By Mboneko Munyaga
The story of a man who allegedly hanged himself after a dispute involving two goats in Arusha recently reminded me of what a senior psychiatrist at Muhimbili National Hospital (MNH) in Dar es Salaam once told me about the link between depression and suicide.
The tragedy is that, rather than raising alarm, we often ridicule or dismiss such “drama” with the hope that it will pass. “People rarely take their own lives without first warning those closest to them,” the psychiatrist told me. “They talk about it. They show signs. The people around them either brush it off or do not know what to look for.”
There are various reasons why this otherwise normal young man ended his life. It shows the mental health struggles facing many young Tanzanians – joblessness, family conflicts and hopelessness.
