What is fear?

Fear is one of the worst emotions a human being can experience. For children and teenagers feelings of fear can cause pain and heartache. Currently due to the tense situation in the country the feeling of fear is overwhelming. Fear can occur when we don’t know what is going to happen, when we are faced with a threat or taken out of our comfort zone.Fearful feelings can also arise when we are put in a situation where we are not comfortable and unsure whether we can cope with challenges. When you experience fear your heart starts beating rapidly, you begin overthinking most things, you can’t sleep, you feel hopelessness and experience lack of concentration.

Most of Sri Lanka is in fear right now because of the recent tragic events that took place on Sunday the 21st of April, 2019 when extremists went on a killing spree by exploding bombs in various parts of the island.

Reasons for being fearful at present

On Sunday at 8:03 AM the first explosion took place at Shangri-La and then 2 more explosions at Cinnamon Grand and The Kingsbury. 3 more explosions occurred at 3 different churches, Zion Church in Batticaloa and St. Sebastian’s in Negombo with St, Anthony’s also in Negombo. A Sri Lankan based terrorist group are being blamed for the Easter Sunday Attacks.  However during investigations it was revealed that the group had connections to the deadly terror group ISIS. The current death toll stands at 359 which includes 45 children and nearly 40 foreigners. From Monday the 22nd the President declared a State of Emergency. Everyday there are curfews from 10PM to 4AM the next morning. Exactly a decade ago the 30-year old war between the LTTE and Sri Lanka ended. That war was one of the worst wars Sri Lanka has ever seen and the recent terror attacks come in second place after the civil war. 

To get rid of fear we have to start with ourselves. You could keep yourself occupied and distracted by listening to music and reading books or by talking to your friends 

How is fear spread?

Fear is disseminated through the public rapidly because of false stories being circulated. Graphic images also being circulated which make people assume and imagine the worst. The social media platforms were blocked because of the circulation of false stories and images. False stories are also spread by people who want to cause trouble between the many groups that live in Sri Lanka.

What can we do to get over fear?

To get rid of fear we have to start with ourselves. You could keep yourself occupied and distracted by listening to music and reading books or by talking to your friends. We have to have faith in the God that we believe in and also pray to our God. We also have to look out and look after one another. We have to act responsibly and avoid taking the law into our own hands. Finally, we have to unite ourselves with everybody to get through this difficult time together.Let’s hope that these feelings of fear are temporary and peace will return to our beautiful country.

Sent by Tharun Edward Gunawardhana (14 years. AIS)