Dubai: Despite the large number of Indian expatriates living here, social network amongst the community members is failing to identify warning signs and curb suicides, the Indian Consul General said.
His comments came as the number of suicides reported in the Indian community in Dubai and the northern emirates, this year, has reached 33.
“While it is wonderful to get together for festivals and other occasions, we should also be able to spot when our family members and friends are in distress. But this is not happening,” said Sanjay Verma. “Our community’s social network is failing in this aspect,” he said.
Although not every suicide can be prevented, a majority can, he said. He also called on the media to report suicides responsibly, as research shows that media reports impact the number of suicides.
Of the 33 suicides this year, 31 victims were males, and 2 females. The highest number of victims hailed from the South Indian states of Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh.
‘‘The gender of the victims and the states in India from where they hailed are in sync with the demographic make-up of the Indian community here,” he said.
In January, eight suicides were recorded, seven in February, four in March, six in April and eight in May.
‘‘There are cases involving workers, but majority are from lower middle class and middle class families.’’
Last year, a total of 76 suicides were recorded – out of which 71 victims were men.
Free financial, legal and psychological counselling is available through the Indian Workers Resource Centre, Verma said about measures taken by the consulate to curb suicides. Air tickets are paid for on a case by case basis and so far a fund set up by the Indian Community Welfare Committee has paid the school fees of about 200 children totalling Dh700,000.
But it is not possible for us to actually provide aid to all those facing financial problems, because of the sheer volume of the population here, and the fact that financial problems are very common, said Verma.
“Also, a majority of financial situations are a result of poor management of funds or bad decisions such as lending from illegal money lenders,” he said. The pressure of keeping up lifestyles, foreign holidays, fancy education for children, owning expensive gadgets etc may be fuelling the situation’’, he said.
The stigma in our society about seeking the help of psychologists and psychiatrists is not helping either. “The high cost of seeking such help, up to Dh500 a session, makes it beyond the means of many.”
Verma stressed the need for families to live within their means.
