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Agence France-Presse

Before jihadi bombers targeted Sri Lanka in deadly Easter attacks, Rangana Wijesuriya used to party until the small hours in the restaurants, bars and clubs of downtown Colombo.
Now, after the April 21 attacks that killed 257 people, the buzz is gone. The DJs are performing to empty dance floors and the bar staff are bored.
“It is usually really crowded and really noisy here. We were shocked to see that it is really empty,” says Wijesuriya, 26.
“Usually when we come, we stay until morning and drink and go,” she says.




Sri Lanka remains on high alert after bombers targeted three hotels and churches in attacks claimed by Islamic State.
In fact, even though it’s only just gone 8pm, the street is such a shadow of its former self that Wijesuriya is thinking of calling it a night.

The pedestrianised Park Street Mews used to be heaving, its many bars and chic restaurants the place to be seen.
Before, party-goers would have to elbow through 700 or 800 people on a Friday night, now there are barely 20 people on the street. The tapas bar has not bothered hiring the usual band.
Every Friday and Saturday night Harpo Gooneratne, a larger-than-life bar and restaurant owner, does the rounds of the places he runs in his chauffeur-driven car.

“Colombo’s nightlife, for the last couple of years, has been picking up because the tourists arrivals are getting bigger and bigger,” says Gooneratne.
“There were more bars, more restaurants opening … Colombo’s nightlife was on the up,” he says.
And he is hopeful that things will bounce back.

“It has taken a dip but we are positive that it is going to kick back and it is going to happen. The locals are going to be coming out as soon as possible,” he predicts.
At the entrance to Park Street Mews, security guards check visitors’ bags for explosives, and concrete blocks have been installed to prevent any attacks with vehicles.
A French restaurant in the street, the Cafe Francais, used to refuse reservations after 10pm, and some clientele used to send their drivers to claim one of the coveted tables.

Now sales are down by half and its manager Jean-Charles Toussaint, originally from the southern French city of Montpellier, expects things to remain dire for a while.
“The situation isn’t great. But it’s understandable… Things will have to get going again slowly,” says Toussaint.
Natalie Jayasuria, owner of the Flamingo House building, where there is a bar, restaurant and a club, agrees.
“Sri Lanka is a resilient nation. We fought 30 years of war, we survived that. I believe we can survive anything,” she says.


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Asia travel

How Colombo nightlife died after Sri Lanka terrorist attacks, and the bar owners confident it will return

An empty bar in Park Street Mews in downtown Colombo. Photo: AFP

In this photo taken on May 4, 2019, the Park Street Mews area, full of restaurants and bars, is seen empty in downtown Colombo. - The pedestrianised Park Street Mews used to be heaving, its many bars and chic restaurants the place to be seen for Sri Lanka's party set, plus a few tourists. With the island nation still in shock from being the target of such an audacious and horrific attack -- suicide bombers attacked three churches and three hotels -- people are afraid to go out. (Photo by LAKRUWAN WANNIARACHCHI / AFP) / To go out with: SRI LANKA-ATTACKS-TOURISM-LEISURE by Alexandre MARCHAND

An empty bar is seen at the Warahena Beach hotel in Bentota, Sri Lanka May 2, 2019. Picture take May 2, 2019. REUTERS/Dinuka Liyanawatte

In this picture taken on May 1, 2019, Sri Lankan soldiers walk through the Cinnamon Grand Hotel lobby in Colombo. - On April 21, the Cinnamon was one of three hotels hit by jihadi bombers along with three churches in attacks claimed by the Islamic State group that left 257 people dead. (Photo by ISHARA S. KODIKARA / AFP) / TO GO WITH Sri Lanka-attacks-tourism,FOCUS, BY Alexandre MARCHAND

A Sri Lankan soldier stands guard at the entrance of the Cinnamon Grand Colombo hotel lobby. Photo: Ishara S. Kodikara/AFP

China issues Sri Lanka travel alert after deadly Easter blasts

A soldier stands guard outside St Sebastian's Church in Negombo on Tuesday, two days after a series of bomb blasts targeting churches and luxury hotels in Sri Lanka. Photo: AFP

Does Sri Lanka attack show Islamic State is targeting South Asia? Indian and Bangladeshi security experts play down threat

An image released by Islamic State’s news agency purports to show Mohammed Zahran (centre), the man Sri Lanka says led the Easter attack that killed over 300 people, as well as other attackers. Photo: AP

FILE- A Dec. 29, 2018 file photo of Bangladesh police's elite Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), a security force focused on combating extremist groups, in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Indian and Bangladeshi officials and security experts largely dismissed a fresh threat of violence from an Islamic State-aligned media group, insisting that routine monitoring of would-be militants would prevent a Sri Lanka-style attack from taking place elsewhere in South Asia. Al-Mursalat Media released a graphic on Tuesday of five militants who carried out a 2016 attack at a cafe in the diplomatic enclave of Bangladesh’s capital, Dhaka, according to global terrorism monitor SITE Intelligence. Mufti Mahmud Khan, a spokesman for RAB, told The Associated Press that he didn’t place “any great emphasis” on the threat released by the IS-aligned media group. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath, File)

Lifestyle

Travel & Leisure

Since the deadly church and hotel bombings, the once crowded clubs, restaurants and bars of the nation’s capital have been empty
Owners face lean times, but see the island nation as resilient. ‘We fought 30 years of war, we survived that. I believe we can survive anything,’ says one


Since the deadly church and hotel bombings, the once crowded clubs, restaurants and bars of the capital have been empty. Owners face lean times, but remain optimistic about Sri Lanka’s resilience and the return of customers.


Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka bombings

How Colombo nightlife died after Sri Lanka terrorist attacks, and the bar owners confident it will return

Since the deadly church and hotel bombings, the once crowded clubs, restaurants and bars of the nation’s capital have been empty Owners face lean times, but see the island nation as resilient. ‘We fought 30 years of war, we survived that. I believe we can survive anything,’ says one

Since the deadly church and hotel bombings, the once crowded clubs, restaurants and bars of the nation’s capital have been empty

Owners face lean times, but see the island nation as resilient. ‘We fought 30 years of war, we survived that. I believe we can survive anything,’ says one