Bad economy to blame for rise in suicides

They can’t afford to get married because they haven’t got jobs in the first place.


The high unemployment rate in Egypt, the bad economic conditions and the spectre of poverty make them contemplate suicide.

The unemployment rate in Egypt was last reported at 11.8 per cent in the second quarter of 2011, according to the Central Agency for Public Mobilisation and Statistics (CAPMAS).

A poor young Egyptian man who lived in a popular area of town recently hanged himself, because he couldn’t get a job. He became depressed and, seeing no way out, he ended it all.

Meanwhile, a famous businessman shot himself dead, leaving a farewell message for his family, in which he blamed his suicide on his financial problems.

Not only the poor commit suicide, but also the rich, who are afraid of being impoverished. The adverse economic conditions play a major role in people’s feelings of instability.

"There is no difference between poor and rich when it comes to suicide," says Enshad Ezz Eddin, a sociology professor. "When a man cannot achieve self-fulfilment, he often ends up taking his life.”

Every year approximately 1 million people worldwide commit suicide – almost one death every 40 seconds, according to a World Health Organisation (WHO) report issued in 2010.

Enshad explains that poor people often decide to commit suicide because they suffer from oppression and social injustice. But the world becomes equally black for the rich who have property and money, then suddenly lose it all.

Egypt is an Islamic country, which means suicide is prohibited; nevertheless, more and more people are killing themselves.

According to a report issued by CAPMAS, a total of 1,160 suicides were reported in the year 2005; the number more than doubled to 2,355 in 2006, with about 3,700 the following year.

In 2008, approximately 4,000 Egyptians took their own lives, while 50,000 attempted suicides were reported in the same year. In 2009, an estimated 5,000 Egyptians killed themselves.

These statistics are particularly shocking when compared to those issued by the Egyptian State in 1987, when the annual suicide rate was merely one for every 1 million males, while no females reportedly took their own lives.

According to the demographics at the time, this translated to only about 25 deaths by suicide every year.

"Often the economic conditions are to blame," Enshad explains. "So we have to restructure our social, economic, political and religious systems in order to give people a sense of hope, justice and self-worth.”

Most Egyptians who commit suicide do so because their economic situation is so bad, but there are other countries with a high rate of suicide because of the luxury their citizens live in.

The happiest places in the world tend to have the highest suicide rates. Studies show that places like Denmark and Sweden consistently score high on measures of happiness and life satisfaction, but also have relatively high suicide rates.

People in these countries tend to commit suicide because they have experienced everything in life, so they have nothing left to experience except suicide!

In Egypt, more than 40 per cent of citizens live below the poverty line with no health insurance or services.

"As long as there are economic problems and a decline in the stock indexes, the suicide rate will carry on rising," says Rashad Abdo, an international economist. "We have to tackle the economic problems to reverse this alarming trend.”