Ordinary people in Sri Lanka are being forced to pay the price of a debt crisis we did not create. A lack of medicine means people can’t get the healthcare they need, teachers are underpaid, and our schools do not have basic supplies.
While the situation causes havoc for Sri Lankans like me, private lenders have been holding out for more profit. One lender, Hamilton Reserve Bank, is even refusing to take part in a limited debt relief deal, and suing Sri Lanka to make sure they get repaid in full!
Enough is enough. Not in thirty years have we seen a global debt crisis on this scale – and this year, we have a big opportunity to do something about it.
Will you sign the global petition and add your name to the growing global demand for debt cancellation for countries in crisis? You’ll be adding your voice to thousands around the world who are demanding action from world leaders.
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2025 is a Jubilee Year in the Catholic church, which means people are mobilising globally to campaign on debt cancellation. It’s a moment for hope - where campaigners of all faiths and none are joining forces. And the first Jubilee Year since the ground-breaking Drop the Debt campaign won $130bn of debt cancellation in the early 2000s.
For countries like Sri Lanka, winning debt justice would mean that people will, at the very least, have their basic needs met. It would let us make decisions for our country ourselves without being at the mercy of lenders and investors and live our lives with dignity.
We’ve forced action on debt before, so we know we can do it when we join together to demand change. We need debt to be cancelled now – and we need new global rules to prevent another crisis in the future.
Add your voice to thousands of others around the world and together, we can end the debt crisis for good.
In solidarity,
Melani Gunathilaka, Sri Lankan debt campaigner
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Melani is an activist with Debt for Climate, a global grassroots movement demanding debt cancellation.
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