The Island Editorial

A laudable crusade

21 January 2017

 

Tiger terrorism has long ceased to trouble us. People are no longer blown to bits in buses and trains or chopped to death elsewhere. Let all deities be thanked for that! But, worryingly, there has emerged a different kind of terror which is difficult to neutralise. All efforts by successive governments to eradicate this winged Tiger menace have come a cropper. The Catholic Church has decided to go flat out to contain it.

A campaign is scheduled to begin against the Asian Tiger mosquitoes (Aedes Albopictus) responsible for spreading the dengue virus. Archbishop of Colombo Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith has asked his priests in the Archdiocese of Colombo to dedicate tomorrow (22) to fighting dengue. He has called for voluntary cleaning programmes in churches, schools and institute premises as well as within and outside houses to control the breeding of the dengue-carrying mosquitoes. He has also urged the Catholic priests to request the religious leaders of other communities to take part in the campaign to make it a success.

The Cardinal’s noble effort deserves public support. It is hoped that all religious and community leaders will heed his clarion call for action and help mobilise people in sufficient numbers to rid the country of dengue, which is spreading at an alarming rate. The campaign should be expanded to cover the entire country.

It is usually the ordinary people who get all the flak for not destroying mosquito breeding places. Most of them, no doubt, are responsible for the spread of dengue, but local councils are the biggest culprits. Most of the public drains are full of mosquito larvae, but no action is taken against those who helm the local government bodies. The situation has taken a turn for the worse as these institutions have been left without elected representatives for a long time. Officials currently running them are notorious for bureaucratic lethargy, apathy and callousness. They are not answerable to the people and, therefore, do not give a damn about public opinion. Hence, the need for holding local government polls without further delay!

This country has so many places of religious worship that, we believe, if each and every one of them is tasked with keeping an area within one mile radius clean all mosquito breeding places can be destroyed in next to no time.

If the help of public and private institutions and civil society organisations is also enlisted the task of combating dengue will be easier than thought. What is needed is for all religious, political and community leaders to come together and lead the people in the country’s war against dengue.

Political leaders brag that their parties have millions of members. In fact, they bus large crowds for their May Day rallies, which only help boost their XXL egos. Political parties also have a presence in all reaches of the country and are capable of mobilising support for various campaigns at the grass roots level. The question is why they do not do so for the sake of the country, struggling to tackle the dengue menace. If party leaders care to put their heads together in Parliament, where they deliberate on national issues, they surely can figure out how to mobilise their supporters to eliminate mosquito breeding places.

Time was when many thought it would never be possible to eradicate malaria, which used to snuff out thousands of lives in most parts of the country. Today, thankfully, the country has been officially declared malaria free. True, malaria is different from dengue. But, a determined national effort, sustained over a long period of time, is sure to yield the desired results.

The Cardinal has shown the way! It behoves others to follow.