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Sharp Rise in Postwar Suicides Alarms Kosovo
04 June 2007 Breakdown of family life since 1999 seen as
one factor behind previously little known phenomenon.
By
Nora Hasani and Zana Limani in Pristina
Twenty-year-old Fjolla’s eyes go blank when
she starts talking of her friend who committed suicide four years ago. “I was
shocked, I just couldn’t believe it,” she said. “I never thought she would do
something like that - she was so full of life!”
Fjolla’s 15-year-old friend was one of the
356 recorded suicides that took place between 2000 and 2006 out of a population
of 2 million. Many more try to take their lives and fail. According to Kosovo
Police Service files, more than 30 suicides occurred in the first half of 2007
but the number of suicide attempts was double that.
Fjolla remembers the last time she talked
to her friend. “She was enthusiastic as always and she seemed to be happy…
Everything seemed so normal about her,” she said, blaming herself for not
realising something was wrong.
War trauma, according to experts, is one of
the main reasons for the sharp increase in suicide cases in Kosovo, where the
phenomenon was barely known before 1999.
“Actual manifestations of trauma might not
be visible but can show up even after a long time,” Aliriza Arenliu, a psychologist,
said, referring to the fact that while the war ended in Kosovo more than seven
years ago, its effects are still felt in people’s lives.
Some experts relate the rise in suicides to
growing isolation and family breakdown. They point out that Kosovo families
were more tightly knit in the past and relationships more clearly structured.
Kosovo then had the lowest number of
suicide cases in the region and the few cases that occurred were a hot topic
among Kosovars who traditionally viewed suicides as a disgrace and a sin.
But the role of the family in Kosovo has
changed drastically since 1999, when village life was permanently disrupted by
the forced exodus of Albanians to neighbouring countries.
Linda Gusia, a sociologist, said migrations
of populations within Kosovo and also outside were an important factor behind
this family breakdown. “People started to concentrate more on themselves and
through this kind of atomisation of society some people started to feel alone,
isolated and left out,” she said.
Even before 1999, society was being eroded
by outside forces. Constant political repression for over 10 years from 1988 to
1999 under the apartheid-style Serbian regime exposed many Kosovars to
unprecedented pressure.
Then the regime became more violent as the
conflict with Albanian militants erupted. Fighting forcibly displaced roughly a
million people during the NATO bombing campaign and Serbian government forces
killed about 10,000 people.
Post-war society has still not recovered.
“Everyday life in Kosovo is still in one way or another related to the war,”
Linda Gusia said.
“Most suicide cases are in those areas that
were involved in the worst fighting during the Kosovo war, such as Drenica
region,” Fidaie Krasniqi of the Degjo Rinine (Listen to the Youth)
organisation, said.
“People in Drenica remember only a single
case of suicide before 1999 while since the war there have been 54,” she added.
According to Krasniqi, most were former
fighters in the Kosovo Liberation Army, KLA, who felt aimless and without
perspectives once the war was over.
Beside direct and indirect war trauma,
other factors behind the rise in suicides in Kosovo are psychological and
social factors, such as poverty and unemployment, Ferid Agani, a psychiatrist,
said.
Eight years after the war, Kosovo is stuck
in the economic doldrums. The World Bank’s Poverty Assessment classifies 37 per
cent of the population as “poor”, meaning they live on less than 1.42 euros per
day. Fifteen per cent of the population live below the extreme poverty line of
0.93 euros per day.
Many believe that these alarming statistics
- coupled with the fact that Kosovo has the youngest population in Europe, with 50 per cent of the population under 30, few
of whom have much perspective of getting a job – are creating conditions for
further trauma.
“The illusion that freedom was going to
solve all our problems faded soon after the war,” Linda Gusia said.
“Kosovo is a small country and doesn’t have
much to offer, that’s why I assume people … don’t have a perspective
and feel lost,” she added.
The rising statistics on suicides emphasize
the need for a carefully designed official prevention strategy.
“It is on our agenda and we’re working on
it,” said Ismet Abdullahu of the Kosovo health department, who explained that
they deal with suicides as a part of a general mental health strategy.
But the cash-strapped Kosovo government is
in no real position to offer people much in the way of trauma counselling.
Moreover, ordinary people in Kosovo still
see professional psychological help as deeply embarrassing and not something
they should ask for.
