How bad do things have to get in Britain before we start to see solidarity emerge? | Moya Lothian-McLean

Despite a widespread sense of anger against the government, narratives of division still prevail, stymying public unity

Sri Lanka is in revolt. Since early April, thousands of protesters have taken to the streets, initially to demand a solution to what has been dubbed the “worst economic crisis since independence”. Now, in the face of a political stalemate, and after police fatally shot one protester and wounded 13 others, regime change is top of the agenda. One element of the protests has been particularly striking: they have united groups that were previously starkly divided, and who have begun sharing analysis of what – and who – split them apart in the first place.

“Here you have the Sinhala Buddhist majority protesting side by side with Tamils. You have trade union protests happening next to Muslim protests where Muslims are breaking their fast under the rainbow umbrellas of the LGBTQ community,” said the Guardian’s Hannah Ellis-Peterson on the Today in Focus podcast. “This has never been seen before in Sri Lanka. People are talking about a […] betrayal, that they were fed this lie of majority and minority, nationalist and divisive politics. They feel like this is the thing that has ultimately caused the destruction of Sri Lanka.”

Moya Lothian-McLean is a journalist who writes about politics and digital culture

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from The Guardian https://ift.tt/AQij13m