Victims and more victims in our society
This week I was witness to a very sad event. Just on the other side of the street where I live, a man decided to take his own life, as many have, jumping from the top floor of his building. At first I felt kind of sick and disoriented, I found it hard to believe. Still, when I accepted what had happened I started thinking, how many people have made this same decision just in this past year? and why do these people make this choice having a full life ahead of them?
There are numerous and varied examples of the reasons why young people and adults decide to end their lives. Bullying, in all its forms, is one of the major causes for these people to decide to stop living, deciding that even if a lot is coming in the future, it's not worth waiting around.
Let's just take as an example what recently happened with the former student Sebastián Urrego. He was a victim of bullying because of his sexual preferences. Even more surprising, the bullying was not limited to his schoolmates, but included the school administrators. The young man's mother recounted in an interview that the pressure was greater from the directors of the school than from the other students. What happens when the State is absent in certain regions of Colombia? They decide to to go against the government, and suffer the consequences which should have been addressed by the State. The same happens when a student has certain complaints and is ignored by the administration, the student suffers the consequences, as did Sebastián.
Besides him, there are many more people who opted for the same decision when faced with other situations. In September alone a 35 year old man was rescued by a trooper when he was about to jump from a pedestrian bridge because he was fighting with his wife. And this happened on no other day than the Day of Love and Friendship. The trooper, Yarbuy Yecid Obregon, who discovered him on the bridge only because he decided to make one more run before finishing his shift, says he felt his role as policeman was to help this man in the confusion of the moment. Thank God, and with the help of another trooper, this man did not end his life and is now receiving medical care.
Unfortunately there have been many cases where one member of a relationship is overwhelmed by sentiment and ends up making bad decisions. In Colombia there have been many situations where jealousy has led a person to suicide, and sometimes to kill their partner before killing themselves.
Without a doubt it is sad that people with so much in their futures would choose to throw it all away because of social pressures. A society (Bogota) should be a community where we help each other and aim for a common goal, a better city. How sad that humanity by nature puts its own personal benefit first. Maybe if we tried harder to make even the smallest changes, we could avoid this happening in a better future.
I don't want to know why the old man jumped from the top floor of the building in front of mine. What I do hope for is that this will wake up the conscience of each person who witnessed it. And hopefully in the future, even if indirectly, we can help avoid people taking their own lives.
Besides him, there are many more people who opted for the same decision when faced with other situations. In September alone a 35 year old man was rescued by a trooper when he was about to jump from a pedestrian bridge because he was fighting with his wife. And this happened on no other day than the Day of Love and Friendship. The trooper, Yarbuy Yecid Obregon, who discovered him on the bridge only because he decided to make one more run before finishing his shift, says he felt his role as policeman was to help this man in the confusion of the moment. Thank God, and with the help of another trooper, this man did not end his life and is now receiving medical care.
Unfortunately there have been many cases where one member of a relationship is overwhelmed by sentiment and ends up making bad decisions. In Colombia there have been many situations where jealousy has led a person to suicide, and sometimes to kill their partner before killing themselves.
Without a doubt it is sad that people with so much in their futures would choose to throw it all away because of social pressures. A society (Bogota) should be a community where we help each other and aim for a common goal, a better city. How sad that humanity by nature puts its own personal benefit first. Maybe if we tried harder to make even the smallest changes, we could avoid this happening in a better future.
I don't want to know why the old man jumped from the top floor of the building in front of mine. What I do hope for is that this will wake up the conscience of each person who witnessed it. And hopefully in the future, even if indirectly, we can help avoid people taking their own lives.
No comments:
Post a Comment