Opening Meeting of the "Dialogue Circle"

The objective of the Dialogue Circle of the ICY Group of the Pamunugama YMCA  is to

motivate youth in opening their eyes to the realities taking place around them The members of the  Circle (eight youth and two adults) met for the first time  on 19 May 2013 in the YMCA library.

Group had a general discussion on the current trends in Sri Lanka and as per the media reports the members felt  that there are lot of problems existing in the country at the moment in almost all spheres.

Summery of the discussion

“The citizens in Sri Lanka feel the rule of law is not where it should be while corruptive practices are being reported almost daily even from state sector institutions.

The quality of services expected from the fields of  education, health, transportation, etc have dropped to a miserable level.

Every quarter has been politicised depriving the rights of the man on the street while the fortunate ones at higher places and their henchmen enjoy all the luxuries at the  expense of the common man.

Although much has been said about the LLRC recommendations very little appear to have been accomplished which is an unhealthy sign for the country’s future as thousands are waiting to be reconciled and assisted in restarting their life. In the international arena it seems our country’s image is being tarnished due to this situation.

The people are unable to get a correct picture about the happenings taking place  around them as the media either has been tamed or they have  tamed themselves. The ultimate result is people are kept in the dark and forced to believe what the media tell them.

Although mega development projects are visible around the country eye brows  are raised whether these are the current priorities in the country and whether the full amounts of resources borrowed from outside are being utilized for the purpose. People suspect corruptions are eating into a larger share of inputs.

In spite of the existence of the above facts people are allowed to live and travel freely as they do not have to bother any more on bomb explosions where the LTTE is concerned.

The members felt a great political, social and  religious revival is necessary for all the people to live in peace enjoying democratic rights. In this aspect all the political parties, religions and all the interested groups are morally bound for working sincerely in achieving the expected results.

At the end of the meeting group decided to have more regular gatherings - at least once a month and the ICY group of the YMCA of Pamunugama took the responsibility of organising same.