Campbell's Commentary - SPEAK UP, SPEAK NOW. NO TO SUICIDE, YES TO LIFE…

By Aubrey Campbell

NEW YORK, NY. Tuesday, September 15, 2020 -- Hello my peoples…and before you ask what kind of language/speak is that, that’s ebonics. So, hello my peoples and how are you doing today?

September is racing towards October and before you know it, ‘Super Tuesday’ is here! It will be one for the history books, unlike the many others before it.

And speaking of elections, Jamaica had it’s ‘Super Thursday’ on September 3, and the after-shocks are still being felt in every nook and cranny across the island nation of 58 years old. While the overall result was not unexpected, the magnitude and scope of the JLP victory has spawned the kind of forensics that would turn a well healed stomach, inside out!

What the JLP did and the PNP didn’t do to win and/or lose the election is part and parcel of the Jamaica Politics 101 Playbook. Both parties are very comfortable with the latitude afforded them to hibernate, reinvent and return to governance.

It’s just time for the PNP to ‘wheel and come, again!

I will end it here for now by saying, ‘tief nuh like si tief a carry long bag’. If you don’t know what that means, you are not a Jamaica. Google it or call Buju Banton for an explanation!

Moving right along.

What I really want to give some ink to, is an event which happened in the virtual space last Thursday, September 10, and which I had the distinct pleasure and honor of co-hosting with a number of my Caribbean brothers and sisters.

So, Thursday was observed, globally, as World Suicide Prevention Day (WSPD), an opportunity to shine the light, literally, on suicide, a socio-economic challenge that for many, is still a taboo, closeted subject, the doors of which were flung open and left ajar, by the pandemic!

Before going any further, I want to thank my media colleague and Guyanese native, Annan Boodram, President of The Caribbean Voice (TCV), a NYC-based NGO, committed to ‘saving lives and empowering people’, for an incredible and inspired ‘zoom room’ presentation.

Not only were the speakers engaging and resourceful but their thoughts were aligned on the common theme and that is, suicide prevention is everybody’s business!

That’s the perspective from which Dr. Leslie Ramsammy spoke. He apologized for not doing enough during his tenure as health minister of Guyana and the urgent need to not only elevate the scourge as a primary, public health matter, but called for the decriminalization of suicide.

Presenters from the United Nations, the Diplomatic Corp - at the level of Ambassadors, Faith-based organizations and even a suicide survivor, all joined a rousing chorus of, No to suicide, yes to life, accentuated by the lighting of a candle, to bring light to this ‘dark’ matter!

What was startling for me was that neighboring Guyana is at or near the top of the chart, tracking death by suicide!

Did you know that?

And did you know that close to one million people die by suicide every year and that suicide is the third leading cause of death in the age group 15 – 19 years, 79 percent of which occur in low and middle-income countries?

But don’t for a minute think that suicide is a poor man’s tragedy. Take the case of the prominent New York entrepreneur, who, three years ago, took his life, leaving his family and associates to figure out why, and a thriving business empire with an asterisk.

Were there warning signs? Were they ignored? Were they missed?

Better yet. Who is at risk?

Here is text from that portion of an 11-page communique issued to the ‘zoomers’ last Thursday and edited for the purpose of this presentation.

“While the link between suicide and mental disorder is well documented, many suicides happen impulsively, in moments of crises with a breakdown in the ability to deal with life stresses such as, financial problems, relationship break-up or chronic pain and illness.”

“In addition, experiencing conflict, disaster, violence, abuse, or loss and a sense of isolation, are strongly associated with suicidal behavior. Suicide rates are also high amongst vulnerable groups who experience discrimination, and especially for their sexual orientation.”

The forum ended with a call for greater vigilance to the subject and especially so, given what little we know of the pandemic and the need for persons and households to know reimagine and refocus under very trying circumstances.

Suddenly, mental health is now front and center and will be part of routine treatment by your primary care physician (PCP)!

Suicide prevention is an actionable item. It will need more attention from all stakeholders, including the government as you and I, we, move it from inside the dark reaches of the closet, into the lighted and more comfortable confines of the living room.

Blessing and light, to all

You now have the floor.

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Editor’s note. Aubrey Campbell is producer/host of ‘Caribbean Conversation’, a magazine program presented by the Caribzone Media Network and airing Sundays, 3 – 5 pm, on Facebook.com/caribzone.