Stabroek News
January 13, 2016
Dear Editor,
With suicide becoming more prevalent in our society, it must be clear that we need to do much more towards its prevention. I now think that, because teenagers form the largest group of victims of this terrible scourge, it is time for all our young people to ask themselves what they can do to stop their fellow teens from even considering it as a solution to any problem they may encounter.
It is a fact that every problem, no matter how unsolveable it may appear on the surface, has a solution that will not merely improve the condition of the person involved, but will actually make him stronger to deal with even greater problems in the future.. I believe that if every person contemplating ending his life should be convinced of this one fact, then they will stop and search for a real way out of their troubles, either by themselves or by seeking help from those who are qualified to offer such.
I am therefore suggesting that we should start a movement among the senior students of our schools to come together and form groups that can meet and discuss how they can spread the word of this to as many of their colleagues as possible. Along with this, students can be advised on what to look for in those with whom they come into contact who may be contemplating suicide, and also what help they can offer to these unfortunates to get the necessary counselling to prevent them from proceeding further in their self-destructive thinking.
Such a movement, to my mind, can be formed either in every school or within a group of schools in a community.
I hope that those in authority, either in the schools, communities, or in the Ministry of Education, can see the wisdom of this strategy and move to get it implemented soon.
Yours faithfully, Roy Paul