Sri Lankan singer and songwriter Yohani Diloka de Silva who rose to international fame with her song 'Manike Mage Hithe' in 2020, has appealed to fans all over the world to donate for Sri Lanka and help the country financially while it is facing its worst economic crisis.
Taking to Instagram, Silva shared a video and wrote: "I hope all fans of my music, from everywhere in the world, will let me talk about something unrelated to my music, which is very close to my heart."
The singer, who has been in India for the past few weeks said, that her heart has been back home in Sri Lanka, where her countrymen are going through "the worst economic crisis in our independent history as a nation."
"It’s breaking my heart to see the suffering of my people and to not be there to stand with them at this time," Yohani Diloka de Silva wrote.
Elaborating on her stand to stay non-political, the artist said that the situation in Sri Lanka forced her to break her silence and help Lankan people at this difficult time.
"My team and I have been careful not to accept favour or affiliation, and I will stand by that principle going forward. As an artist and as a person, I have remained non-political throughout my career. But, as an ambassador to my country, with an international platform, I’ve decided to break my silence," Yohani Diloka de Silva wrote.
She also shared details of a project that she has been working on with fellow Sri Lankan artists "to contribute in a tangible way to the country."
"I hope my fans in India and the world will support this project and stand with Sri Lanka. I’m sorry to call on you for support, but the Sri Lankan people need it at this difficult time," the artist wrote with her video message.
On Monday, Sri Lanka's President Gotabaya Rajapaksa acknowledged that he made mistakes that led to the country's worst economic crisis in decades and pledged to correct them.
“During the last two and a half years we have had vast challenges. The COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the debt burden, and some mistakes on our part,” Rajapaksa said. “They need to be rectified. We have to correct them and move forward. We need to regain the trust of the people.”
The country is on the brink of bankruptcy, with nearly $7 billion of its total $25 billion in foreign debt due for repayment this year. A severe shortage of foreign exchange means the country lacks money to buy imported goods.
People have endured months of shortages of essentials like food, cooking gas, fuel and medicine, lining up for hours to buy the very limited stocks available.
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