Tackling suicide
FOR the past couple of years, suicide has been a problem that has bedevilled Guyana, and even though much has been said about the scourge, not much has been done to address it.
Many would recall, with shock, that prominent social activist Zenita Nicholson took her own life last year because of abuse and depression. In November of that very year, the nation read about the tragic death of teenagers Kavita Ackloo and Ramesh Persaud, who took their lives by consuming a poisonous substance. Their bodies were found on the Kingston Seawall. The young couple was said to have had a rocky relationship.
Fast forward to 2016, and with only a few days in the New Year, 14-year-old Sherryanne Alli and her adult lover, Deoraj Persaud, who under the law would have been deemed a statutory rapist, were found hanging in a bedroom of the home of a relative. Media reports suggest that their dreadful act stemmed from well-intentioned advice to end their illicit relationship.
These are just few of the many cases of suicide that have occurred over the past five years. It is important to point out that, immediately after the death of Nicholson, Ackloo and Ramesh Persaud, the Indian Arrival Committee (IAC) had issued an appeal to the Government, Opposition and religious leaders, among others, to come together and develop a national strategy to address the scourge of suicide.
Accordingly, it is refreshing to hear that President David Granger, through a multi-sectorial approach, will be mobilising experts, both local and foreign, to enquire into the real causes of suicide, and have those causes tangibly addressed.
Some of the prominent risk factors local health officials have identified include acute emotional distress, mental disorder, impulsivity, aggressive tendencies, adolescent maladaptive disorder, and alcohol abuse.
The President’s concerns are understandable, because, in Guyana, 34.7 per 100,000 deaths, and not 44.2 per 100,000 as was reported in both the local and international press, are from suicide. This is way above the global average of 11.4 per 100,000 and towers over the average 6.1 per 100,000 rate in Latin America and the Caribbean, as was highlighted at the Caribbean Public Health Agency’s 60th health research conference in Grenada last year.
While there is no cure for suicide, as people will always do as they see fit, suicide is 100 per cent preventable. The unfortunate problem we are faced with in Guyana is that, although this country has gained notoriety for its high suicide rate, no sustained strategic effort was ever undertaken by the previous administration to tackle the social debacle.
The recent announcement by President Granger is a significant step in the right direction, since it would address the travesty of the neglect of a grave problem especially affecting the East Indian community. Some 80 per cent of the victims of suicide in Guyana are of East Indian descent. That aside, the vast majority of victims take their lives by consuming poison, while a small number hang or shoot themselves.
It is imperative to note that tackling suicide must first begin by controlling the means people use to take their lives. And it cannot be overstated that the Government must do all it can to get poisonous substances out of the hands of farmers and others who are vulnerable.
We think that persons buying chemicals should simultaneously be made to pay for the services of an extension officer or any other designated professional to administer it.
But whatever measures are taken, greater attention should be paid to the East Indian community, since this is by far the most affected group.
The general impression in society is that the Afro-Guyanese slog their way out of personal relationship problems whilst East Indians turn to alcohol and resort to suicide.
