MENTALLY DISABLED YOUTH FOUND NEAR GARMENT

Unwanted mentally imbalanced youth .....
  left near garment factory

    Giving shelter to a mentally imbalanced person is somewhat of a difficult task ... unlike looking after other patients. For this purpose, members of the family should exercise a sense of dedication. But there are enough people in the villages of Sri Lanka who work with dedication on behalf of someone in the family or blood relation. As an alternative, there are centres for the care of such patients at various points in the country.

    But if one considers leaving someone belonging to his or her own family by a roadside because the person happens to be mentally sick without taking action .... what kind of an inhuman act would it be?

    The incident reported from a location close to a garment factory in Nugaduwa, Galle is one such.

    Though people going to the garment factory had noticed this young man who had been abandoned near this garment factory and had tried to assist him, it was seen that he had not been even in a position to speak.

    Later, the Galle Port police arrived there and after inquiring about this mentally imbalanced person had been left there on the road by someone. He  was not in a position even to converse properly.

   It was seen that he had been dressed by someone and he was in a very badly dressed state. It was after that, that officers of Port Police took steps to have him cleaned up. By now he had been admitted to the Teaching Hospital of Karapitiya for further treatment. It has been noticed that this person was around the age of 40; but it was not possible to find a guardian for him. It had been reported from Hospital authorities that the person was able only to infer that he is from the Deniyaya area.

   What can be done in the case of innocent people like this?

   Abandoning someone like him when he is no longer needed in the same manner that dogs and cats are left near temples and cemeteries show a deterioration of social values.

   The police are taking action as to what steps ought be taken regarding this person.