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Editor-In-Chief
Nigel Williams
Editorial: 227-5216; 227-5204 guyanachronicle.com wnigel10@hotmail.com gnnleditorial@gmail.com
Editorial
Tackling suicide
FOR the past couple of years, suicide has been a problem that has bedevilled Guyana, and even though much has been said about the scourge, not much has been done to address it. Many would recall, with shock, that prominent social activist Zenita Nicholson took her own life last year because of abuse and depression. In November of that very year, the nation read about the tragic death of teenagers Kavita Ackloo and Ramesh Persaud, who took their lives by consuming a poisonous substance. Their bodies were found on the Kingston Seawall. The young couple was said to have had a rocky relationship. Fast forward to 2016, and with only a few days in the New Year, 14-year-old Sherryanne Alli and her adult lover, Deoraj Persaud, who under the law would have been deemed a statutory rapist, were found hanging in a bedroom of the home of a relative. Media reports suggest that their dreadful act stemmed from well-intentioned advice to end their illicit relationship. These are just few of the many cases of suicide that have occurred over the past five years. It is important to point out that, immediately after the death of Nicholson, Ackloo and Ramesh Persaud, the Indian Arrival Committee (IAC) had issued an appeal to the Government, Opposition and religious leaders, among others, to come together and develop a national strategy to address the scourge of suicide. Accordingly, it is refreshing to hear that President David Granger, through a multi-sectorial approach, will be mobilising experts, both local and foreign, to enquire into the real causes of suicide, and have those causes tangibly addressed. Some of the prominent risk factors local health officials have identified include acute emotional distress, mental disorder, impulsivity, aggressive tendencies, adolescent maladaptive disorder, and alcohol abuse. The President’s concerns are understandable, because, in Guyana, 34.7 per 100,000 deaths, and not 44.2 per 100,000 as was reported in both the local and international press, are from suicide. This is way above the global average of 11.4 per 100,000 and towers over the average 6.1 per 100,000 rate in Latin America and the Caribbean, as was highlighted at the Caribbean Public Health Agency’s 60th health research conference in Grenada last year. While there is no cure for suicide, as people will
GUYANA CHRONICLE, Monday January 11, 2016
GRA responds to PSC Dear Editor, THE Private Sector Commission (PSC), on Thursday, January 7, 2016, accused the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) of searching the home of Mr. Khurshid Sattaur. It is important to emphasize that the GRA did not search or seize any property, as maliciously claimed by the Private Sector Commission. While I agree that the protection of human rights is important, that concern did
not apply to the case wherein GRA officials went to the home of Mr. Sattaur by mutual agreement, on December 31, 2015, to retrieve the property of the Government of Guyana and to ensure that sensitive taxpayers’ data was properly secured. The most alarming feature of the PSC press release is the embellishment of erroneous information with the allegation that a search occurred at Mr. Sattaur’s home and that seizure of items ensued without any regard
for Mr. Sattaur’s rights. The troubling feature of that erroneous claim is that the PSC seems to be seeking to drive fear and mistrust of GRA into the minds of taxpayers, the very things that the new Governing Board is seeking to heal in its relationship with taxpayers. That the PSC would take time to carefully construct unsubstantiated statements without seeking to find out the position of the GRA does not speak well for its own integrity, and comes across as
a deliberate attempt to malign and frustrate an organization that is trying to repair its tarnished image. The PSC ought to be careful, since continued distortion of facts would make it difficult for those who have to deal with it to rely on anything that it has to say. RAWLE LUCAS, MA, CPA Chairman Governing Board Of GRA
Benschop’s activism is unquestioned
Dear Editor,
MARK Anthony Benschop and I have had our ups and downs in politics. We have never had a personal problem, and whenever we see each other, we get along well. Mark will be Mark, but not one of us can question his contributions in the area of political and social activism. He has worked tirelessly to highlight the plight of the poor and downtrodden, and has
given selflessly through his charitable organisation to ease their burdens and poverty. Let me be brutally honest: Had it not been for his original style and pattern of fearlessly and continuously taking the fight to the past regime, the brand of activism that eventually saw the fall of the dictatorship would not have taken flight. He has inspired a whole generation in that sense. Benschop’s struggle to see a better Guyana was not
without tribulations, and yet he never relented. We have moved into a different era, and we owe him a debt of gratitude for his hard work and commitment to the cause of Guyana. We must give due recognition to those who have made major sacrifices to pilot our nation through its most turbulent period. Today, Mark Benschop is intensifying his campaign to become Mayor of Georgetown, and I would urge all of you to lend him
your shoulders to get there. If you use the same passion and drive that so define him and his work in the struggle to see a better Guyana, he will be successful. It is only right that we stand by him the same way he stood by us. I wish to also personally endorse him, and wish him the very best in his quest to lead Georgetown. Regards, NORMAN BROWNE LONDON
Lone Suddie mortuary worker needs help
Dear Editor,
THE workload is too much for me to endure as the lone porter presently employed at the Suddie Hospital mortuary, and the regional administration needs to take positive action to bring about relief to my predicament. In a “can’t-do-better” situation, given the difficulty to secure permanent employment in the region,
advantage is being taken of me to work round-theclock (24 hours per day) while receiving payment for just an eight-hour period. Because of my dedication, and because I live nearby, contact is made with me at any time to provide a service which includes the cleaning of the parlour, stitching after post-mortem examinations, picking up the dead -- be it
always do as they see fit, suicide is 100 per cent preventable. The unfortunate problem we are faced with in Guyana is that, although this country has gained notoriety for its high suicide rate, no sustained strategic effort was ever undertaken by the previous administration to tackle the social debacle. The recent announcement by President Granger is a significant step in the right direction, since it would address the travesty of the neglect of a grave problem especially affecting the East Indian community. Some 80 per cent of the victims of suicide in Guyana are of East Indian descent. That aside, the vast majority of victims take their lives by consuming poison, while a small number hang or shoot themselves. It is imperative to note that tackling suicide must first
day or night -- to put bodies in the freezer, and removing the bodies at the request of families. At times I would be called upon to bathe and dress the dead, with the money paid for doing so going to the parlour. A corpse recently fell out of my hands because I was under strain to remove the body from one point to another. This is a clear indication that I cannot do the
job alone. More hands are needed, and urgently too, for the dead to be properly taken care of at all times. Bad management coupled with deplorable working conditions is responsible for a lot of employees quitting, and though I want to stay on, improvements are necessary. LINCOLN RAMBARRAN
begin by controlling the means people use to take their lives. And it cannot be overstated that the Government must do all it can to get poisonous substances out of the hands of farmers and others who are vulnerable. We think that persons buying chemicals should simultaneously be made to pay for the services of an extension officer or any other designated professional to administer it. But whatever measures are taken, greater attention should be paid to the East Indian community, since this is by far the most affected group. The general impression in society is that the Afro-Guyanese slog their way out of personal relationship problems whilst East Indians turn to alcohol and resort to suicide.