There was another suicide

over the weekend. This was before the Reserve Bank raised the interest rate yet again. 

I wonder how many more there will be in the coming weeks because people can see no way out of a financial mess created by weather, by rising production prices and falling market prices. How many will be caused by problems over which people had no control but feel they can no longer handle? 

Suicide is more common in rural areas than city dwellers are usually aware of. If it happens in a sparsely populated area it is much more likely that it will be someone known to you, perhaps very well known indeed. 

It sounds so obvious writing that but it is also true.  When it is someone you know it is frightening. It stays with you for weeks, for months...perhaps for the rest of your life. If you are very close to it the incident remains etched in your mind. You do not forget the details.

I tried to explain this to someone recently. They could not see why the problem of rural suicides was any greater than a suicide in the city. Cities can be lonely places too, very lonely. 

In a small rural community however it is likely that "everyone" will know you. There is no hiding many things city dwellers can keep quiet. Your marital relations, you financial circumstances, the state of your health, whether you have been caught wrongdoing, who you argued with and much more are all there being scrutinised. People generally just shrug and accept these things. It is part of living in a rural area. 

Life in rural areas is hard. Farming is not easy. It is a lonely occupation. Much of your day will be spent alone. Increased mechanisation and the gradual amalgamation of farms into one large unit may seem more efficient but it has increased the sense of isolation. The distances which need to be travelled have increased. You don't simply "hop in the car and go into town". You plan to go at certain times. You need more anti-depressants. Is the medical clinic open then? Will the seed you ordered be available? How are you going to pay for it?  Is the only JP available so you can get your signature witnessed on the papers which will extend the loan repayments yet again? Will there be enough money available to buy the fuel essential to keep the machinery running? You look at the sky and wonder when you will next see a rain cloud.

When we lived in one of the smallest such places there was the "footy" or cricket on Saturdays. People would travel many miles to get to a match. It was a social event. It would be followed by the "footy tea" and the "dance" accompanied by someone playing on an out of tune piano in the community hall. The men would drink beer and the women would do most of the work. Children would run around outside late into the night until they were called for the long drive home. Sundays were much more serious. People came to church. It was the time of the week when you stood around afterwards and talked about problems, issues and who was doing what and how well. You arranged the harvesting with your neighbours and worked out in which order the farms would get the shearers in. If someone needed extra help then it would often be organised then. It didn't stop all suicides but it must have prevented some.

I wonder what happens now. Is there still some of that sense of community? I wonder if it has gone along with the smaller farms and the advent of the internet (accessed by satellite) and the ever increasing costs of power and fuel.

The suicide over the last weekend will go down as an "accident" but the person who spoke to me told me, "We all know what it really was...and it was just too much for him."