Friday 20 / September / 2024
Muscat: “I begged Harish not to go to Muscat. I pleaded with him that we can be happy here with a small income. But he did not listen to me. He was not well too. I told him that we can treat his illness here and be happy with family. But ....”
These were the words of Jayanti Harish, the wife of Harish, who committed suicide in Oman at his residence in Nizwa on the morning of May 7.
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“He had numbness in his legs. We had consulted medics when he came here, who said it was curable. But I felt that he was under tremendous mental pressure due to lack of money. We stay in a rented house. He wanted to build and own one. It was troubling him a lot. Now, he left us alone without anything,” Jayanti, who is trying to adjust to the new reality, told the Times of Oman.
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Harish was working in Oman for the past few years and had returned to Muscat a few days before he committed suicide.
According to company officials, his body was found hanging from a ceiling fan in his accommodation. It was found after the company workers went to his house to check on him as he had failed to turn up for duty.
Read also: More awareness, help needed to lower suicide cases in Oman
“He knows how to drive an auto rickshaw. I told him that we will buy one and live with whatever money we earn from it. But he was not ready for that,” Jayanti said, adding that he had even told her about booking a ticket to Muscat for her.
Harish and Jayanti had tied the knot after years of being together. “Now, without him, I don’t know how we will live. Our five-year daughter is asking me where Papa is and why he is not calling,” Jayanti added.
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Harshad Vorkady, a school friend of Harish, also said that when he met Harish on May 5, he found him very disturbed.
“I told him that everything can be settled slowly and advised him not to worry much. But he didn’t listen,” Vorkady said.
A Muscat-based social worker, who reaches out to people, who are in distress said she has observed suicidal tendencies to be a little high among Indian migrant workers, especially those who lead a single life.
“If people are ready to share and if there are people who listen to these kind of tragedies, then it can be avoided,” Rita added.
Jeena Beneesh, a Muscat-based Indian psychologist, said problems are always temporary and will not last for a long time.
“We should show patience and try to share such issues with trusted friends or family members to overcome the troubled times,” Beneesh said.
Shaji Sebastin, a Muscat-based social worker, said if earlier, poverty had been a disturbing issue for many expatriates, now people were getting worried over silly issues, such as making money and getting settled in life swiftly.
“What I have observed is that everyone is addicted to consumerism and the greed to save more is leading them into trouble. And when they land in trouble, the majority don’t have the courage to face it. Moreover, social organisations are least bothered to help their fellow citizens,” he added.
Ambujakshan MK, a finance expert, said the lack of wise finance management, which leads to trouble, is one of the main reasons that every migrant worker faces in a foreign land.
“Investments are always made on emotional grounds. They tend to invest in house and gold. They don’t think of other options, such as insurance schemes and bonds. Savings are not just a house and luxury items. People should think wisely and invest,” the finance expert said.
According to a latest data from government of India, 1,384 Indians allegedly committed suicide abroad in the last three years, with the maximum number at 541 being in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Replying to a question in the Lok Sabha (the lower house of the Indian Parliament), Minister of State of Overseas Indian Affairs, V K Singh said a total of 497 Indians had committed suicide in 2013, 451 in 2014 and 436 has ended their lives, as of December 4, 2015.
As per details provided by the Minister based on information from Indian missions in 142 countries, 541 Indians have committed suicide in the United Arab Emirates since 2013 followed by 337 in Saudi Arabia and 123 in Oman.
