A very small incident ignited the thoughts of writing this article. One day i was at Galle Face Green and a foreign couple , with a child were walking there looking for something. They were looking and looking. They were looking for a garbage bin and once they found the bin , they put the garbage there and went.
Trash Warning In Sinhalese - "We are hiding here - If you dump trash , we will hit you "
How many Sri Lankans will do that ? How many indians will do that. We still put litter whereever we want (we dump our household trash on the road , spit whereever we want , smoke in public and the list would go on)
One of the key reasons (in my opinion) why the Europe and far eastern countries have developed is the discipline within the people. They will not litter on the road and would not break a queue when waiting for a bus or a taxi. This is an intagible component of the development which the government of Sri Lanka has not paid attention.
The ports , bridges and highways would make the physical development possible – yet we have to change the mindsets of people – otherwise all the efforts would not be very successful.
Is there a place where the younger generation learn about good values ? Does the schools teach them ? These values should be instilled at the young age.
Laws are there to maintain the social order. They will hardly instill self discipline within the people. Think about the recent law to prohibit errant road crossings. We can’t deploy police to minitor how the people cross roads – it’s not practical and only self discipline will help.
PS : Please note that this article does not reflect the policies of my employer nor the organizations i am representing.
My Life and My Views about the world 