A cane harvester was on Wednesday afternoon found hanging from a rafter of his Cumberland, East Canje
Dead: Bodnarine Mohamed
home. The discovery was made by his wife who he had threatened to kill before taking his life.
Bodnarine Mohamed, 51, a Rose Hall Sugar Estate employee, was discovered in front of his door hanging by the neck with a rope attached to a rafter. His wife, Chandrawattie Kumar told this publication that she was at the house situated at the front of the yard, and made the discovery when she returned home.
Over the 31 years of the marriage, it was revealed Mohamed had been threatening to kill himself after killing her. She said on several occasions he threatened her with a cutlass, but each time she was rescued.
The mother of three related that Mohamed was a frequent user of alcohol and on many occasions when he was under the influence, he would make threats. For this reason, she said most of her days were spent in the front house.
Mohamed, over the past few days, had been telling friends that he was leaving and was going to kill himself.
On Wednesday, the man was said to have been in a restless mood. At the time, three surveyors were working in the yard and may have prevented him from carrying out his plan.
The suicide comes on the heels of a massive awareness programme to reduce the scourge in Guyana. In East Canje, two vigils were held in observance of World Suicide Day on September 10.
While it is repeatedly said that Guyana has the highest suicide rate in the world with 44 per 100,000 persons, Medical Superintendent, Dr Vishalya Sharma says those figures mean nothing if they are not compared with other countries.
Comparing Guyana’s suicide rate with those of other countries in the hemisphere, Sharma said in Suriname the ratio is 27 per 100,000 persons whereas in Venezuela, it is 3 per 100,000 and Barbados, 7 per 100,000. Worldwide, the rate is 11 per 100,000 persons.
It has been reported that for every person who successfully attempts self-harm, ten others fail in their attempts. Annually, about 200 persons die as a result of suicide in Guyana.
Meanwhile, Region Six (East Canje-Berbice) Chairman David Armogan said suicide was a serious social and public health problem, which was not being addressed the way it should be.
“The thing with Guyana is that we are worse than the rest of the world, because in Guyana our figure is four times higher than the rest of the world and per capita, we are the highest in the world which mean we have a very serious problem with a population of just under 700,000 persons. It is a very serious social health problem, as well as a public health problem. I say it is a public health problem, because once people are dying from a particular phenomenon, it becomes a public health problem. Suicide is one of the leading causes of death in our country,” Armogan said.
Mohamed’s body is currently at the Arokium Funeral Home awaiting an autopsy.
If you or anyone you know is feeling depressed and possibly contemplating suicide, please call the Guyana Inter-agency Suicide Helpline which operates 24 hours, and is organised by the Guyana Police Force. Telephone: 223-0001, 223-0009, 223-0818; Cellphone: 600-7896, 623-4444.
