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Citizens Mail
I am writing to voice my personal experience during my holiday in Sri
Lanka.
My family and I have been in Sri Lanka now for 10 days. Our time
spent visiting areas of this beautiful country has been fantastic.
However, one very unfortunate moment and our travel was tarnished.
I very much enjoy jogging as a great way to see and experience
different parts of the world. During a beautiful afternoon run around
Galle Fort I was attacked by six stray dogs and both of my legs were
bitten. The fear of the initial attack; not knowing how or if they would
stop. And then after getting away the discomfort, pain and worry set in,
I managed to get back to Amangalla hotel where I was given medical
treatment. Part of this treatment included the administration of a
rabies vaccination.
Though very professional, it was an additionally painful experience
and quite costly. Much money I was intending to spend on souvenirs and
such was spent instead on medical costs.
My experience has made me take more notice of the many stray dogs in
Sri Lanka. As a concerned tourist I ask: Is there anything being done to
control either the number of stray dogs, especially in tourist areas?
Though I would think this must be a local issue as well.
I am a 'pro-life' minded person but I also believe in community
responsibility.
Chris Milliken Singapore/USA
The social passivity that reality has created does not know how to
look for other ways to spend its leisure time. This represents an
empirical example of something that is not functioning well in our
society. In principle, it seems as if reading, discussions, family time,
friend reunions and studies are things of another world.
This issue becomes even more critical, when the ones to be affected
are children, that is, those who spend way too much time in front of the
TV. By spending one third of their awake-time watching TV (outside of
their respective TV infant hours) children’s health is endangered. The
Auto-regulation Code of content during infant hours (from 5 pm till 8
pm) programed by television networks and the Government has been
infringed by most television networks various times. According to an
investigation conducted by the University of Columbia and the New York
State Psychiatric Institute, the youth population that watches
television three hours a day has a higher risk of turning the practice
into a habit as an adult.
Association of Housewives and Consumers warns that TV programs for
children, provided by a wide range of networks, are full of violence and
sexual behaviour.
Therefore, children TV ads should be treated as a sensible way of
communication. It should be taken care of to the last detail. Children
represent a wide TV audience group; a very vulnerable one. Due to this
vulnerability when it comes to TV ads, it is crucial to promote safe
child publicity. Child publicity should not be false nor manipulate.
Instead, it should be clear in its messages, since children may come to
exchange and perceive fantasy for reality.
TV irresponsibility has generated unwanted damage. Inhibitions should
be promoted into regulating actions, for without regulation negative
consequences may affect the innocent. For example, through the mass
media. For this reason, parents have the most arduous task of educating
their children.
“Infancy misadventures have an impact upon their lives, leaving an
inexhaustible fountain of melancholy in their hearts” affirms P Brulat.
Translated by Gianna A Sanchez-Moretti
Clemente Ferrer
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