ORAL PRESENTATION

Greet the examiner and the congregation. Today, I am pleased to discuss my topic for my
communication studies internal assessment “Suicide as a viable permanent solution albeit the
reeling effects of those left behind.” Under the theme “suicide.” This topic spiked my interest
because it is overlooked in Jamaican society, and
the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention defines suicide as “death caused by
injuring oneself with the intent to die.” Back in September 2020, The Honourable Christopher
Tufton released a message on the Ministry of Health's website entitled ‘World Suicide
Prevention Day – “Working Together to Prevent Suicide” stating: “Here in Jamaica, the suicide
rate is approximately 2.1 per 100,000, with statistics from the Jamaica Constabulary Force
reflecting between 47 and 56 deaths per year due to suicide.” With that, an island-wide study was
conducted by the Northern Caribbean University back in December of 2022 stating that 22% of
men, in the range of 18-25 years old have the desire to be dead.
But, how do suicide impact families and friends/ It has been acknowledged by many loved
ones, especially on social media, that people who committed suicide have been ruled as selfish
people, for sending a doubled pain to them or, a sense of surprise, primarily because they have
not seen any red flags leading up to this devastating event? The loss also remains fresh on the
'suicide survivor's mind, and families tend to keep themselves bottled up and most of the time
refuse counselling or professional help.
An article from Jamaica Gleaner’s online platform, published in August of 2016, including an
interview with Kerrian Johnson of Kerrian Johnson Ministries, reads “While death may have
taken the person out of their perceived misery, families are left behind to deal with the pain and
sense of guilt.” She also stated that families and loved ones around Jamaica also feel a sense of
surprise, anger or guilt. Such feelings can heighten mental disorders, and may eventually lead to
history repeating itself.
Posterior to this article, another online article, titled “Suicide leaves the biggest casualties
behind” published on April 2019, shares a story of a woman named Andrea Dixon, whose
brother killed himself more than 2 decades ago, who recalls her experience, bemoaning “If only I
had made the time, perhaps he would have been alive, or at least I would have known the reason
he did it. It states that what burdens her the most is the missed opportunity to hear her brother
out, who subsequently turned the gun to himself 3 days later. I, the researcher, can relate to such
feelings, after losing my friend to drowning himself back in March of 2021 after feeling
overwhelmed with CSEC preparations during the COVID era.
While compiling this research, I encountered two main obstacles. Since Jamaica has one of the
lowest suicide rates internationally, with a suicide rate of 1.8 and 2.7 out of 1,000,000 people, it
was difficult to find anything local covering a topic as delicate as this. Alongside that, it was also
difficult to find primary sources, as not many people who have lost a loved one in this manner
tend to hide from the public eye, or refuse to discuss how they feel.