Kuujjuaq marks World Suicide Prevention Day
Kuujjuaq residents gather to commemorate World Suicide Prevention on the evening of Sept. 10. Participants lit candles and released flowers into the water in memory of lost loved ones. (Photo by Isabelle Dubois)
For kuujjuaq, it’s suicide day again. As this event unfolds , another victim succumbed. Died in Montreal after being medivaced. Prevention will only start at home, and with healthy communities. At this time in the life of Nunavik living, it’s horrific conditions. There too much alcohol abuse, child abuse. There’s no incentive to do well in school for our children. The community is not doing well as communities should do. You don’t see the business day starting well. No shows to work and school, workers teachers, students. The co-op store exist on beer profits, gas station can’t open half the time, no workers, yet when beer sale times comes , the same no show workers are in line for their case. The community is in need of rescue, as it’s soul has died long ago, and people within don’t realize the conditions. It’s big unawareness, no insight. For those that live and see that, and are aware, all you can do is go about living as best you can, help those who you can, but realize that it’s a real mess, from top to bottom. The well is gone.
The more you talk about suicide prevention the more people think of committing suicide. How are you preventing the suicide? Even if the beer sales at the coop is stopped then more bootleggers will increase!!! We all know when someone committed suicide we all blame alcohol and drugs even people who are not intoxicated commit suicide too. We in the whole wide world, wish that it would stop and we all think it would decrease. We never know what the person has in mind if the person is very quiet nor a big person with a good job.
Your missing the point about alcohol. It’s not about the one drinking it, it’s about how the drinker is affecting his or her family , community, children. It’s not about someone drunk committing suicide , it’s about someone sober, who was abused or very deeply affected by the drunk.
Another one as I write this comment. Kuujjuaq again, this time a bit older, but painfully so. If you think and look hard enough, it’s not difficult to see how superficial the marking of a day of prevention is. As a matter of fact, marking such days could be very negative as it becomes not only a symbolic expression, but the actual , and only preventive measure used. It gives people a sense of preventive feeling just by participating in the marking day, taking away, again from the real issues at the roots of community and family issues causing the pain, leading to suicide. It’s a community problem, combined with family issues that are causing suicide. Only insight and awareness to these issues will have any positive effect. It’s alcohol, drugs, neglect as the driver of it all.
Nunavik needs to model other Canada communities that have none , or very little suicide. Get a look at what is taken place with love and respect in these model communities. See first hand , parents dedicated to their child’s wellbeing. Children with desire to learn and grow into somebody that fosters love as life goes on. Look at how children are shielded away from alcohol and drug abuse, sexual abuse. See how children don’t witness drunk people all day long. See people going about their communities with pride in their work. See families enjoying family time on weekends. See how small communities don’t have overwhelming death, funerals, flags half mast several times a week. See kids that are not out all night long, breaking windows and stealing and damaging property. That not a dream: that’s just a small vision of health. There’s more to it then that, but this aspect of life is missing in a Nunavik, and it’s part of why there’s so much suicide.
Too much suicide for the last week? Is time to do something about that, maybe coop need to sale only beer on Friday for now to make good school year for student, about bootleggers is easy just need all leader of Nunavik to put their pant and stop them like other small community do with cargo limit for alcohol. Alcohol is good with moderation.
Suicide took lives in Nunavik, covid is not that bad. Look at all the talk about covid. Health boards , hospital, mayors meetings, special covid committees. Curfew, restrictions, distancing-, for what? If only the same energy could be applied to suicide prevention. People have no insight.
Since the marking of suicide prevention day, in kuujjuaq there has been three suicides. All in the same week. Two funerals today, one more on the weekend. Other than an inconvenience as by stopping beer sales for a day or so, life just goes on, waiting for the next suicidal news, and funeral dates. People are desensitized to it all. Everyone knows when so and so comes on local fm, is because he will give out the latest suicide and or funeral news. It’s time authorities turn all their covid-19 strategies of prevention into suicide prevention. It’s time for wellness committees and all other such concerning committees to get with the program. It’s time the KI school board, Regional board of health, hospital, social services, municipalities, Makivik, KRG, get together, and address this crisis. Call it a national crisis. Wake up.
Things have gotten worse since local co-op stores made beer and wine available. It was always bad, but now it’s worse. Let’s ask for a statistic on the number of suicides in the last 5 years. It should be made available, like during the marking of suicide prevention day, why not, give people a sense of the magnitude, the numbers. If you look at the cemetery, it’s one grave after the other. Alcohol and drugs are very much abused in all parts of the world, but Alcohol and drugs here in Nunavik, is a cancer in two forms. One form of the cancer is the rapid spread, the fast and quick taking of life, like suicide, drunk driving, accidents etc. The second form of the cancer is the slow spread of the disease throughout the family , the community. It’s in the soul and broken life of children, battered, and assaulted people, and those who are victims of sexual abuse. The community has no insight, no well, no getting better of the disease. It’s terminal. The community leadership, the few who might have a little awareness, needs to address the issue by inviting outside intervention. It’s the only way. No one from the community has any worthwhile knowledge or motivation. At least most don’t. Sometimes all you can do is take care of yourself and your own family, but if enough people would do that , it would make a difference, just waiting now for the next announcement of a suicide, and funeral time.