Someone had to say it

This week’s news had a very familiar Sri Lankan theme: other people make the mess, and somehow we end up standing in line for it. Fuel queues are creeping back thanks to a war happening far beyond our shores, and parents are being reminded that sending a child to school shouldn’t feel like funding a small production company. Different stories, same underlying frustration: ordinary people constantly adjusting their lives around decisions they didn’t make.

Let’s get into it.

War Elsewhere, Queues Here

Just when Sri Lankans thought the fuel queue era was safely archived under things we survived and never want to see again, here we are. Back in line. Engines off. Patience thin.

This time, the reason isn’t local mismanagement or empty reserves. It’s the war unfolding thousands of kilometres away. Oil markets panic, supply chains twitch, prices spike, and somehow the ripple travels all the way to the petrol shed in Kohuwala.

It’s a strange kind of globalisation when someone else’s missiles land and our fuel gauge starts blinking.

And of course, the people who end up adjusting their lives are the same ones who always do. The office worker calculating if the tank will last till Friday. The tuk driver wondering if the day’s earnings will disappear into the next refill. The rest of us are just quietly rearranging our routines around a queue.

Because that’s the unwritten rule of geopolitics: when powerful countries fight, smaller ones get the bill. We didn’t vote in their elections. We didn’t launch their strikes. But apparently we’re all shareholders in the consequences.

Last Word: It’s amazing how quickly global conflicts become local inconveniences. One country declares war. Another country queues for petrol.

PTA or Pay-To-Attend?

Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya said this week that school events should not place a financial burden on parents.

Which is refreshing, because somewhere along the way, Sri Lankan school functions quietly turned into mini-budget productions. What used to be a simple concert now comes with costume lists, stage décor, professional lighting, “voluntary contributions,” and WhatsApp messages that read suspiciously like invoices.

Parents aren’t just sending kids to school anymore. They’re apparently co-producing the event.
And the thing is, none of this actually makes the event better for the children. A six-year-old does not care if the backdrop cost Rs. 200,000. They care that they remember their dance steps and that Amma and Thaththa are clapping in the audience.

But when schools start competing over who can produce the flashiest show, the pressure quietly shifts onto parents. And not every family has the luxury of treating a Grade 2 concert like a Broadway opening night.

The Prime Minister also spoke about education reforms, classroom sizes, and infrastructure, all of which are important conversations. But this particular reminder hits close to home for many families.

Because school should be where kids learn. Not where parents learn new ways to stretch their bank accounts.

Last Word: If the most stressful part of a school concert is the parent WhatsApp group budget, something has gone very wrong

Until next week, keep your tanks full, your school budgets reasonable, and your patience for unnecessary drama very, very limited.
- Rihaab