Protect the vulnerable!

This silence is deafening, disquieting and shaming. A seven year-old-girl has been raped and killed in a most inhuman fashion, apparently, by boys who are still in their teens in the heart of Colombo, but the brutal act is yet to be even condemned by any quarter that matters. It is a great pity that human life has come to be considered by some to be so trivial and cheap that bizarre crimes of this kind are more or less winked at and taken as a matter of course.

This is the Blood of the Innocents that is being shed and history should have taught humankind by now that such crimes should not be glossed over or ignored. They must not only be quickly investigated and those responsible brought to justice, but those sections which are considered civilized must be most vehement, loud and eloquent in their condemnation of these crimes.

On this last count, most sections in Sri Lanka stand convicted and condemned. We are yet to hear any condemnations of the killing or calls for justice over it, although there are numerous organizations, including those linked to the state, which profess to work towards the wellbeing of women and children and other groups which are seen as vulnerable and in need of constant care and protection. For our part, this newspaper unequivocally and unreservedly condemns this heinous killing of the girl-child.

Therefore, this deafening silence on the part of adult society is most discouraging. What compounds the sense of shame which stems from the gruesome murder of the girl-child is this apathetic silence on the part of those who should know better. Just in case it is forgotten, it needs to be borne in mind by all who matter that ‘Evil grows when good men/women remain silent.’

To be sure, the law enforcers are doing their best to bring the criminals in question to book. In fact, we are told that some suspects are already in custody. This could bring some relief but having a law and order machinery which is in fine trim is only one aspect of ushering and sustaining social peace. What is of equal importance is the decriminalization of society. This is a challenge which should be faced squarely and overcome, particularly in post-conflict societies such as ours.

Of the more vital institutions of the local state, the Sri Lankan Security Forces are alert to this responsibility of decriminalizing our culture and the psycho-social support they offer vulnerable sections is commendable. But this is an undertaking that needs to be accepted by all responsible sections of our polity. Sri Lankan society as a whole needs to accept this challenge and overcome it if future generations are to inherit a more wholesome Sri Lanka. We need to work as one man towards social justice and peace because of the inseparability of the two.

We note that numerous organizations that espouse the cause of women and other sections which are seen as vulnerable, have thus far been ineloquent over the killing of the girl-child but this is a matter for all sections that count themselves as being among the civilized.

Before it is too late, all sections with a conscience need to stand-up and be counted in this momentous undertaking of ridding Sri Lanka of brute violence.

Hopefully, there would be a proactive involvement on the part of all who mean well to make Sri Lanka morally wholesome and free of the scourge of crime. We know for a fact that the state is highly conscious of this problem. But it would need the cooperation of all to bring healing to this land.

Never a day passes without our being told of violent crime. Women and children, in particular, seem to be under threat. But the ability to alleviate the problem resides in the hands of the well meaning who should work concertedly towards ridding local society of crime. Society needs to bear in mind this thought: ‘When evil abounds, the good superabounds.’