Too much suicides in Guyana

Nov 16, 2009 Letters

Dear Editor,

The suicide rate in our little country Guyana with less than a million people is very high. Last week I read of a very brilliant young lady Aliya Balkan, who jumped off the Kaieteur Falls killing herself; then about one month ago I read about that the Palms Administrator, Mr. Mohamed Yasin shot himself to death. Mr. Yasin was my personal friend and literary colleague; then in today’s news 14-11-09 I read of a young housewife, who hanged herself in a bath room.

Then another young man plunged under a moving truck in water street a few months ago and the long dismal list goes on and on, like suicide bombers killing themselves and others all in the name of God.

I wish to first examine the reason why young educated people will kill themselves. Is it because they are frustrated with life? Is it because they don’t understand why God created them into his own image and likeness? Or is it they just feel they will end it all!

In Aliya’s case she was well qualified and educated. I read in the newspapers that she wanted to become an editor in a top publishing house which was a great ambition and career, but no one hired her though she is very qualified.

She returned home, but no one hired her in her own country. She seemed to be very frustrated about life; so she decided to end it all! What is really happening to our writers in our country today? In the space of six weeks, two writers committed suicide; they seemed to be frustrated with our political system or simply they lost all hope in God.

As a minister of religion, it is my firm conviction that people commit suicide when they have no faith and confidence in God and they have given up on life completely, all because of oppression, depression and frustration of the mind.

In our schools and university today a lot of emphasis is being made on academics, but students have very little knowledge about Theology and their true identity and spiritual purpose in this life. It’s is not surprising that lots of intellectuals have no hope in life. What people need to understand from a theological stand point is they can kill their body but they cannot kill their souls.

If our people from all our ethnic backgrounds are educated morally and spiritually then we won’t have all these suicides and premature deaths in our country. The young lady who jumped off the Kaieteur Falls would have been a great asset to Guyana, but her life was cut short by such sudden tragedy. My heart goes out for the family of this young lady.

I met that young lady several times at reading organised by AGWA and heard her poetry; she would have been a great poet and writer for this Nation. I hope her poetry will immortalize her name in ages to come.

As for my great friend, Mr. Yasin, my heart goes out to the weeping family. You left many short stories all across the Caribbean in journals and magazines and even won a prize in the Common wealth Short Story contest many years ago.

These two literary talents I wrote about here were gifted to write and I hope their stories and poetry will be long remembered.

What can be done to curb suicides in our country? It is my firm conviction to introduce religious education into our school curriculum.

When students are taught from Holy Scriptures and can write exams on these theological subjects they would have a greater spiritual awareness about life.

They will understand why we are here. What’s their purpose in this world and what they can contribute to society to become a better citizen? We should definitely have a Faculty of Theology at the UG and make it mandatory for students to take up a diploma or degree in Theology. Our system of education can no longer be along communist and atheistic ideologies.

I also believe that more and more of our families should go to church with their children and priests and pastors from various religious bodies should play an active role in educating these families from their pulpits, study groups, religious schools and from personal counseling sessions.

I believe as a religious leader that too much of our religious leaders are separated from their congregations. That should not be: every priest, reverends, bishops, pastors etc. should know all their church members by name, know where they are living and have personal one on one discussion with them to help improve them morally and spiritually. Even our ministers in government should give people advice on how to live a morally upright life.

My advice to the young and old is suicide is not the way out of life’s problems. Learn to deal with problems by prayers.

Go to church every week, discover your true purpose in life and that is to serve God with all your heart and live a life pleasing to him.

May God bless Guyana.

Rev. Gideon Cecil

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Too much suicides in Guyana

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