Child Suicide-Homicide Trend
I had to interrupt my day to write about this - yet another double tragedy i.e. attempted homicide of children and parent suicide. See Father Feeds Children Dumplings and Lanate in Newsday 2008-04-14. I was in shock because I read a similar story in the last fortnight, I thought - and I did. See: Dad Kills Son, Commits Suicide in Newsday 2008-03-25. See another similar tragedy late last year Newsday 2007-11-27.
What does this all mean? But we cannot just focus on child homicide followed by parental suicide. To appreciate the scale and scope of this issue we should look at all suicides associated with violence or homicide. This extends to spouse homicide followed by suicide or suicide attempt. See another example here Family wiped out, Newsday 2007-11-26.
Here is an eleven year old girl who drank poison and found the hospital to be a nice place: Newsday 2007-06-22. While child suicides or attempted suicides are rare in every country in the world, they do mean something - or they should mean something. The circumstances of these events should lead social services to feedback to central government what needs correcting - and government should respond in a substantial way that effects real change.
Are mental health services in T&T collaborating with law enforcement services to make any meaningful intervention? Are mental health services in T&T up to the job? Whilst no one expects these services to cure suicides overnight, it is their job to work together with social services to - as best as possible - prevent some suicides.
The suicide-homicide dyad is more complicated and difficult to fathom. What's being 'done' about all that? Well I know the short answer to that is, "Sod all!". And when I say 'done about all that' I mean something that will have a real impact - not some kinda nonsensical whitewashing statement such as "We are tripling our spending on mental health services and doubling funding of research into these matters."
My take on it is that these very sad events are a clear marker of social stress and breakdown. I don't believe I'm the first to say that.
COP is looking in to this matter. TT Express 2008-04-15 (at 09:30AM) reported that "The party also announced plans to launch a pilot project where physiologists, lawyers, addition counsellors, spiritual workers and social workers would provide support to people at risk."
That's a reasonable idea. I'm sure though that COP isn't so duncey as to be involving "Physiologists" at the front line of this. This is how duncey the media are becoming in T&T. Hopefully COP mean psychologists or psychiatrists - but 'physiologists'? Look nah man, daize not a typo - dat is an act of dunciness by the reporter.
Lanate is deadly poison. If the children survive they could be damaged for life, physically and/or mentally.