Mumbai (AsiaNews) - At least 37 Indian nationals committed suicide in six of the seven United Arab Emirates in the first half of 2014. The figure was released by the Indian Consulate in Dubai. From 2007 to 2013 at least 700 suicides have been recorded in the Indian community. According to The National, English-language newspaper in Abu Dhabi, economic problems are the leading cause of these suicides.
The suicides involve Dubai and the northern
emirates Sharjah, Ajman,
Fujairah, Umm al-Quuwain and Ras al-Khaimah. These six, along with Abu Dhabi, make up
the State of the United
Arab Emirates, home to about 2 million Indian migrants.
According to some social activists,
fear of social humiliation due to debts or retaliation
by money lenders can push the middle-class Indian
families to extreme measures. In
many cases, these are people who
try to live beyond their means,
but who end up crushed
by bank loans and credit card
bills that they cannot repay.
The case of the film producer Santosh
Kumar (see photo) is a prime example. The man and his wife first
suffocated their 9 years old daughter Gauri, then
cut both their
wrists. The murder-suicide
is believed to have been prompted by a large debt.
To cope with this emergency, since 2011, the Indian
Consulate and the Indian Community Welfare Committee (Icwc)
have provided financial assistance
to more than 500 cases, paying school fees, medical expenses, and buying
basic goods where an enterprise had failed. (NC)