MAKKAH, 18 January 2008 — Suicide is something that many religions and cultures look down upon. Islam clearly states that suicide is something forbidden. In spite of this, on account of a lack of correct Islamic upbringing, qualitatively speaking, attempted suicides are increasing in the Kingdom.
A number of Saudis told Arab News about people attempting to commit suicide. Some people try committing suicide to attract attention, others are simply mentally ill and a third group try committing suicide to bring a quick end to their social, psychological and financial problems.
Nadia Abdul Azim said that a maid working for a relative received a letter from her daughter blaming her for not caring about her. “The maid wrote an apology to her daughter and became pretty upset. Later she threw herself from the seventh floor of the building where she used to live and died,” said Abdul Azim.
Ahmed Zaini said a young man suffering from mental problems recently threw himself from a third floor. “Another maid jumped from a building. She suffered serious injuries,” said Zaini. “In hospital she told hospital workers that she didn’t want to live any more. She remained critically ill and died soon after,” he added.
Ulfat Husain said she knows of a 17-year-old girl who tried to commit suicide by drinking bleach. “I know another girl who swallowed an entire pack of Panadol tablets. She didn’t die but became sick. She said she was suffering from problems at home,” said Hussain.
Bandar A. said he knows a young man, who drove at high speed in an attempt to commit suicide. The man suffered serious injuries. “I also know of an Indian worker, who attempted suicide and injured himself with a knife. We later found out that he was having problems with his mother-in-law,” said Bandar.
“Some people who try committing suicide are not really serious. They involve people looking for attention. This is common among teenagers,” said Dr. Tarik Al-Bar, head of the Psychological Department at King Adul Aziz Hospital in Makkah.
“Others suffer from mental problems and attempt suicide for strange reasons. Some people think there are people following them,” he said, adding that maids may not necessarily be committing suicide. “Rather they may be trying to desperately flee from their sponsors and die jumping out of buildings,” he added.
Al-Bar believes that women tend to commit suicide more than men, and expatriates more than Saudis. “Some expatiates commit suicide after they fail to improve the standard of their living after arriving in the Kingdom. Mentally ill people feel death is the only solution to ending their problems,” he added.
Hind Al-Hindi, a social worker at King Abdul Aziz Hospital, said that many of the attempted suicide cases dealt with at the hospital involve women under the age of 30.
“Most of them are teenagers who overdose medicines. It seems they’re looking for attention,” said Al-Hindi.
She added that it is important to know what drives teenagers to commit suicide and discuss such issues with families. “Families must cooperate with us to aid them psychologically, socially and religiously,” she said.
Head of Makkah’s Psychological Department Dr. Sami Al-Lihyani said most people who attempt suicide do so due to psychological or social pressures. “There are no up to date statistics regarding suicide attempts in the Kingdom,” he added.
Sheikh Ahmed Al-Ghamdi, general manager of the Commission for Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice in the Makkah Region, said that the lack of faith is what drives people to commit suicide. “Relying on Allah and believing in Him will help a person put away all of his worries,” said Al-Ghamdi. He added that in Islam it is forbidden to commit suicide and that people become mentally ill because they stay away from Allah.
Maj. Abdul Muhsin Al-Maimani, spokesman for Makkah police, said that the police documented many cases of suicide last year. He said there were 21 suicides in Makkah last year, nine of which were Saudi. “There were 42 attempted suicides, 30 of these were Saudi,” he added.
