and ubiquitous throughout Colombo and are a symbol of Sri Lankan civil society’s unwavering commitment to the Palestinian cause. Such contributions from civil society become even more significant, given the lack of vision from the senior leadership of the country. President Ranil Wickremesinghe, for example, made veiled references to "Israel’s" right to "defend itself". 

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Such drives can be contrasted with other civil advocacy initiatives, which are being muzzled out by respective governments and rogue elements in societies under the garb of promoting ‘anti-Semitism’. Extremities exist in the United States where Palestinian students in universities wearing traditional attire and speaking Arabic were shot mercilessly by an Islamophobe in Vermont. The attack traces itself to elements that are buoyed by anti-Islam discourse in certain sections of America’s mainstream media, which equates Palestinian self-determination with terrorism. Think also of Germany, where pro-Palestinian protests, flags, speeches, and koufiyyeh headdresses were banned in schools in Berlin in the immediate aftermath of the 2023 aggression. In Sri Lanka, however, civil society has been encouraged to carry forward with their funding drives, anti-"Israel" views, and commitment to ending apartheid. 

The reasons for civil society activism in a country such as Sri Lanka are obvious. The island established relations with both "Israel" and Palestine since gaining independence in 1948. However, the same period was also met with the rise of Sinhalese Buddhist Nationalism due to the Lanka Tamil Tiger Eelam conflict. The end of the LTTE war led to greater Islamophobic tendencies in the form of the current Bodu Bala Sena or ‘Buddhist Power Force’ and politicians sympathetic toward Sinhalese supremacy, such as Mahinda Rajapaksa, who were avowedly in favor of cementing strong ties with "Israel". Strong ties between Sri Lanka’s far right and Zionism were based on the belief that both ideologies were similar, as the latter considered Sri Lanka to be the promised land of the Buddhists only. The 2019 economic crisis, however, exposed the hypocrisy of Buddhist nationalists and politicians sympathetic to their cause such as Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who was eventually ousted. In the post-2019 scenario, with the Israeli genocide taking place, the ethnically and religiously diverse Sri Lankan public has sought to adopt a humane stance by supporting Gaza, denouncing "Israel", and providing aid and assistance to the ravaged and displaced.  This comes in the absence of muzzling of dissenting voices, which has kept the Palestinian cause alive. 

This post-Rajapaksa era is also ripe for principled stances to take hold in Sri Lanka, which is different from operating in an environment where President Joe Biden calls for Israeli operations to take place with impunity or British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak ignoring calls by Gaza aid charities to condemn "Israel’s" siege on Gaza. In fact, the US and the UK can learn from a country such as Sri Lanka, which, despite its economic problems and ethnic and religious cleavages, has demonstrated that international principles on genocide should be upheld in letter and spirit.

The tiny island deserves credit.