When graffiti gets out of hand
Painting a wall could be an art form but spraying obscenities and destroying other people’s property could never be…
“Son, don’t write on the walls,” says Shayani to her 5-year-old. She gives him a piece of paper and coaxes him to draw on it insterd. Ten years later Shayani shouts to her 15-year-old, “Son, don’t write on walls.” She confiscates his spray can.

It is normal for young children to go through a stage where they write on every wall they see. It is also normal to grow out of it. Unfortunately some Sri Lankan youth seem to avoid this second stage. This phenomenon has left us with walls that look like the backs of messy notebooks.

While some of these vandals seem to feel the need to proclaim to the world that they “rock” or that their school has “power”, others like to publicize their relationships by painting their girlfriends’ names on walls. Then you get the more vindictive types who have taken this to another level, to take revange perhaps a girl who has rejected them or a friend who has betrayed them. The one thing they all have in common is their lack of respect for other people’s property.

There have been many cases where a name on a wall has ruined lives. Not only does the victim get in trouble with the school and parents, but it also makes him/her the talk of the town and may ruin their good name.

“It’s really shocking to realize that someone in the world hates you that much,” says 17-year-old Shena about her name being splashed on her school wall. The worst possible language had been used to describe her. She admitted that it affected her badly, especially because, “people believed it”. The worst part for her was the fact that her school didn’t repaint the wall for sometime and her parents had to do it themselves. She has no idea who did this but believes it could have been anyone “with a whacked mind and a spray can.”

20-year-old Ashika and other members of a school society to were doing a wall painting in the union room. After much hard work the masterpiece was complete. Two days later Ashika walked into the room, only to be horrified. The words *** prefects, was written right across the painting. “It’s appalling,” says Ashika, “you take so much trouble to do something and they just ruin it.”

So why do tey do it? “There’s a thrill in it because you’re doing something you’re not supposed to,” says 19-year-old Nimesh, a student of a leading school in Colombo. The whole point, according to him, is to do something forbidden. He doesn’t see anything wrong with it, as long as what is written is ‘harmless’.

The walls of girls’ schools are the most frequent targets of vandalism. Most of these walls are covered with names of girls, boys and schools, accompanied by obscene language and symbols.

The principal of Holy Family Convent, Bambalapitiya, Sr. Canice said that the school has had problems with girls’ names being written on the walls, adding that such an experience could badly affect the individual. In her opinion the solution to the problem lies in the education system itself. “Some kind of self-discipline should be introduced,” she says.

Though the situation in Kandy is better than in Colombo, it is still bad. Principal of Mahamaya Girls College, Mrs. W.M.B. Wijesinghe, said, “Our school is ready with a bucket of paint and a brush.” Cleaning up is an expensive affair. Every morning the security guards have to check the walls and repaint them, if necessary. Here the situation is worst during matches, particularly the Bradby. The boys come in gangs and threaten the guards, leaving them helpless. Other than for the usual, “we rock” and “we rule”, they write things about drugs and its effects. She however says that she has not had any problems with girls’ names being written so far.

“There is no one to complain to,” says Mrs. Wijesinghe. Other principals refuse to take responsibility, as there is usually no proof as to which school the vandals are from. They also say that it could have been past pupils and if so they have no control whatsoever. However, she feels that it is a school’s duty to discipline its students.

Mr. M.A.T. Fernando, principal of Wesley College feels that since you cannot determine who the culprit is, there is no point in complaining to the principals. In his opinion the situation is in the hands of the police and not the principals. He feels that the culprits, when caught, should be advised and counselled.

Living near schools or tuition classes is also a problem, as when space runs out on those walls the nearest houses become targets. One homeowner in Rosmead Place said his walls were constantly ruined. “It happens every year during the Big Match. We keep painting it and they keep ruining it.” This year a particular school had painted their slogans all over his wall. The Interact Club of this school had approached him later and promised to repaint the wall. “They promise but never turn up,” is his sad experience.
Another disgruntled homeowner mentioned that graffiction his wall has become an annual event. He said he could never take action because there was no way of proving who did it.

To some, “wall art” is a form of celebration. When the exams are over, or the ‘Big Match’ season draws near, they pull out their spray cans and hit the nearest walls. 16-year-old Kushan declares that he plans to do it after his O/Ls. “I think it’s OK. I feel bad about destroying property, but it’s so much fun.”

“It is to do with the mental and spiritual age,” says Counsellor, Ms. Indrani Abeysekera. She believes it is “a way of expressing a negative feeling which is meant to annoy and irritate. It is an irresponsible and low thing to do.”

OIC of the Cinnamon Gardens Police Station, Tissa Ilanperuma says, these offenders can be charged for mischief, obscenity or both. The problem is that most of them are difficult to catch as they do it on the sly and it is hard to prove. The police do keep a watchful eye for such activity, through night patrols, mobile patrols and radio cars. He also mentioned that most people are not willing to press charges, as it costs less time and money to repaint the walls themselves.

This maybe the case in Sri Lanka, but other countries handle the situation differently. In a much publicised case in Singapore an American college student, Michael Fay, was flogged in public for vandalism. None of America’s lawsuits could make the Singaporean government bend its rules.

In America graffiti has evolved into an art form. Over a hundred cities across the country (New York, Atlanta, Los Angeles) have opened areas where graffiti is legal. Some cities are even building walls for this purpose! While some see this as the perfect solution to vandalism others feel that graffiti is harmful and should not be encouraged.

Graffiti can either be an art form or vandalism. In Sri Lanka it takes the latter form, thus the fact remains that our youth need to find alternative methods of expressing themselves.
*All names have been changed to protect identity.

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