The need to understand why people commit suicide

Jan 16, 2016 Letters

Dear Editor,
The vexed matter of suicide has plagued our society for long time. Presently, there is plenty of talk about this life and death issue. Hopefully as a society we can make efforts to understand why persons take their own lives. I wish to take you back a number of years; the early eighties in Guyana, when it seems the suicide epidemic started. That was the time that the then Guyana Consumers’ Association, began to make calls for Coroner’s Inquest into suicides. Such official inquiry into the “untimely death” would in the way of thinking get answers as to why a healthy young person would ingest poison, and other forms of taking their own lives.
Evidently the Consumers’ Association thinking failed to attract the attention of the judicial or legal authorities, or other organizations. I do believe that the matter was properly ventilated by the Association. This matter of inquest was raised with one of the past Commissioners of Police. At a Consumers’ Association / Police Commissioner meeting that Commissioner said that there should be more control to young people’s access to pesticides. I recall being at a farmer leadership conference in Trinidad; one of the presenters to the conference talked about pesticide manufacturers placing obnoxious substance in pesticide, with the view that the would be drinker will be deterred from ingesting the substance.
Motions for the holding of inquests for suicides were approved at annual general meetings of the Association. It cannot be said that the Association did not reneged in its duty to society. Just like many other issues of the day, nobody cared, and so Guyana got the honour it deserved, of being the suicide capital of the world in the 21st century.
The Association believed that every human being is of infinite and, incalculable value, each a unique intellectual, emotional, physical, spiritual, creative force. Every human is born free and equal in dignity and rights; each is endowed with reason and conscience, and thus deserves a sense of solidarity, brotherhood, sisterhood, recognition and respect. We collectively let these people down; is it late to dedicate action in their memory that will cause the suicide rate to be zero in the near future.
Has our society accorded all the young people, who for their own known reasons choose to end their lives, a modicum of respect? Did they all leave suicide notes? Did their relatives know their causes of death? If not, we the members of society in mourning their loss need to prevent more of our young people from joining their ranks.
A Coroner is a special magistrate who inquires into unnatural death. The Coroner’s Court is like any other magisterial court, and all decisions of the Coroner could lead to criminal proceedings. The Government of the period was not interested in the requests of the Consumers’ Association, and repeated requests falling on deaf ears caused the Association to desist from further talk on the need for Coroner Inquests. Yet the suicides continued unabated. The statistics grant Guyana the privilege of being a country with the highest suicide rate per capita on the planet. Greenwich Park on the East Bank Essequibo (approx. 10 miles before the Parika stelling) has the blighted honour, except that I am misinformed, to be the place of residence where at least one person dies by suicide each year. There is also evidence of double suicide occurring there.
An effort has to be made by all and sundry to come to terms with the need for a Coroner’s Inquest into each and every death caused by unnatural causes, so that the reason for the suicide may be honourably explained, with dignity. What the Inquest in a suicidal death will reveal, will astound society as to how little needed to be done to save a young person’s life.
Hafiz Rahman

Latest News

The need to understand why people commit suicide

Related

Similar Articles

The Glenn Lall Show|| February, 10th, 2025

Follow on Tik Tok @Glennlall

THE BLUNT OF THE DAY

Sports

Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport endorses Mashramani Street...

Guyanese boxers shine in IBA World Rankings ahead...

Motie returns for Day/Night affair, as fired-up...

Daniel Singh pockets East Bank Pool crown

Khalil, Pollard and Barker reign supreme as BCQS...

Cricket West Indies passes historic governance...

Features/Columnists

An Open Letter to the election observer missions

OAS Secretary General Election and renewed OAS Consensus

Azruddin Mohamed development-the constants

Publisher’s Note

Weekend Cartoon

Bridge Watch

Demerara Harbour Bridge

> Berbice Bridge […]

The need to understand why people commit suicide

Share this:

Related

Similar Articles

The Glenn Lall Show|| February, 10th, 2025

Follow on Tik Tok @Glennlall

THE BLUNT OF THE DAY

Sports

Features/Columnists

Publisher’s Note

Weekend Cartoon

Bridge Watch

Demerara Harbour Bridge

> Berbice Bridge […]