Bad influences threat to society - Minister Sirisena

Nadira GUNATILLEKE

Schoolchildren as well as Ministers are under tremendous pressure always due to many bad influences in society which try to attract innocent people. The only way out is loving yourself, acting according to your consciousness and follow the advice of your parents and teachers, Health Minister Maithripala Sirisena said.

Addressing the launching ceremony of HIV/AIDS prevention teledrama, song and booklet held at the Sri Lanka Foundation Institute, Colombo, Minister Sirisena said that he was from a village located far away where a lot of anti-social activities were going on at that time. "It was my parents and teachers who brought me up in the correct way and made me a complete person. My mother was a schoolteacher and many teachers who came to teach in our village school were boarded at my home. All of them were the guiding lights of my life. My father was a headman in the village," the Minister said.

According to Minister Sirisena, a person should love himself or herself and only then he or she can love another person. No matter how much advice children receive from their parents and teachers they have to act according to their consciousness. Otherwise such advice will do no good to them. There are so many bad and dangerous elements out there trying to grab innocent children and adults. Both schoolchildren and Ministers face the same problem. It is very difficult not to give in to these bad elements.

Minister Sirisena pointed out that the person has to debate with his consciousness using intelligence and experiences and decide what is good and what is bad.

Today with the advancement of modern technology nothing can be locked up in a box and select what is good and what is bad. The biggest challenge today is for parents and teachers to protect children physiologically. There are many bad elements out there waiting to grab children. Communication technology has achieved a significant development and there is no way of regulating children's access to new and advanced technology.

A song with visuals, a short Sinhala tele drama and a booklet produced by the National STD/AIDS Control Program were launched during the ceremony. Officials of the Health Ministry, NIE and NCPA were present. Around 500 schoolchildren from selected schools from seven provinces took part in the launching ceremony.