The story about a 32-year-old mother, Indranie Oudit, who killed herself, allegedly in reaction to her son who also committed suicide a few weeks ago in Corentyne, Berbice, is perhaps one of the most tragic news events the local media here covered since the year began.
Events such as these, remind us that there are many ills in the society which cannot be ignored. Many persons within our midst are facing some severe personal problems and they need help and guidance in dealing with these issues.
Oudit committed suicide because she could not have coped with the loss of her 16-year-old son. Relatives say that the young man was involved with a girl for several months. However, their relationship ended abruptly and he subsequently drank poison because he could not handle the break up.
The suicide cases referred to above are not the only ones to have occurred since the year began. From reports gathered, several persons have succumbed to suicide while others have recovered from suicide attempts and some are in the process of recovery. Only a few days ago, this newspaper reported that a 19-year-old University of Guyana (UG) student died after drinking poison, and two other teenagers are listed as critical at the New Amsterdam Public Hospital, following separate suicide attempts.
Is there an explanation for this? And what else could be done to prevent persons from taking their own lives at such a young age? Most of the persons committing suicide do so during their most productive years. It must be noted that Oudit was just 32 years old, while her son was just 16.
At that stage in Oudit’s life, she should have been involved in building a career of her own and helping her children achieve their dreams by ensuring they are given a proper education and the right upbringing to face life’s challenges.
That said, we are forced to ask the question – could there have been any intervention at the level of the religious community or even the ministry to prevent such a tragedy from happening, especially considering the fact that Oudit’s family has a history of committing suicide? For example, was counselling provided to the mother after she lost her son? All the warning signs were there.
Addressing the issue of suicide is no easy task. It would require diligent and continuous work from all stakeholders. The family unit and the religious community must work hand in hand. The family is critical, because that is where every individual receives his/her first level of socialisation. That is where the value systems are first of all established.
Similarly, while the role of the male as a father figure in the family is critical, in the absence of such, the second most important institution – the religious organisation – must step in. If the family becomes dysfunctional for some reason, as in the case of Oudit’s, the religious institution should provide a safety net that will seek to ensure that the value systems and the socialisation that are required for the development of boys into men and girls into women are present.
The community needs to be fully involved if the behaviours, cultures and attitudes of individuals are to change for the better.
Additionally, we cannot overstate the importance of having more in-depth research and analysis done in order to derive a better understanding of the causes – both psychological and sociological – of suicide. It is only when we are equipped with the necessary scientific evidence that we would be able to design more holistic and well thought-out suicide prevention programmes aimed at drastically reversing suicide rates in our country.
The case of the Oudit family must serve as a reminder that there is need for serious introspection from all concerned, including state agencies, civil society actors, religious institutions and more importantly, the family unit. Surely, there must be something that could be done to reduce the high number of suicides we are currently seeing in Guyana. All of society must be concerned and work together to win this battle.
