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guyanatimesgy.com
monday, august 24, 2015
News Samad blasts UG for lack of research on suicide T
he University of Guyana has been denounced as useless in the area of research by former Director of the University of Guyana Berbice Campus (UGBC), Professor Daizal Samad. Samad was at the time exploring the possibility of a correlation between depression, suicide and the Indian community and made reference to the lack of statistical and analytical data available on the issue of suicide in Guyana. It was during a one-day suicide prevention stakeholders’ conference organised by The Caribbean Voice (TCV) on Friday that he made the remarks, pointing out that the University of Guyana, the country’s prime tertiary institution, has no curriculum or department in place to conduct research on issues impacting the lives of Guyanese – unlike other universities across the globe. “The University of Guyana is useless, because nothing is coming out of it, nothing at all,” Samad said. His pronouncement was in relation to a question asked
Professor Daizal Samad
by Swami Aksharananda: “Is there a correlation between depression and the Indian community?” as he sought to clarify a growing perception among many stakeholders. Samad welcomed the question, noting that it held much validity, given that records point to predominately Indian villages as the suicide capital of the country in Essequibo and Berbice.
“There is validity to the question…but to answer the question specifically, that’s where we are going wrong, there are no statistics in this place. Nobody is doing any study on it; the University of Guyana is useless because nothing is coming out of it, nothing at all. “But what we do know is that Berbice, Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne) especially is the epicentre of
suicide and within Berbice, there is a place called Black Bush which is the epicentre, so we know those things. But you are pointing to a very important issue: the lack of research and studies on this,” the Professor contended, noting that Guyana could only move forward in an impactful way once there is a clear understanding of the drive of individuals to commit suicide- whether or not it is related to one’s culture. A representative from a US-based non-profit organisation called Depressed Black Gay Men (DBGM) also contended, amid a tense atmosphere, that individuals desirous of engaging in activities to aid in deterring suicidal mindsets and working with people with suicidal tendencies must examine the socio-cultural factors that drive the particular aspects of suicide, including depression. “Why is it that Indian men of a particular age are committing suicide? If that’s the case among black people, why is it that black men are committing suicide?” he questioned, indicating that these factors were all important in determining why someone would want to end their life and it was only through understanding the challenges facing individuals of a particular group that one could truly help. The representative noted that persons did not have to be categorised only by ethnicity, but could be grouped according to sex, gender, age, or any other similarity. His point mirrored the old proverb “birds of a feather flock together”, meaning that a particular grouping is likely to have several elements in common and among those elements were reasons why
someone may want to commit suicide. “You do have to look at the socio-cultural dynamics … Guyana needs to do a mapping of the socio-cultural factors that play into and contribute to depression… What are the factors that contribute to depression among black gay men? … What percentage of the 2014 reports were members of
Swami Aksharananda
TCV representative Norkah Carter
[the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender community] LGBT?” he highlighted, noting that these were all important data in understanding the issue and one could only help solve the problem if the issue was understood. He also made reference to the University of Guyana and the lack of work being done in this area. On this note, he challenged the institution, and challenged others to challenge the institution, to develop courses of this nature in order to get more trained personnel who can actually contribute meaningfully to their communities in this regard. TCV representative Norkah Carter in direct re-
Govt satisfied with... “They have financial constraints and had to clean up the mess that existed when they took office. Those are severe constraints,” he declared. However, Samad said Government was working assiduously to fulfil its other promises although it would take some time. On this note, he underscored that the coalition needed to put the “right people in the right places” and hold them accountable in order to achieve what it desired, noting that this mistake had cost the previous Administration. Among some of the promises fulfilled by the APNU/AFC Administration were: The reduction of the Berbice River Bridge toll, which was slashed
from $2200 to $1900 for minibuses and passenger cars, along with a 10 per cent reduction in the toll for all other types of vehicles. The revised tolls will take effect from September 1. Additionally, the Administration increased the Old Age Pension by some $4000; however the increase has taken the place of the $15,000 subsidy for electricity and water. As promised, a task force on crime and security were established, while a Code of Conduct for all parliamentarians and officials holding public office was introduced. The Government also sought to host the Indigenous People’s Rights and Resources Conference,
sponse to the question posited by the Swami believed that suicide should be viewed generally as a social problem rather than an East Indian problem. “Are East Indians the larger population for committing suicide; yes. There have been several studies which say that Guyana as a whole has an issue with mental illness… Certain areas in Guyana are highly populated by certain ethnic groups, if someone does a comprehensive study according to the regions, you will find out that everyone is within the same margin because, think of it, when you divide East Indians and Afro-Guyanese, what’s the ratio… I am not here to say it’s an Indian problem or a black problem or anybody’s problem…I am here to say it is a Guyanese problem and let’s do something about it… Now you may argue all you wish…but all I want to know is when that 12-yearold child texts me at 4:00am in the morning, I don’t see an Indian child. I just see a child hurting. It’s a personal problem, it’s a social problem,” she posited.
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the National Rice Farmers Conference and the Cane Farmers Conference. Government has also announced significant increases in salaries for public servants; the reduction of the presidential pension and other benefits; waiving of duties on equipment for small-scale miners; passing of the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) Act; the return of a television station licence to Linden and the establishment of investigative commissions on corruption among others. However, fixing a date for the early holding of Local Government Elections (LGE) is among the other promises yet to be fulfilled.