Is Sri Lanka forced to wake up to child deaths? - EDITORIAL

Sri Lanka has been in the news for some time as a nation where one often hears of child murders. The latest victim was a nine-year-old child from Atalugama in Bandaragama. 
Sexual harassment and murder of children in Sri Lanka are rampant. The situation is such that a child cannot be left unattended in society because the predator is close by. Often, the predator is a person known to the family. In some of the most disgusting incidents that get reported the predator is a close relation. 

The nine-year-old girl’s murder opened the eyes of the public in no uncertain terms. Often these murder stories that appear in newspapers are distanced from children. Parents think that children should not read such news items because they are gruesome. But they must know that such reports appearing in mainstream media are helpful in educating children about the dangers that exist in society. It’s beneficial for children to know what could happen to them when they step into vulnerable places and let their guard down. 

This writer doesn’t wish to state that children should continue to be restricted and move only in guarded places as they grow. They have to step into society, meet challenges and learn to deal with difficult people. Sometimes there are occasions when children are sexually harassed in crowded buses. We’ve heard of teenage daughters, who commute in public buses, running home and complaining to parents about ‘predatory hands’ at work. But now we hear of worse things; deaths. 

Just the other day, following the Atalugama murder, a newspaper journalist working for the Daily Mirror, after much research, revealed that this girl’s murder marked the 14th child murder inside 20 months in Sri Lanka. 
We also read about a female student from Anuradhapura sitting for the GCE O’Level Examination being sexually harassed at an examination centre. The suspect remanded in connection with this case, a male, is a teacher himself. 

There was also news of a 16-year-old girl having being found dead inside a well in Vavuniya. The girl had left home to attend a session at a tuition class and had not returned; hence a search had begun to locate her. It’s not clear whether it is a murder or a suicide and investigations are continuing. 
Then there was the news of some schoolchildren being forced to write answer scripts at the GCE O Level Exam in a classroom which had a leaking roof. The children at the exam centre were seen lifting opened umbrellas to shield their answer scripts. These pictures went viral in social media. There is so much that a child can do during a challenging time and not any more. Children are vulnerable to breakdown under pressure and parents, elders and teachers must be aware of this. 

According to newspaper reports these pictures of children shielding themselves with umbrellas inside a classroom was initially shared by the head invigilator at the centre. The pictures had been sent to the Zonal Education Director. What happened afterwards is history that should not have been documented even in social media. 
Some adults quite conveniently forget the fact that children have sensitive minds. Some others take it for granted that children can be exploited and abused. The good news is that virtually no one gets away with wrongdoing because the law is so strict. 

Many years ago artiste Anton Jones gave voice to the song ‘Podi Saman Kumara’; the song is about a child who was killed before the ransom money demanded was paid. That song gives a strong message to the public to take care of children and be vigilant about their whereabouts. 
Parents must be alert if they observe any peculiar behaviour pattern in children. Teenage lives can be saved if parents practise eternal vigilance.