When the IMF agreed a bailout programme with Sri Lanka in 2023, the conditions required significant reductions in public expenditure. The government presented this as a shared sacrifice. But the burden of that sacrifice has not been shared equally. The north and east, already operating with fewer public services, fewer infrastructure investments, and lower incomes than the national average, are bearing a disproportionate share.
How Austerity Is Hollowing Out the Tamil North
IMF-driven spending cuts are falling disproportionately on the war-affected north and east, threatening fragile post-conflict recovery.
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Breaking Down the Bond Deal: What It Means for Tamils
Sri Lanka's US$12.55 billion debt restructuring has been finalised, but economists warn that austerity measures will hit the north and east hardest.
Tamil Cinema's New Wave: Telling Stories the State Ignores
A generation of young filmmakers from the north and east are producing work that speaks to lived experiences of war, loss, and survival.
Returning Home: Tamil Professionals Who Chose Jaffna
A small but growing number of diaspora Tamils are relocating to Jaffna — and finding a city full of opportunity and contradiction.