Parents must take the blame for not instilling proper values in children

When our children were young, we used to go often to Yala or WIlpattu. Then the trackers who guided us in the parks were very strict. So were we. The children learned to follow the jungle rules. They even spoke in whispers when we were doing the jungle rounds. Now they come with their children, and I find our grandchildren even better behaved than the previous generation. They are in awe of the jungle.

So it is obvious that the parents of the young people who recently misbehaved in Yala had not instilled proper values on their offspring. The importance of proper behavior, be it in the jungle, in a five star hotel or anywhere else, is obvious. Watching what happened at Yala recently on TV, I was appalled to see the total indifference of the perpetrators to environmental concerns and to the economic situation in the country. The way they wasted petrol careering madly in the same place was revolting. They were obviously not constrained by petrol rations.

This kind of behavior, should be punished. The ‘crimes’ of those student activists held in custody pale into insignificance compared to the way these affluent young men behaved. They are guilty of wanton destruction, scant regard for the environment or the economics of the day.

When you sit back and think that one set of young men with political connections run wild while another set without such patronage, fighting peacefully for a cause get beaten and locked up, one wonders what the world is coming to. When those with the right connections may well go Scot free, can the rulers be judged as just and fair?

Padmini Nanayakkara,Colombo-3.