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Hopes drowned
in pesticide
"Though
I can't even write my name, I went to the Middle East and did menial
work so that we could have a better life. I worked there two years
and came back before my one and only girl grew up. I vowed I would
not leave her but now she has gone and I am left to struggle on
with this miserable existence. If not for my little son, I too would
have gone the same way," weeps Podimenika, sobs shuddering
through her frail body. Her desperation
is evident in the neglect around her. The one-room home she shares
with her husband and 10-year-old son is a cadjan-thatched mud hut.
By its side there is a house with brick walls and iron-barred windows,
sans a roof. Inside this shell of a home, weeds are knee-high. The air of
neglect and dereliction are evident everywhere. Her daughter,
Sujatha Kumari had taken her life by swallowing a pesticide. That
day is like a recurring nightmare for Podimenika. Earlier she had
come to know that Sujatha was having a 'prema sambandaya' (love
affair) with a boy and advised her against it because she was too
young. She wanted a better life for her daughter which she knew,
came with education. "I did
not want her to face the same situation we are in. I did not study.
We are very poor and it's a hard life. We do not have anything in
the house. Today I had to tell my son to break the till to get a
rupee for him to buy a file for his tests tomorrow. I went to the
Middle East and washed toilets because I am illiterate," says
this distraught mother. Sujatha promised
she would break off the affair but on that fateful day, Podimenika
heard that she was seen talking to the boy once again. She gave
Sujatha one or two slaps on the way home from school. The daughter
hurried home before her mother. When Podimenika
came back, the door was shut. She found her daughter lying unconscious
on the floor, with a bottle of 'oil' by her side. It was a bottle
of pesticide brought for their onion crop, which had been hidden
on a shelf. "She had drunk all 16 ounces in the bottle,"
laments Podimenika. This suicide
in Nawa Jayaganga in Talawa is another statistic to add to the numbers
making Sri Lanka a country with one of the highest suicide rates
in the world. Just a casual
conversation in any of the towns in the Anuradhapura district will
reveal how common suicides are in the area. We stopped near a boutique
where three or four men were chatting in Talawa town and they told
us of several such deaths, the most recent being of another young
woman, a 20-year-old in Sandasirigama two weeks ago. For Vasana
Edirisinghe, it was the lack of a job and the feeling of being a
burden to her parents that made her swallow a pesticide. The causes
vary from poverty to family disputes, love affairs to parental disapproval,
from cultivation debts to joblessness. An on-going study by Dr.
D.L. Waidyaratne, Judicial Medical Officer of the General Hospital,
Anuradhapura highlights the need for people to have a 'shoulder
to cry on' and counselling in times of trouble. "Twenty
five per cent of all deaths recorded here are suicides. Most of
them are from swallowing pesticides," says Dr. Waidyaratne
who has recorded 225 for last year alone. Analysing his
findings, he explains that there are two peaks for suicides - March
to May and September to November. Why? This is
the time the farmers in this mainly agricultural area bring in their
harvest. "These
farmers find that their expectations have fallen through. They realise
they cannot pay back their debts and the easiest way out, they feel,
is to take their own lives," says the JMO. There is also
a strong link between suicide and alcoholism, he stresses. "Though
there are extremes like a 12-year-old or a 79-year-old committing
suicide once in a way, generally the victims are young adults. In
most cases, the pesticides are found in the home itself or hidden
in the toilet or among the shrubs in the paddy field." There is also
no limitation or control in the sale of pesticides. "It is
sold over the counter. Even if a particular pesticide is not needed
at the time of the cultivation season, it is sold without question
if someone wants it. Farmers need insecticides at a particular time
and weedicides at another time. But all can be bought throughout
the year, whatever the requirement." Dealing with
the importance of prevention, Dr. Waidyaratne says a common feature
is that most suicide victims had indicated they were depressed many
times before their deaths and a fair number had even attempted suicide.
"No one
has paid much attention to them. Suicidal ideas expressed by anyone
should not be taken lightly. Such people should be directed to a
psychiatrist or at least someone who can counsel them. "In 83
of the 225 cases recorded, relatives had indicated that the victims
expressed suicidal tendencies before they actually took their lives." Another sign
is when someone is generally rude to others, especially his family
members. This is a sign of irritability and stress. They too need
psychiatric help. "There needs to be an attitudinal change
towards those seeking psychiatric help. People look down on them.
They are treated worse than those with communicable diseases,"
the JMO says. He also recommends
the limiting of accessibility such as selling pesticides two days
a week. Pesticides should also not be stored in homes. There should
be a locker system in a farmer community or one place where they
could be stored out of reach . "Suicide victims cry out for help before they attempt to take their life in desperation. We need to be able to spot the danger signs and lend a helping hand," adds Dr. Waidyaratne. |
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