IAC joins nationwide fight against suicide

…in commemoration of World Suicide Prevention Day 2017

By Ashraf Dabie

The Indian Action Committee (IAC), in collaboration with a number of local organisations, on Sunday pledged support to the nationwide fight against suicide by staging an awareness walk and sensitisation session in the community of Better Hope, East Coast Demerara.
This is as Guyana joined the rest of the world in commemorating World Suicide Prevention Day 2017, observed on Sunday under the theme, “Take a minute, change a life”.
Recognising the need for collective efforts aimed at tackling this social ill which has been plaguing the country, more so in recent years, the IAC thought it best to play its part in suicide prevention, especially in light of the international occasion. As such, the committee entered into a partnership with the Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC) of Better Hope/La Boone Intention (LBI), along with other institutions such as the Rajiv Gandhi University of Science and Technology and the Greenheart Medical School in organising and executing a Suicide Prevention Walk followed by an interactive awareness session.

The Walk kicked off at the entranceway of Massy Distributors (Guyana), Starlight Square, Montrose, ECD and took the group of marchers up the ECD highway into the Better Hope Community Centre Ground. The suicide prevention activists then gathered at the Community Centre Ground along with scores of members of the Better Hope Community as the IAC conducted an awareness session, which saw presentations being delivered by a number of advocates, including representatives from the Committee, religious leaders, political leaders and medical practitioners.
Kick-starting the proceedings on Sunday was an executive member of the IAC, media personnel Neaz Subhan, who commended the efforts of those in attendance for joining in the fight against suicide in Guyana. He further thanked the Better Hope/LBI NDC for taking up the mantle and not only facilitating the hosting of this event but participating in the much-needed efforts as well.
On that note, Subhan pointed out that the IAC was of the belief that suicide should be declared a national priority, in order to place the necessary emphasis on this social ill. This, he noted, would ensure that more focus and research will be directed towards the cause, resulting in a decrease in death rates, with the hope of suicide cases eventually being eradicated.
Echoing the sentiments of the IAC representative was the Vice President of the hosting NDC, Jagnarine Singh, who expressed delight in the staging of such an event for the benefit of the community members of Better Hope and its environs.
Singh highlighted that most suicide cases could be attributed to dire circumstances that may lead someone to take their own life. However, in doing so, he emphasised that no matter how difficult a situation could be, there was always a better alternative and that was the choice to live.
With that, the NDC’s Vice Chairman urged those in attendance to value the possibilities of life while encouraging the gathering to always be willing to lend a helping hand or ear to those in a vulnerable state and in need of assistance, rather than allowing those persons to add to the statistics.
Meanwhile, also addressing the gathering was the Reverend John O’Connor, a visiting activist attached to the McMaster University in Canada. O’Connor, in his presentation, posited that the high suicide rate in Guyana was owed to the fact that Guyanese, especially youths, could easily access lethal poisons, such as pesticides.
As such, the Reverend is calling on the relevant authorities to institute an immediate ban on highly dangerous chemical pesticides, positing that such action will see a massive decrease in persons committing suicide, simply by removing one of the main means used in Guyana.
The Suicide Prevention Walk and awareness session also allowed for the celebration of the decline of the suicide rate in Guyana, removing the country as the proclaimed suicide capital of the world. Only recently, the Pan-American Health Organisation (PAHO) had announced that Guyana, which once recorded a suicide rate of 44 per cent (one of the highest and most alarming rates around the globe), has managed to lessen the prevalence of this major social ill to 29 per cent.
This evidently significant drop is only as a result of a widespread campaign on the prevention of suicide in Guyana, for which organisations such as the IAC and other institutions stand in high praise. However, despite the major accomplishment, the presenters at Sunday’s event are all calling for the continued commitment of the public, underling that suicide prevention was not only the concern of the Government or select organisations but there was a need for countrywide efforts to achieve this mission.