JEDDAH, 3 December 2006 — Jeddah Gov. Prince Mishal said yesterday authorities work to crack down on healers exploiting superstitious patients who believe these people can heal them from real or imagined medical conditions. These people are commonly referred to in the Arab media as “black magicians”.
“Fighting this phenomenon would not work without the help of both locals and residents,” Prince Mishal said, adding that every one should be aware of the dangers that would result from dealing with such charlatans.
The governor made his comments during the launch of a five-day awareness campaign addressing mental health and suicide. Addressing the social stigma of people who have mental health issues or are seeking treatment, Prince Mishal said that society must alter these perceptions in order to tackle the problem.
“People should not feel ashamed about it because it’s just like any other illness that requires professional care,” he said, adding that people should avoid going to unlicensed practitioners of questionable treatments.
Dr. Nawaf Al-Harthy, director of the Jeddah Psychiatric Hospital, said that professionals would be staffing the awareness caravan that would be visiting different areas of Jeddah over the next five days.
Al-Harthy said there is a need to show people that the Kingdom’s psychiatric facilities are not for “crazy people” but for everyone including those who have social issues or minor mental problems. He said that they have 50,000 visitors a year, most of them seeking professional mental care.
Al-Harthy said that they have been conducting campaigns for the last five years in accordance with the guidelines given by the World Health Organization.
The Psychiatric Hospital is marking the World Mental Health Day and World Suicide Prevention Day jointly with a five-day-long series of awareness-raising events.
The campaign, titled “Renew Your Life” was scheduled worldwide for Sept. 10 and Oct. 10, but they were rescheduled in the Kingdom because of Ramadan and Eid holidays. “We want to reach out as much as possible. So an alternative date was chosen this time,” said Sameera Al-Ghamdi, a spokeswoman at the hospital.
