Sri Lankan cafe owner helps stranded tourists

When flights were canceled and the airports shut down in Sri Lanka, Darshana Ratnayake came to the rescue.

Ratnayake, who owns the Chill Cafe in Ella, a former colonial hill station in Sri Lankan tea country, organized free food and shelter for dozens of stranded tourists.

“We were totally blown away,” said Alex Degmetich, a 31-yearold American cruise line entertainment director.

“It’s pretty remarkable,” he said, “coming from Western society, where nothing is really given to us and we have to pay for everything, which is fine. But here, locals providing us — tourists — free food and accommodation is really humbling.”

The Sri Lankan government imposed a nationwide curfew March 20 to curb the spread of the virus, sealing off entire regions of the island nation. Degmetich was among 40 tourists from 11 countries stranded in Ella.

Ella’s famous treks tend to draw a young backpacker crowd, and Ratnayake knew they’d soon be out of money, and the small bed-and-breakfast lodges out of food.

Just after the curfew was imposed, Ratnayake prepared a list of those staying in lodges and began boxed dinner deliveries. And he convinced lodge owners to let their guests stay on for free.

“Our livelihood depends on tourism. We must help tourists when they are in trouble. Money isn’t everything. We must help and share at difficult times like this,” he said.

He said he also donated $27,000 to tour guides who lost their income when tourism came to a standstill.

Ratnayake has expanded his support to both lunch and dinner each day.