This is what we have become

Dr Ruwan M. Jayatunge

On October 29, 2009 a man was throwing stones at trains and vehicles passing Bambalapitiya, Colombo 4. Angry crowds reported this incident to police and a constable from the Bambalapitiya police station came to the scene immediately. Instead of using his intellect and skills, the constable started beating him and the fearful man jumped into the sea.

Seashore tragedy … It is unfortunate that onlookers failed to save the man from drowning

The constable reportedly took a wooden pole and with the help of another two men started assaulting the victim. The helpless man brought his hands together and worshipped his tormentors. But they did not stop. They continued to beat him until he drowned. When this incident occurred, more than 100 people were watching it and no one spoke against it or intervened to save the man.

The victim

The victim was later identified as B. Sivakumar (26), a resident of Ratmalana.

He was also a psychiatric patient who had taken treatment from the Angoda Mental Hospital. Probably, he suffered from Schizophrenia and following auditory hallucinations he started throwing stones at vehicles or may be he had BPAD (Bipolar Affective Disorder) in his manic phase and became aggressive and reactive. Sudden provocation could have led him to throw stones at vehicles. Apart from the illness, the 30-year armed conflict in Sri Lanka may have aggravated his mental health.

The psychological autopsy

At a time like this when racial tension has reached its maximum levels, one can come to a petty and racial conclusion that a Sinhalese Police officer killed a Tamil man in the heart of Colombo in broad daylight. Most probably, the people did not know the man's nationality when they first saw him throwing stones. Of course they were mad at him.

Also they knew that he was doing an abnormal thing. But no one wanted to calm him down or not to provoke him further. This indicates the most pathetic part of the incident. People encouraged the tormentors with their non-interfering attitude and silence. In a war-torn society, this silence and emotional apathy represent a social dilemma and retraumatization. This has become a damaging feature which is prevailing in the contemporary Sri Lankan society. People mind their own business saying that "we are good citizens, we don't want to get involved".

That is the common attitude of the intellectuals, artists etc. This condition is expressed by one of my good friends as "fear" overrides a sense of humanity. On October 29, 2009 at Bambalapitiya seashore, we witnessed this condition again.

In Medieval Europe, psychiatric patients were regarded as the agents of Satan and they were tortured and often burnt to death.

Humane treatment of psychiatric patients

The humane way of treating psychiatric patients in Europe started with Dr Philippe Pinels reformations in the 18th century.

But 2,500 years ago, we Sri Lankans treated psychiatric patients with compassion. Kohombakankariya, which is an ancient Sri Lankan ritual and a mode of psychotherapy, testifies that we did not burn psychiatric patients but cured them. King Buddhadasa (340-368 A.D.) was a magnificent physician as well as a psychotherapist.

One day, a man insulted and humiliated the king in public. Instead of sending him to the prison, the king did a psychological profile on him and came to know that the man was mentally unsound.

King Buddhadasa treated the patient and the man regained his insight. As the story goes, he became a good friend of the king. There are reports from all over the world that psychiatric patients are mistreated and face discrimination.

The hidden truth

Many law and enforcement officers have no idea about trauma/psychiatric based behaviour of a mentally unsound man.

The Bambalapitiya incident reflects this once again. Many psychiatric patients do not seek treatment following social stigma.

In Sri Lanka, there are a large number of people (civilians/military/ex-militants) with untreated and undiagnosed malignant PTSD. These men can go in to tantrums or flashbacks with a sudden provocation or with an arousal.

How are we going to deal with this in the future? Are we going to repeat the Bambalapitiya incident again?