Fjolla feels sorry that her friend didn’t
talk to her, or anyone else, about her problems. “It’s a shame that the overall
perception for seeking help in Kosovo is a wrong one. People who need help
should seek help,” she says.
“Suicide prevention is possible”, Gusia
agreed. “The most effective way to prevent suicide is to recognize the warning
signs, take them seriously, and get professional help.”
Some NGOs are trying to fill the gap left
by the government health service. Krasniqi told Balkan Insight that her
organisation had set up a hotline for young people last December. Since then,
they had dealt with more than 350 desperate young people, offering information
and counselling. “Many of them had suicidal thoughts,” she noted.
Fjolla hopes she will not have to hear
about any more cases like her friend’s. “It happened to her but I wish it
wouldn’t happen to anybody else”, she said. End
Nora
Hasani and Zana Limani are Balkan Insight contributors. Balkan Insight is
BIRN’s online publication.
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The opinions expressed in Balkan Insight are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network.
Comments:
Vetevrasjet dhe zhvillimi ekonomik
Posted: 2007-07-30 20:54:45,
Te nderuar Deputete te Kuvendit te Kosoves Mbes me shprese qe kur te shohesh disa website me poshte, do te mundohesh me be nje seance te veqante parlamentare, per kete pune adresa e juaj eshte e 180 ta me radhe qe informoheni, pos ministrive komunave po kurkuj nuk i ben pershtypje, shpresoj qe roli i juaj ne parlament dhe media te i nxise pak me mendu keta njerez sepse pushtetin e ushtrojne me ndihmen e votave tona. Nuk pres me mu pergjigje jam mesu po ne qofte se ndegjoj se keni organizu seance parlamentare per kete tematike ke nderu gjithe bashkevendasit e tu te varfer qe mundohemi me kalu diten qofte edhe me nje euro. Tash me mban shpresa dhe kam besimin qe keni me be me te miren per kete projekt, per te miren e femijeve tane qe shume jane shkele nga automjetet ne mungese te ketyre stazave per te shku te sigurte ne shkolle apo qe shume bicikliste jane godite apo shkele per vdekje nga automjetet apo kamionet ne mungese te ketyre stazave . Ky projekt le te jete nje homazh ne kujtim te tyre ,qe ne te ardhmen mos me ndodhe per mungese te kesaj infrastrukture. Me deshirat dhe urimet me te mira per ju dhe familjen tuaj, patshi bekimet e Zotit ne detyren zyrtare qe keni ne sherbim te qytetareve te Kosoves. Veni Vidi Vici- Jul Cezari (Erdha Pashe Fitova) Erdha Pashe Harxhova ( per disa zyrtare ne Kosove kur udhetojne jashte Kosove) Ne duhet: Erdha Pashe Ndertova Eshte nje fillim qe kish ndryshu jeten per mire , dhe shume te rinje nuk kishin vu dore ne jeten e tyre me be vetevrasje , LIRIA gezohet (shijohet) edhe me flladin e lehte qe te rrehe fytyren kur vozite me biciklete dhe ftohe ato mendime te zymta ne koke, kursen nje euro ne rruge deri ne 10 km , dhe me ate nje euro pine nje kafe me shoke apo me te dashur dhe largon mendimet vetevrasese, keshtu mendoj ,ndoshta duket teper idealiste. PAVARESIA vjen kur secili nga ne i ka pak pare ne xhep qofte edhe 1 euro me pi nje kafe me shoke apo te dashur apo me nderu dikend e mos me shtri doren dikuj tjeter, njeheri shton VETEBESIMIN tek njerezit e mos me vu dore ne jeten e tyre siq ka ndodhe deri tani 390 vetevrasje shumica te rinje, varferia sjelle probleme familjare, shoqerore etj,. Ne Mitrovice naten ske ku dele ne disa rruge apo ne ndonje qytet tjeter ne Kosove nga grupe te te rinjeve te deshperuar qe si rruge kane zgjedhe me marre me force edhe ato pak pare qe i kane bashkevendasit e tyre apo ndonje kalimtar rasti nga qytetet tjera. Shih perfitimet ne ekonomi kombetare ne SHBA. Bicycling / Moving America Forward http://bikesbelong.oli.us/Booklet/bb_booklet_fnl.pdf