The Arctic Suicides: It's Not the Dark That Kills You
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Re: The Arctic Suicides: It's Not the Dark That Kills You
#2Fascinating long read, which gives a lot of insight in the struggles of daily life in these remote parts of our world.
And no, it's not just the dark that makes people commit suicide. Of the top 10 countries with the highest suicide rates, only Lithuania can be considered as having a somewhat gloomy winter. The rest of the countries all get more sunlight (Guyana, Suriname and Sri Lanka for instance) than the countries generally accepted as happiest in the world: Denmark (ironically, considering the story), Switzerland, Iceland and Norway.
Re: The Arctic Suicides: It's Not the Dark That Kills You
#3Fascinating long read, which gives a lot of insight in the struggles of daily life in these remote parts of our world. And no, it's not just the dark that makes people commit suicide. Of the top 10 countries with the highest suicide rates, only Lithuania can be considered as having a somewhat gloomy winter. The rest of the countries all get more sunlight (Guyana, Suriname and Sri Lanka for instance) than the countrie…
didn't know about Lithuania and googled https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suicide_in_Lithuania#Statistic... - the lowest rate was in 1990, on breaking up from USSR and getting independence back.
Re: The Arctic Suicides: It's Not the Dark That Kills You
#4Fascinating long read, which gives a lot of insight in the struggles of daily life in these remote parts of our world. And no, it's not just the dark that makes people commit suicide. Of the top 10 countries with the highest suicide rates, only Lithuania can be considered as having a somewhat gloomy winter. The rest of the countries all get more sunlight (Guyana, Suriname and Sri Lanka for instance) than the countrie…
That said I find it much more cheerful going off somewhere sunny when it's Jan/Feb in London. Maybe they could lay on some charter flights to Bahia or somewhere.
Re: The Arctic Suicides: It's Not the Dark That Kills You
#5When I saw the title I thought this was going to be about Canada. Suicide rates are extremely high in some aboriginal communities; in Attawapiskat for example, 5% of the residents have attempted suicide in the past year.
And I can't say that I really blame them. Attawapiskat is an extremely isolated community, with few jobs and no amenities. Kids growing up in Attawapiskat have nothing to look forward to. Those who leave the community have much lower rates of suicide, but given the memories of children being taken away from their families and forced into abusive residential schools, no politician in their right mind would dare to suggest that as an option. So they live out their lives in miserable isolation, waiting for their boredom to end; and some decide to speed along the process.
Re: The Arctic Suicides: It's Not the Dark That Kills You
#6Fascinating long read, which gives a lot of insight in the struggles of daily life in these remote parts of our world. And no, it's not just the dark that makes people commit suicide. Of the top 10 countries with the highest suicide rates, only Lithuania can be considered as having a somewhat gloomy winter. The rest of the countries all get more sunlight (Guyana, Suriname and Sri Lanka for instance) than the countrie…
didn't know about Lithuania and googled https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suicide_in_Lithuania#Statistic... - the lowest rate was in 1990, on breaking up from USSR and getting independence back.
I'm curious why it's so bad there. It neighbours Poland which has less than a quarter the rate. Cultural maybe?
Re: The Arctic Suicides: It's Not the Dark That Kills You
#7The novel "Smilla's Sense of Snow" by Peter Høeg is in large part about the alienation and culture shock of an Inuit woman in Denmark.
P.S: I like the article's side bar about responsible reporting on suicide. That's forgotten far too often in the rush for gripping headlines and clicks.
Re: The Arctic Suicides: It's Not the Dark That Kills You
#8Fascinating long read, which gives a lot of insight in the struggles of daily life in these remote parts of our world. And no, it's not just the dark that makes people commit suicide. Of the top 10 countries with the highest suicide rates, only Lithuania can be considered as having a somewhat gloomy winter. The rest of the countries all get more sunlight (Guyana, Suriname and Sri Lanka for instance) than the countrie…
> The rest of the countries all get more sunlight (Guyana, Suriname and Sri Lanka for instance) than the countries generally accepted as happiest in the world: Denmark (ironically, considering the story), Switzerland, Iceland and Norway.
South Korea as well, its latitude roughly matches the northern half of Tunisia (Seoul's latitude is 37°33′N, Tunisia's northernmost city of Bizerte is at 37°16′N)
Re: The Arctic Suicides: It's Not the Dark That Kills You
#9Earlier quoted context omitted.
didn't know about Lithuania and googled https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suicide_in_Lithuania#Statistic... - the lowest rate was in 1990, on breaking up from USSR and getting independence back.
I'm curious why it's so bad there. It neighbours Poland which has less than a quarter the rate. Cultural maybe?
(personal impression, not a professional sociologist obviously :) Poland is more capitalistic/enterpreneural in spirit and they have strong nationalistic drive (the Poland state had been destroyed and Polish land&people divided between neighbors several times for pretty prolonged periods during recent several centuries, yet still the country gets back every time it gets a chance) - as 1990 in Lithuania statistics suggests nationalistic drive can be a pretty strong factor too. It was the place that revolted in 1980 against the socialism and USSR control. Lithuania are much more calmer in all respects (i have a part of extended family there). If you look at statistics by age https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suicide_in_Lithuania#Statistic... - it seems to be a typical mid-life crisis in a society without active vertical mobility.
Re: The Arctic Suicides: It's Not the Dark That Kills You
#10I love, love, love Greenland. Best place I have ever been to. When I was spending time in Tasiilaq, I was told that the breakdown happened because of the fallout from the Greenpeace activities against seal clubbing in Canada. This destroyed the market for fur products and led to social welfare from Denmark and alcoholism.
Anyway, when in Greenland it is politically correct to eat seal and whale, once you find out how they are hunted and how the population cherishes the animals.
The coolest thing about Greenland was that the museums had no tools for warfare. Conflicts between people in Greenland were carried out by people playing drums and 'rapping' their cause in a song duel. If you had the laughs and opinions on your side, the person who 'lost' received sled dogs and food and was let go. I wish this could be used for all conflicts around the world.