Co-operation and solidarity have been at the forefront of Sri Lanka's response to the prevailing economic crisis, and they were showcased and strengthened throughout the past few months, especially during the “aragalaya” anti-Government movement. More importantly, during that period, people's solidarity against the Government and for a common purpose led to a few tangible outcomes in the political and social spheres. 

The importance of solidarity was underscored on International Human Solidarity Day, which fell yesterday (20). The United Nations (UN) said that it was a day to celebrate unity in diversity, to remind governments to respect their commitments to international agreements, to raise public awareness of the importance of solidarity, to encourage debate on the ways to promote solidarity for the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) including poverty eradication, and to take action to encourage new initiatives for poverty eradication.

Given the nature of recent political and social developments, Sri Lanka has reasons to look into many of those key points highlighted by the UN. Not only did solidarity play a notable role in nurturing the first phase of the “aragalaya” movement, in a context where the economic crisis is unlikely to be resolved as fast as the people expect, solidarity remains a quality that will be beneficial in pushing for social and political reforms as well.

In a backdrop where the Government’s ability to alleviate the impacts of the economic crisis is limited, the people's ability and willingness to support each other has emerged as a new form of social security. Solidarity among the people is crucial because the Government alone cannot assist every person that has been affected by the economic crisis. There have been instances where solidarity has proven to be more effective in managing the impacts of the crisis than relief measures provided by the Government. One example is the concept of community kitchens, which gained popularity during the past few months and which supported communities that the Government's mainstream relief programmes could not assist.

In addition, the coming few months require more solidarity among the people than the past few months did. One reason is that Sri Lanka is entering a year of increased income taxes, tightened austerity measures, and limited opportunities for businesses, particularly small and medium enterprises, to grow within the country, which are certain to affect a large number of vulnerable groups and startups. What is more, a stronger form of solidarity is needed among the people to support the upcoming political and advocacy-based phase of the “aragalaya” movement, which aims to fully achieve the changes that the movement strove to achieve.

Those who are trying to build and support solidarity among the people, in order to demand solutions to the economic crisis from the Government and also to support groups affected by the economic crisis, are facing various challenges. The lack of resources, guidance, and organisation, and the Government’s crackdown on collective social movements that are also opposing the Government in the context of the economic downturn, are some of those issues. It is the duty of activists, civil society organisations, influential figures, and experts to support the people that are mobilising to survive the economic crisis and to stop the worsening of the same.