Dilrook Kannangara

Sri Lanka has an estimated 6.3 million individuals suffering hunger. World Food Program (WFP) distributes money to a selected crowd, mostly based on ethnicity. The north, east and Nuwara Eliya districts are the biggest recipients of WFP’s food aid. However, these areas have only a small population of hungry people. Other areas have a far larger population of needly people. This is a racist policy aimed at starving needy people while feeding a selected ethnic community.

WFP is not distributing food items. Instead, it gives 15,000 rupees to selected families. Total food supply does not increase as a result. The quantity of available food is the same. People receiving WFP funds will be able to buy their food out of this limited pool at the expense of others. They will grab available food leaving nothing for other hungry people. This worsens overall hunger in the island, selectively.

The government doesn’t seem to care as it brings foreign currency into the island. But the adverse impact of this discriminatory policy will further worsen Sri Lanka’s economic crisis.

This discriminatory and racist policy is in addition to government subsidized flour, rice and lentils distributed in the north, east and Nuwara Eliya district. Others are paying for this and suffering acute discrimination, higher indirect taxes and hunger as a result.

These two racist and discriminatory practices must end forthwith. They worsen the hunger problem instead of resolving it.

People in other areas must demand a fair and equitable share. If it is not happening, these two discriminatory policies must be disrupted.