When life has become a burden, too heavy to bear, some persons do not have the courage, or strength, or spiritual fortitude to overcome an urge to seek a place they think may offer escape from their pain or problems.
They think – that is, if they are thinking at all, and not merely acting on primal emotion – that the place they have in mind would provide a final solution to all that is ailing them. Suicide is one of the most selfish and cruel acts that any human being can commit because the lifelong burden of pain and blame that relatives and loved ones carry to their graves robs them also of their lives, or diminishes the quality of their lives.
The link between suicide and depression indicates that intervention in the lives of those who display suicidal tendencies is a dire necessity, because depression is a disease that predisposes suicidal tendencies. Sometimes someone who decides to end his/her life is saved and has a second chance at living their life to the full and natural end. They discover that so many challenges lead to higher places in life that they come to the realisation that their initial response to pain had not been a solution – final or otherwise – but merely a precipitator of problems and a source of unending pain for loved ones.
Persons who had opted for this apparent resolution to their problems, whether they died the same time or many days afterwards, had committed the most selfish act; because they had paid no heed to their obligations to parents and other relatives who loved them, or are dependent on them for anything.
Mainly of recent times, there has been a spate of actual and attempted suicides in Guyana, especially in rural areas; and the authorities seem perplexed as to how to deal with what is emerging as an epidemic, because mental health issues seem to have taken a backseat in the health sector.
There often is need for merely a listening ear to diffuse unbearable emotions and a caring person to advise that this final act of taking one’s own life leaves many unresolved problems for others. The agony of the moment that precipitates that momentous and tragic act that writes the final episode of one’s life by one’s own actions could be gradually reduced to manageable proportions if there is a confidante or someone to whom the afflicted can relate and in whom they can confide.
Research has determined suicide in Guyana is a serious social problem, as Guyana is ranked first in suicides per capita worldwide.
Statistics have revealed that about 40 per cent of people who commit suicide in Guyana ingest agricultural pesticides and thus poison themselves. The most famous case of suicide in Guyana was the mass suicide of over 900 members of Jim Jones’ Peoples Temple in 1978, although some sources regard the events as mass murder. Jim Jones, the leader of this cult, and his followers were all Americans who had created a commune in Guyana’s jungles.
Ethnic Indians have been seen to make up the vast majority of suicide victims in Guyana. The ethnic groups categorised as “other” were seen to make up most of the difference. Indians accounted for 48 per cent of all deaths in both years, which is four per cent higher than their population share.
A World Bank report stated that the political process in Guyana is often fought with so much time and energy that “little [is] left to undertake the many policies necessary to facilitate growth and development. Poor governance on the national level, according to an IMF report, has led to inefficiencies and has strained the abilities of local and regional authorities to provide basic services and guarantee rule of law. Distribution of land and water rights, payment of taxes, court cases, and the issuance of gun and driver’s licences are all frequently found to be fraudulent.
This basic ill-governance has fed a sense of mistrust and frustration among the population, reduced investments in constructive economic projects, and has led to the growth of a shadow economy. The report posits that the role of economic insecurity as a leading factor in suicide rates remains a controversial issue in Guyana.
