A taxi driver died last night after having ingested a bottle of weedicide in his car, which was parked two corners away from his home in Better Hope, East Coast Demerara.
Gopaul Mangal, 25, was found slumped in his car around 7 pm by relatives. He was rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital but doctors could not save him. He died two hours later.
A relative stated that the father of one was having domestic problems and had left his home to drink. Meanwhile, a 24-year-old mother of two committed suicide on Tuesday night in her apartment at Eccles, East Bank Demerara.
Sharmilla, the only name given, was a young woman who was said to be struggling with severe stress and insecurity. She was found hanging in her bedroom in the apartment at the new Eccles Housing Scheme by her boyfriend with whom she lived.
According to the boyfriend, Michael Roberts, Sharmilla was stressed and would express it through violent outbursts. He said a few hours before he discovered her hanging, they had had an argument after they returned from a wake. He said she was enraged with jealousy and wanted to fight. But when he pushed her off, she locked herself in their bedroom. Roberts said she was also intoxicated and he told himself she would calm down eventually. Minutes turned into hours and he knocked at the door but got no answer, so he decided to pry the door open.
Roberts was arrested by the police shortly after he raised an alarm but was released yesterday. “Right now I don’t know what to do. I can’t eat or sleep. I’m getting no peace. I didn’t expect she would do such a thing,” he said.
He said they were to be married on Sunday.
The Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) said in a statement on Wednesday that more than seven people per hour kill themselves in the Americas. Some 65,000 are taking their own lives in the Americas each year.
This is according to a report by the PAHO, ‘Suicide mortality in the Americas’, which is based on data from 48 countries and territories in the Western Hemisphere. The statement by PAHO said the Americas has a lower average suicide rate, 7.3 per 100,000 inhabitants, than the global average of 11.4 per 100,000. These figures varies significantly in different countries by age and sex, the release said, noting that among sub-regions, North America and the non-Hispanic Caribbean have the highest suicide rates.
“Men have higher rates than women in all the region’s countries. And among age groups, people over age 70 have the highest suicide rates,” the statement said, highlighting that suicide is the third leading cause of death in young people ages 10-24, and adults over age 70 are the most likely to die from suicide.
Based on findings in the report, men are about 4 times more likely than women to die from suicide, although women make more suicide attempts. It found that suicide dropped slightly in North America between 2005 and 2009 but increased in Latin America and the Caribbean.
“Many things about suicide make it especially tragic,” the statement quoted PAHO Director Carissa F Etienne as saying. “The severe emotional suffering of the one who takes his life; the feelings of loss, abandonment or guilt of family members and friends left behind; and it is so permanent yet many times for problems which can be solved. But to a large extent suicide is preventable. Research has shown that reducing access to the most common means like firearms pesticides, and certain medicine helps lessen suicides.”
The statement stated that the report indicated that these and other findings should be interpreted with caution, since data quality varies significantly across countries, adding that cultural, religious and legal factors lead to underreporting of suicide in many countries, suggesting that the report likely underestimates the real burden of suicide in the Americas.
There is a strong link between suicide and mental health problems and research suggested that mental illness is a factor in as many as 90% of all suicides, the statement said. It said countries should evaluate their mental health systems to determine if they have the programmes, services, and resources to prevent and treat problems associated with suicidal behaviour.
“We need to detect early and treat mental disorders like depression and alcohol abuse,” Dr Etienne said in the statement. “In our communities and in our primary care services, we must identify, monitor and provide care for those at risk. We must be especially vigilant for those with previous attempts. But preventing suicide is not just the responsibility of health care workers; communities, families, churches, and social groups must become involved.”
