Protests in Chicago, Protests in Toronto, Protests in London, Protests in Vancouver, Protests in LA, Protests in Sydney and Melbourne, protests protest everywhere. Reminds of a quote from Samuel Coleridge Taylor’s The Rime of Ancient Mariner- “Water Water Everywhere …. And Not a Drop to Drink”. So protests Protest Everywhere … And not worth a drop !. Incidentally, none of the students are protesting in eastern European Universities.
Who are these protestors? Many are students on visas to complete their higher studies, and these visas do not guarantee their citizenship in the countries they are in, except for maybe Canada. These are the same folks that boldly claimed that the democratically elected government of Sri Lanka “messed with the wrong generation”. These are the same folks who went abroad to western countries paying international students fees that are sometimes 200% of what a student in those countries pays. Interestingly the income per capita of Sri Lanka in 2020 was $3,852, and the average fee at a mediocre college in the USA is around $25,000 a year (https://www.topuniversities.com/student-info/student-finance/how-much-does-it-cost-study-us) this begs the question who are these elite Sri Lankan students studying at these universities? Some students may be on scholarships, but they have to adhere to stringent rules; otherwise, they will lose their bursaries. So who are these affluent students? How could they afford to study abroad at these gigantic fees?
Will these students follow the same path that their brethren in the North and East did previously, claiming asylum in a foreign land and citing persecution in Sri Lanka? Interestingly students in Eastern Europe, India, and Bangladesh don’t want to protest? So maybe the government is not messing with the generation in those countries. Or they don’t want to stay in those lands. Or in the heart of the matter is that they wish to return and serve in their motherland.
Ponder that over your sugar-free, Anchor free Tea.
Author- Cynical Cyril