Last week saw news report on an apparent suicide as a man was found hanging by the neck in a garage not too far from his home in Grand Bacolet. The body was identified to be that of 58-year-old Richard Cado of the same area. Residents in the village who gave him the name Maddock, described him as a very nice person even while battling the disease of Alcoholism.
In speaking to a reporter his brother who said that they were living in the same house, said that for the last few weeks, Maddock was threatening to take his life because he was fed up with life. Our investigation brought to light that the two brothers lived in separate houses on land belonging to the deceased. We also learnt that the brothers were not enjoying a good relationship. Why wasn’t the threat of suicide reported to the police? Who wanted Maddock dead and why? Two areas of concern stand out in the report on the evening news. The issue of Alcoholism that continues to be seen as a bad habit instead of a disease and, as a result, goes untreated. Then there is the issue of people not having anyone with whom to share their burdens of life. There was a pastor speaking in that report but it was disappointing that he did not see the need to council the man before he died. He revealed that he knew about his drinking too much rum.
Did anyone pay attention to the many programmes Dr Panchoo did on different media? He made the point that schizophrenia and people being Bi-Polar are very common mental diseases here. Other medical officials revealed that the abuse of Marijuana and alcohol are most times the cause of those diseases. Both drugs are enjoying a free ride as abusing them are taken as the norm in society. So, a young man exposing that he started smoking marijuana at age nine because he followed the
example of his stepfather or a husband refusing to leave the rum-shop before it closes at night, only
attract a shrug of the shoulders because such behaviour forms part of the seemingly modern accepted
morass that exists in our society.
Can somebody give us an update on Carlton House? This newspaper has reported many efforts made over the years by a local bank even on the island of Carriacou to raise funds to have that institution re-established. When will the public finally be told what the target is in terms of cost to building something that is such a great need?
The new government has taken the initiative to raise the price of alcoholic beverages; but it is a known fact that if one is an alcoholic, he or she will find ways to get the substance since it’s an addiction. It is our hope that Carlton House, once re-established will play a great part in dealing with societal ills. The medical association should meet on this one since we are seeing more need to prescribe people to that institution of healing.
A few years ago, there were instances of people attempting to or even succeeding in committing suicide. Two offenders were seen on camera committing the acts. People looked on social media as the life of a young man was slipping away in Saint Andrew while the rope tightened around his neck. Then there was another video making the rounds of a young man who was cutting himself while saying that he wanted to make his allegedly estranged mother suffer. He was allowed to bleed to death in Saint Patrick. The question is, were these people aware that they were committing a crime? Most likely they needed psychological or mental and emotional support. But the area of concern here is ‘just who should determine that and step in to help?’
In the event that the person’s life was saved, shouldn’t he or she be taken to court for attempting a crime. It is our belief that people may not know that it’s still a crime on the books and even the Police were hesitant to tell us the penalty that goes with that. There may still be people who know the man who was jailed a long time ago for attempting to commit suicide. After his term in prison ended and he was a free man again, he never tried doing that anymore. He learnt his lesson well. We have heard of successful rehabilitation programmes in the prison; so bring out more success stories let’s make them viral on social media.
In reference to the incident at Grand Bacolet that prompted this editorial, we are hoping that the right people would read this and get on board to help the nation break away from this complacency in dealing with social issues that can lead to death. It may have been overlooked by the Pastor that Maddock needed spiritual help to confront whatever was troubling him. But where is the love in the village that we knew when we cared about each other? The news report revealed that it was weeks that the now dead man was threatening to take his life. Wasn’t that enough time for an intervention?
