In a Sri Lankan fishing village, Nalaka is the go-to name for dangerous illegal sea voyages, deadly journeys in precarious boats laden with people desperate to leave the island paradise, mired in the worst economic crisis in its history.
They all go to Nalaka, a fictitious name to protect his identity, who managed to return alive several years ago from one of these trips to Australia on a boat with around 30 other people, to gather the necessary advice. to stay alive.
“It’s a terrible trip. Anything can happen at sea. I don’t encourage anyone to go there,” Nalaka, who now lives in a fishing village in the northwest of the island, told EFE. where the illegal boats depart.
According to the Sri Lankan Navy (SLN), 1,385 people were arrested trying to cross the Indian Ocean last year, ten times more since 2021 when only 103 were captured.
According to Navy statistics, the majority of those who attempted to cross the Indian Ocean (1,189, according to SLN) were heading for Australia despite the strict security measures deployed in the area and the thousands of kilometers that separate the two islands.
Consulted by EFE, an Australian Border Force (ABF) officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, explained that the country’s borders are patrolled all day, so “anyone who attempts an illegal boat trip to the ‘Australia will be arrested and returned to Sri Lanka’. , where he can face criminal charges and end up with nothing.
AN EASY BUSINESS
The island nation is going through its worst economic crisis since gaining independence from the British Empire in 1948, with international reserves drying up, the country running out of money for basic needs or fuel, creating a dire situation.
Heavily indebted and awaiting an International Monetary Fund (IMF) rescue package, which has yet to be approved and which requires intense adjustments to the country’s fiscal activity, Sri Lankans are struggling to imagine better times. .
An estimated 311,000 Sri Lankans migrated to work outside the country in 2022, according to statistics from the Ministry of Labor and Overseas Employment.
Others, who find it difficult to go through legal channels, turn to smugglers (known as boat operators).
“You have to pay around 1 million Sri Lankan rupees (just over $2,700) to the boat operator” to arrange a trip where, once inside, it is sold to lots of the dangers of the ocean,” Nalaka explained.
Smugglers can collect around 30 million Sri Lankan rupees (nearly $82,000) to fill a boat with illegal passengers desperate to leave the country.
Even so, it is not easy to get a place on an illegal boat, says Nalaka, because sometimes people give their savings to smugglers who then disappear with the money or have to move to a worse place than expected. after selling land and jewelry. to loan sharks. .
STOP TRAFFIC
Sri Lankan authorities have deployed intelligence officers on the ground to continuously monitor areas where mainly people smuggling occurs, such as Chilaw in the North West province, the force’s spokesman told EFE. naval officer, Captain Gayan Wickramasuriya.
For human rights activist Ruki Fernando, more needs to be done to ensure a dignified life for those who resort to illegality to leave the country.
“It is hunger and starvation that seriously threaten their lives, they cannot live with dignity and that is why they are leaving,” Fernando remarked.
The latest data from the Central Bank of Sri Lanka shows a sustained decline in headline inflation levels, which stood at 54.2% in January 2023 from 57.2% last December.
Although the data may suggest that the situation is improving on the island, experts warn that consumers still perceive difficulties in ensuring three meals a day.
Still, it’s “a dangerous journey” not worth the effort, Wickramasuriya warned.
Nalaka, who tells this story every time they come to see him, remembers: “We are caught in thunderstorms. When you get sick, there is no one to give you medicine. Somali pirates.”
If Nalaka had asked someone in the village to tell him that, he “probably wouldn’t have done it”, he concluded.