There has been an alarming increase in the number of suicides and attempted suicides in Region One within the last two months, a situation that the Minister of Social Services Jennifer Webster says needs urgent attention.
Stabroek News was told that since the beginning of December last year up to February 1, about eight persons, mainly teenagers, have taken their own lives either by hanging or ingesting poison, while several more have attempted suicide. This newspaper understands that the incidents have been occurring in communities located in the Mabaruma sub-region and they include Bumbury Hill, Hosororo, Aruka River and Wauna.
From all the indications about four of the dead are from the same family. The ages of those who died ranges from 13 to the early twenties.
Webster told Stabroek News recently that she had received some information from the Minister of Local Government and Regional Development Ganga Persaud on the issue, and was in possession of the names and addresses of those who died. “We are looking into it,” she said, adding that she believes the ministry has to look at starting some programmes in those areas.
“Maybe it is something in the region. We have to get to the bottom of it,” she said, going on to comment that she is unsure why the suicides and attempted suicides are occurring.
She said her ministry will be meeting with officials from the Health Ministry to see how best this situation can be addressed while noting that a visit to the region is in the pipelines. She wants to visit to the region at the earliest opportunity.
Minister Webster said too that the communities where the incidents have been occurring are apparently situated quite close together.
Asked about the number of social workers in Region One, the minister did not admit to a shortage, but responded that “we need to recruit more persons. We need more.”
Stabroek News was unable to get in touch with relatives of the deceased but residents of the North West District (NWD) that this newspaper spoke with expressed concern about the situation. One resident who hails from Mabaruna township said that religious leaders are visiting families and offering counselling services, and that there has since been a call for a fast and prayer over the situation.
The resident said that this is the first time she has heard about so many suicides and attempted suicides in the Mabaruma sub-region. The last death in that area occurred recently with the post-mortem examination being done last Tuesday.
Residents said they have no idea as to what might have sparked the spate of suicides, although one resident had told this newspaper some time back that changes in the residents’ way of life had made people, including teenagers, vulnerable.
The resident made reference to the popular trend of BlackBerry cellphones and other flashy items that appeal to residents, more particularly teenage girls.
Another resident this newspaper spoke to said that while the number of deaths is alarming, the number who had attempted to take their own lives is even more worrying. This newspaper was told that since the last part of December to the present time there have been “quite a few” attempts to commit suicide.
Stabroek News was told of an episode when at least five young men from a group attempted to kill themselves after the alcohol they were consuming was taken away by the Toshao. It was explained that the young men climbed a tree apparently with the intention of hanging themselves, but as the last person climbed up the branch it broke, sending them all crashing to the ground. They sustained minor injuries.
‘Upset and concerned’
APNU parliamentary representative for Region One, Richard Allen said he is both concerned and upset about this situation while making the point that there is the need for more social workers to be based in the various communities of the region. He said that as far as he knows there is only a probation officer in the region and he is based in Port Kaituma.
He said it was residents who first made contact with him. They made attempts to contact the Regional Chair-man, he continued, but he had a personal situation to attend to. Allen said the residents made contact with another regional official who said that the region does not have enough funds to get to the relatives of those who died.
Allen noted that hanging was the popular mode of death, adding that some also gained access to poison. He explained that the Mabaruma sub-region is predominantly a farming area which would explain the availability of poison.
He recounted a case in Port Kaituma where a 14-year-old school boy hanged himself in early January after falling out with his mother over the purchase of school clothes. He referred to another case as well where a young boy hanged himself because his grandmother had not finished cooking.
“This is a matter of great concern,” he said, adding that he intends to address Minister Webster on this issue as well as on the matter of the shortage of social workers for the region.
