The maiden edition of Miss Sri Lanka New York was marred by a scuffle involving several people at the pageant’s after-party in the South Beach neighbourhood on Staten Island.
A video of the ruckus, which went viral on social media, showed men and women, including the contestants, raining blows on each other at the event attended by more than 300 guests last Friday (Oct 21).
It was not clear what triggered the clash that also led to damage to property. Reports said multiple arrests were made in connection with the incident.
Angelia Gunasekara was crowned Miss Sri Lanka New York at the beauty parade organised to raise funds for the country’s national cancer hospital, which is facing equipment and medicine shortages amid a dire economic crisis.
Sri Lanka has endured months of scarcity of crucial goods including food and fuel, along with lengthy electricity blackouts and skyrocketing inflation after running out of foreign currency to finance essential imports.
The coronavirus pandemic dealt a hammer blow to the island’s tourism industry and dried up remittances from Sri Lankans working abroad – both key foreign exchange earners.
The organisers decided to hold the event on Staten Island, home to a large Sri Lankan diaspora, to help the South Asian nation which is in a “difficult condition”.
“Sri Lanka is not in a very good situation at the moment. We thought we have to do something for the community and the girls here. To bring out their talent and collect something and send it back to Sri Lanka,” Miss Sri Lanka New York 2022 committee member Sujani Fernando was quoted as saying by the Daily Mirror newspaper.
But Sri Lankan netizens poured scorn on members of the community, saying their behaviour tarnished the diaspora’s image in the United States.
“This is the typical behaviour of village Sri Lankans. Every event ends up in a brawl. From elders to children to women. they hit at each other with plastic chairs, umbrellas. It’s quite exciting to watch,” wrote a user.
Said another: “Utter disgrace and embarrassing. All of them should be arrested and punished according to the law.”
This article was first published in Asia One . All contents and images are copyright to their respective owners and sources.
