Dear Reader,

I’m writing this newsletter from a small dorm hostel in Kandy, Sri Lanka. I came here to report on how, nine months after Cyclone Ditwah devastated Sri Lanka, a few lapses continue to choke some of the country’s most vulnerable communities.

In my few days in Sri Lanka, I’ve heard tales that I know will become core memories. A teenager who was completely submerged in mud for 10 hours, with only his face above the surface, when a landslide hit his home. A middle-aged man who suffered a heart attack when the cyclone struck his hometown but, with all the roads blocked, could reach a bigger hospital only after three days. The doctors were shocked that he had survived.

At The Xylom, we know a story that can change lives when we see one. This sixth sense is built from years of reporting experience.

Eight years ago, I visited a beggar rehabilitation home in suburban Chennai, southern India, to expose a major scam where Rs 1.5 lakh (1,563 USD) of public money was being spent every month to pay three permanent officers and 14 people on deputation at an institution that had literally no beggars. (As a comparison, the average Indian worker makes less than $300 per month.) 

When I went there for the first time, the officer in charge grabbed my phone and deleted the pictures I had taken, leaving me utterly shocked. It took me a year to go back to the same centre, this time on a Saturday, so that the officer would be on leave. I posed as a social worker and managed to gather a lot of information.

The story created ripples, as many media organisations followed up on it. One journalist told me that he joined Citizen Matters, my previous employer, after reading the story. A social worker actually set up a beggar rehabilitation home in his hometown after reading the article.

Three years ago, I visited schools reserved for Dalit students in Tamil Nadu to report on the stepmotherly treatment they received compared with other government schools. When I was walking across the playground of one of the schools, I noticed a flashy piece of paper and, upon closer inspection, realised it was tobacco packaging. I followed the trail and found that it was Cool Lip, a chewable tobacco product widely used by students in these schools.

I decided to focus on this story, speaking to teachers, students, and shopkeepers selling the product. The story led the Tamil Nadu School Education Department to issue a circular asking all stakeholders to investigate the issue and take action.

Accountability reporting projects like these are time- and cost-intensive. Over three days in the field, travel, a local fixer, and food cost about $800, with our newsroom partner Mekong Independent sharing expenses. For perspective, Sri Lanka’s Department of Census and Statistics reported a mean monthly gross salary of about $607 for monthly wage and salary earners in 2024. 

This is a reminder of the financial cost of reporting beyond Colombo, and why it is so important that readers like you support independent news collaboratives!

As people from Colombo, the Sri Lankan capital, started walking towards their homes in Kandy to find out the status of their families, with no transport and mud blocking the roads, one family opened their house and served tea and food for free over the next 10 days to these desperate people. I really hope my upcoming reportage sheds light on the resiliency of Sri Lankan communities, what’s preventing them from emerging from the aftermath of Cyclone Ditwah, and why the country is the canary in the coal mine for climate loss and damage response.

Warmly,
Laasya Shekhar
Managing Editor

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This story is published in English by The Xylom and in Spanish by Planeta Futuro, EL PAÍS.

🌞 NEWS BEHIND THE NEWS

• 🤝 Ahead of Climate Week, check out the brand-new website of the Climate News Task Force, of which we are a member newsroom!

• 📙 Our contributor Ellie Rose Mattoon’s new book, “The Maverick’s Midwife”, will hit your nearest bookstore in November! Pre-order here.

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