Suicides In Jordan Rising

Suicides in the Kingdom of Jordan have been increasing at an alarming rate. In the past three years alone, it has nearly doubled and the last two years have seen an 87% increase in people taking their lives.

The actual suicide rate may indeed be higher because some families may hide suicides because of the social stigma and attribute death to another cause.

Islam strictly forbids suicide and the faith teaches that damnation await those who break the covenant with God and take their own lives for only Allah can give and take life. Many families do not want people speaking ill about their loves ones so many suicides may be masked.

Whatever the real number, the official statistics along are deeply worrying. Suicide is a dreadful act, and so tragic that anyone would feel so hopeless as to end their own life.

Why the rise? Jordan's - like most Arab countries - suffers from high unemployment and that often leads to a feeling of emasculation amongst men. Unable to find work often means unable to get married - which means further delaying a life of routine sex (the question of sex is often misrepresented in the region with some Westerns portraying Arab men as sexually depraved. This isn't true: brothels proliferate the area but it is true that without marriage frequent sex is often uncommon). The high unemployment rate and the consequences of that for marriage may be a measure factor.

But there are other factors as well. Al Jazeera reports that the expanding gap between rich and poor may also lead to suicide as long with many Middle Eastern countries lacking the facilities to properly deal with depression so those suffering from it may not get the counseling they need until its too late.

Not to make light of an awful matter, but masturbation may be an issue. Some American teenagers unintentionally commit suicide through the act of suffocating themselves during masturbation (to increase the feel of orgasm) and many fail to "un-suffocate" in time and therefore die. The late comedian George Carlin used to joke that embarrassed parents of such masturbation death children would "put their dick away" and tell the police "he had poor grades, his girlfriend left him."

Whatever the reason, this is a tragedy for Jordan and needs to be dealt. Unfortunately the Jordan government is its lousy self in refusing to even admit the alarming matter and thus necessary work is often neglected.

Jordan's youth cannot afford neither denial by the authorities. Nor the time.