Dubai: Worried over a rise in the numbers of
suicides among expatriates, Indian community leaders in
Bahrain have demanded urgent steps to check the problem by
offering counseling and support services.
At a gathering organised to discuss the problem and its
causes, the community members said the rising numbers of
suicides in the country should be a matter of concern that
warranted immediate intervention, according to a report in the
Gulf Daily News.
The alarm bell were sounded by reports that as many as
seven Indians had committed suicides in Bahrain in the last
few weeks alone.
Sovichen Chennattusserry, who organised the gathering and
initiated discussions, said he is concerned that nine people
had committed suicide in the last few weeks.
"A majority of them (seven) are Indians and all of them
have left behind broken, shattered families," he was quoted as
saying.
Chennattusserry said they need the support of the media
and the community leaders.
Salmaniya Medical Complex Accident and Emergency
department chief resident, P V Cheriyan, said that though the
number of deaths resulting from suicide attempts were small,
the number of such attempts had been increasing.
"We get scores of cases from all sections, including
teenagers, who have attempted suicide. We deal with these
cases according to a set protocol," he said, adding that
awareness was the key in helping tackle the problem.
The discussions suggested that teams should regularly
visit labour camps and create awareness among the people on
how they should deal with stress, which usually leads them to
taking the extreme step.
He said financial problems, chronic illnesses and people`s
inability to deal with them lead to suicidal tendencies.
Babu Ramachandran, a senior physician at the local
American Mission Hospital, said there should be an `always
available` helpline to counsel people individually and
awareness should also be spread through the media and in
schools.
Veteran community leader Vani Krishnan said she believed
extra-marital affairs were a leading cause of stress and, as a
result, suicides.
"These people are unable to deal with the guilt and take
the extreme step," she said.
An Art of Living volunteer also offered to provide
counseling and follow-up services to the most vulnerable
people.
PTI
