by Edward Hutcheson
It is commendable that the Minister of Health has appointed a task force in response to the “apparent increase in suicidal thoughts among Bahamians” and the persons that will be on this task force are very well qualified to report back to him, but he should save the taxpayer some money because the information he needs is already in existence. Doctors’ Allen and Patterson can drop off a wheelbarrow full of information and he can just skip past this task force exercise. The work of Doctor Allen is particularly vital to this exercise, because his very specific line of investigation has already been documented and has revealed that this “increase” is just the fruit of our not dealing some seeds we planted many years ago and that work is hailed and recognised outside of this country.
The Minister of Health does not need two months to tell the Bahamian public what is known already, the two months ahead can be used to investigate and put into public view how a thought becomes an action. More so an enlightening on how the economic, psychological, spiritual, political and social dimensions of a culture can push a person to do something that they would not usually do.
A word to the Minister. You do not have the time two months from now to get up in the House and have this “Report” read into the Record. Your work is already set out before you. It is in your power to get this ball rolling right now, put down your politicians cap and take up your healers mantle, we have not time for speeches.
I do not want to sound morbid, but the formation of a task force as a response to the “apparent increase in suicidal thoughts among Bahamians”, is not really a response, it is a reaction. Suicidal thoughts have always been in the atmosphere, but when those who lead, wherever they lead, are ineffective in their mandate when we have the escalation of “social cracking” and people fall through. The social, economic, religious and political divisions that we have engendered among ourselves over the years have begun to bear much bitter fruit and this is the issue; we are not looking after each other as we used to.
February 27, 2013
