Is the PPP longing for poor coolie people to kill themselves?

It has been a long time since suicide prevention was seriously discussed in Parliament. The anger and horror at the political manipulation of a public health issue is justified.

Dr Vindhya Persaud was the messenger of slap-andstrip bheri's people to destroy what could have been a progressive motion to bring an important issue to the National Assembly.  The bizarre claims, as reported in the Kaiteur News that

"The current economic situation in the agricultural communities due to falling rice prices, loss of income and consequential foreclosures on loans in the banking sector, coupled with the state of the sugar industry where jobs are under threat, and, the unemployment of thousands of people in the last nine months in the public service and general society, are leading to a state of despair and hopelessness which are factors contributing to this rise,” Dr. Persaud asserted."

 It is as though the PPP are desperately hoping that poor coolie people will kill themselves to that the PPP could return to power.  The fact that the Guyana's suicide records were made during the last administration was ignored. There is bitter irony of course that the statistics which were denied by the PPP's Dr Luncheon are now being used to make dangerous allegations

There are no reports of the PPP using any publicly available statistics to justify their claim. Slap and strip bheri's medical comrades who did nothing about suicide prevention joined in making high claims on the Government.  slap and strip bheri had stopped a helpline . Nobody apparently was using it, probably because nobody knew about it.

The Guyana Police Force had to create the new helpline.

It seems that the Ministries of Public Health and Public Security continue the tradition of their predecessors of keeping data secret and not using it to publicly show evidence that the grandiose programmes which were announced are working, or will work


The last few suicides reported in the media were of people who were employed. One case was of a child who was reportedly active in her mandir activities.


News Room reported that Dr Persaud had said that the work of her organisation , the Guyana Hindu Dharmic Sabha has led to a reduction in suicide in some areas. This must mean that Dr Persaud must have have access to figures and statistics from the Ministry of Public Health and the Guyana Police Force to show this reduction in the communities.  It is unfortunate that this work was not highlighted in parliament as an example of the work which could be done which was probably not done when slap and strip bheri's people were in power.

I know of another case which was not in the media of a man 'who used to beat and put out his wife and so' .  He was employed. Money was not the issue.


The reports of suicide include alcohol consumption.

A foreign public health specialist at a suicide prevention workshop said that the control of alcohol consumption is a bigger issue than control of poison.  People will find other means and that his research showed that alcohol reduced the inhibition to think clearly.


A few years ago Dr Persaud had been the target of cuss outs from coolie people who are strong PPP supporters, Hindus and others for trying to bring some control to the bars at Hindu weddings.

The PPP never brought any discussion to parliament - let the coolie people enjoy dey rum.

This years Hero CPL had barrels of liquor as prizes and I heard that PPP leaders were shaking hands in the atmosphere which encouraged rum drinking.

Suicide is not a coolie people or Hindu people thing alone.  My anger this morning is that once again, there is evidence that many coolie Hindu people's lives are playthings in the hands of the people they elected to represent them.


Minister Ramjattan has said he wants to decriminalise suicide. Go ahead then and move the necessary legislation to do so.


The Government announced that it has programmes in place in their response to the PPP.  The PPP should be encouraging its supporters to access the programmes , but that might not be in their interests.

The whole society who are interested in mental health should be demanding accountability on these programmes.