Last month, a father of seven children committed suicide in Wesab district, Dhamar province, after he had been told that the price of the flour sack (50 Kg) was 6500. Fari Saad, 45, could not buy a sack of flour, so he came back home and committed suicide.

Fuad Ahmed Mohsen just had an argument with his father. His father claimed that Fuad was not doing enough to support the family. Fuad was under pressure, exhausted, and hopeless. It was late at night, but he decided to go to his friends house Hamdi and ask him for a small loan. He reached his friends house, gave Hamdi a warmth greeting and said “I need 2000 YR. my father is in dire need”. His friend replied, “I have no money”. Fuad insisted that his friend give him money under any circumstance. Unfortunately his friend did not have any money. Fuad stood near his friend, took out his gun, aimed it to his own head and said, “If I don’t get 2000 YR I will shoot myself”. Hamdi took it as a joke and ignored him with caution. Seconds later, the body of Fuad laid on the ground as his friend couldn’t believe what just happened. Fuad’s friend Hamdi felt responsible for his friend’s death and only wishes if that moment could be repeated. Hamdi says that he would have given Fuad millions if he only knew that his friend’s life was on the line.

Fuad had been suffering from a great financial problem and thought that the only solution to all his problems is to leave them and go away. Sadly, he left a family of nine sisters who solely depended on him greatly. His sisters are now left with no one to help and support him or her. This story above is just one case of the hundreds of suicide attempts that occur in Yemen on a yearly basis.

Since the spread of this fatal phenomenon, locals have believed that the main reason behind suicide cases in Yemen are family break-ups, divorce, economic hardships, social problems, pessimism, failure, feeling to have sinned or to be guilty, and self-hatred. In addition, self-denial, psychological instability, depression that results from failure in love relation, disappointment, moral weakness, lack of religious discipline, and losing a job or the death of a dear person are other reasons behind this phenomenon.

Numerous suicidal techniques have been used by locals ranging from hanging, burning, or even poisoning themselves. Suicide cases are more widespread in rural areas villages. In could also be witnessed in major cities, but a primary reason for its wider spread in rural areas is that people living in cities have a better chance of finding ways to ease their pain, and a better opportunity for jobs exist..

Dr. Abdullah Mo’amar, Social Science Professor at Sana’a University said that the spread of these phenomena in Yemen to this extent, especially in the last couple of months is due to the bad financial situation people are going through. He added that when people live under such pressure, ideas such as suicide come to mind. Dr. Abdullah concluded by saying that family problems are a major reason for its spread, and the effect that foreign movies have on Yemeni citizens. Many foreign movies show suicidal attempts, giving ideas to Yemenis to end all their problems by committing suicide.

According to a study, the majority of the people committing suicide are women. Reasons for it being that way are numerous. A major issue is the extensive work that is being given to young girls residing in villages and rural areas. In return, the young girls are still being dealt ruthlessly and without respect. In addition, with the rise in poverty in the country, and the increase of obligations on women, they tend to lean towards suicide in the occurrence of problems. In addition, women who are forced to marry someone they don’t want are another reason for the spread of suicides among women more than in men.

Statistics show that a tragic rise in the number of suicides that took place over the last few years. From 1994-2001, a total of 800 suicidal cases were witnessed. In 2002 alone, nearly 519 suicide cases were reported. Tragically, in the last couple of months alone, over 100 suicidal incidents were recorded in Yemen. Governmental sources clarified that the majority of those who commit suicide are youngsters from both genders.

From 2002-2005 over, 1470 cases were reported, making it the highest number of suicides seen in the country throughout its long history.

Based on the studies conducted by the Department of Planning & Information at Aden Security Department, Aden Governorate totaled 77 suicides and 114 suicide attempts from 1995 to 1999. In 1995 alone, Aden witnessed 13 suicides and 20 suicide attempts, while in 1996 the number of suicides reached the number of 14 with 20 suicide attempts. In 1997, there were 18 suicides and 30 suicide attempts, for 17 suicides and 25 suicide attempts in 1998. In 1999, the number of suicides and suicide attempts totaled 15. These numbers are only of Aden city and not the country in all.

According to studies, only 15 percent of suicide cases were by illiterate citizens, showing that illiterate people are less likely to commit suicide. Nearly 30 percent of suicide cases were for youngsters between the ages of 15-18. Due to most cases being from those who are educated, many believe that depression that occurs is either from not having what other students have or break ups in relationships that occur at a young age for school teenagers. “My best friend wanted to commit suicide when he was in 10^th grade, after the girl he loved ignored him and told him to never talk to her again. He could not sleep nor eat for four days. He wanted to end his misery by committing suicide. hopefully I was there to make sure that he wouldn’t hang himself” Jorban Al-Ma’mari, a university student who claims this story took place in Sana’a nearly four years ago. Jobran says that two weeks after the incident, his friends life was back to normal again and thanked him dearly for being to his side in the time of great need.