After the Talks

As the spectre of suicide continues to loom over our friends and fellows, the solution many Namibians put forward is to talk.

We need to foster an empathetic, non-judgmental and listening society where people, especially men, can talk about their challenges, their feelings and their mental health. To talk, to share and to find comfort with our friends, partners and families is to breathe a little easier, so I wholeheartedly agree.

But what, pray tell, happens after the talking?

Do the mounting bills we talk about miraculously get paid? Do the children we admit we are struggling to feed suddenly have something to eat? Do the debts that keep one up at night disappear?

It’s no secret that many people who commit suicide feel driven to do so as a result of financial stress. So, any real solution to Namibia’s high suicide rate should include a plan that results in Namibians actually being able to afford to live.

As things stand, many people are struggling. Basic needs such as food, shelter, water, adequate healthcare and electricity are always a challenge and most people struggle to make ends meet, let alone save for a rainy day.

Living paycheck to paycheck as the cost of living continues to rise, rent prices ever-increase and salaries stay stagnant, are cut or are never enough to begin with, means living with constant anxiety, if not succumbing to depression.

In Namibia, that depression is often drowned in alcohol, which, when consumed excessively, can result in a number of issues such as the irresponsible use of finances and sexual and gender-based violence.

Namibia’s wealth inequality is significant and ranks among the highest in the world. Earlier this year, the Namibia Statistics Agency revealed that Namibia’s unemployment rate is 36.9%.

Every day, we hear about another instance of crime, some of it violent and even fatal, which speaks to the lack of access to gainful employment and the desperate measures many are beginning to take to survive. The increase in Windhoek’s street children is another indicator that all is not well.

To discuss solutions to Namibia’s high suicide rate and not point directly at the issues of workers being underpaid, high unemployment and the astronomical cost of living is disingenuous.

We can talk about these things, have some catharsis and lighten the load, especially for men who have been socialised to stay silent and find self-worth in productivity and the ability to financially provide for their loved ones, but we also need to ask some crucial questions.

What are the real, practical and life-changing solutions that we, as a society, our elected officials as the government and the private sector as our business leaders, can implement to materially change the circumstances of people who are driven to end their lives as a result of financial stress, unemployment and depression?

While poverty and unemployment may not be the only things driving men to suicide, they are significant and glaring factors, alongside the need to adapt to changing gender roles that empower women and the need to live within one’s means.

Social media has distorted reality. The endless barrage of ‘successful’ people living large, even at relatively young ages, can stoke feelings of inadequacy and failure through comparison. Both men and women need to guard against this and avoid falling into financial holes as a result of trying to keep up with people’s heavily curated highlight reels.

So, let’s talk.

Let’s encourage and create those safe spaces, especially for men, but let’s be frank about the range of causality and urgently implement material solutions.

It’s a matter of life and death.

– martha@namibian.com.na; Martha Mukaiwa on Twitter and Instagram; marthamukaiwa.com

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