Shelton Pieris had flights to return to Sri Lanka on Sunday to see friends and family for the first time since the outbreak of the pandemic.
But as the country's worst economic crisis in 20 years deepened he was forced to postpone the trip.
"The main thing is, if there is no fuel then we cannot travel anywhere," Mr Pieris says, referring to fuel shortages that have crippled the country and made basic travel near impossible.
Instead of preparing to fly to Colombo, he has been following the weekend's dramatic events from Sydney with anti-government demonstrators storming the presidential palace, forcing the Prime Minister and President to offer to resign.
The remarkable scenes follow months of economic crisis, including fuel and gas shortages, soaring food prices, and a lack of medicine.
While disappointed to have missed out on a long-awaited trip, Mr Pieris is more optimistic about the country's future following the ousting of the country's "highly corrupted" government leaders.
"They are the main problems and also more than 90 per cent of the people were requesting them to step down because of the mismanagement of the country," he says.
Mr Pieris is among many Sri Lankans in Sydney who are watching closely from afar with a mixture of worry about family and friends struggling to access basic necessities and hope that the political situation might soon change.
Sending basic supplies
Mr Pieris is also involved in fundraising efforts underway in Sydney and across Australia to send much-needed supplies back to the country.
The Australian government also last week committed $50 million in aid to help Sri Lanka purchase food and healthcare.
At a fundraiser in Sydney's inner-west suburb of Newtown on Sunday night organised by Welcome Merchant, a social enterprise supporting refugee and migrant businesses, Sujan Selventhiran told diners there was a sense of opportunity in Sri Lanka now.
"Even during these difficult times, I feel personally empowered and feel motivated about what's happening in Sri Lanka," Mr Selventhiran, a member of Sydney's Tamil community, says.
"I feel there's a very strong understanding of the corrupted government and the political system and there are young people getting involved and they want a new government, a new phase, a new fresh look to their political system, the economy and the whole system … for the benefit of the country — not for the benefit of the individual politicians."
Mr Selventhiran, who ran for the Greens at the federal election, is keeping in touch with friends in Colombo who joined the protests at the weekend.
"They were empowered and they were excited to be part of it because it is a change that is taking place," he says.
But Mr Selventhiran, who is from the northern part of Sri Lanka and works on digital learning and technology projects, is concerned about family and friends living there.
"So they can't do any logistics work or transportation, and then that's also put more strain on, you know, distributing foods or getting the daily needs of individuals."
He sees a change in government as a temporary solution for Tamil people, a minority that has experienced higher levels of disadvantage for years, with more structural change needed.
Tamil activists feel 'left out'
Iyngaranathan Selvaratnam, a doctor in Western Sydney and a Tamil activist, says he was shocked things had moved so quickly after a long campaign to overthrow the "oppressive regime".
"I think the first photo I saw was the protesters in the swimming pool at Gotabaya Rajapaksa's house," he says.
There is also relief that the massive anti-government demonstrations have been almost completely peaceful.
"We feared that there might be hundreds of deaths. We've seen brutal crackdowns not just on Tamils but the Singhalese population in the 70s and 80s, as well, where tens of thousands of people were killed," he says.
But Mr Selvaratnam says celebrations have been tempered by the fact that the Tamil cause had been largely overlooked in the protests.
"We're very cautious that, as has happened for 74 years, just one oppressor replaces another and what Tamils really need is system change," he says.
Mr Selvaratnam also works with Tamil refugees in Australia and says he is mindful that political change could have implications for asylum seekers and refugees depending on how the new political situation was viewed internationally.
That is just one of the many uncertainties about Sri Lanka's immediate future as the opposition looks to form a new government this week.
How a new government is able to address the severe shortages and improve people's daily lives will be crucial.
For Mr Pieris, he does not know when he'll be able to visit loved ones back home.
He hopes there will be fresh elections held within six months and the country can be returned to political stability.
