DUBAI (NNN-Bernama) - An Indian living in Oman has been found to commit suicide every sixth day as a result of financial stress or personal issues, official data shows.
According to the Indian embassy in Muscat, a total of 23 Indians committed suicide in different parts of the Sultanate from January to mid-April this year, Press Trust of India reported.
Eight Indians committed suicide in the months of January and February respectively, four in March and three in April, the data said.
Last week, an Indian mother of three was found hanging from the ceiling of her flat in Ruwi region.
A total of 54 Indians took their lives in Oman last year, an increase from 50 in 2010.
Psychologists and social workers in Oman call this an alarming phenomenon.
"Even though the number of suicides was slightly low in March and April, it was quite high in January and February," an Indian lawyer said.
Psychologists attributed reasons for the suicides to financial stress and personal issues such as depression and interpersonal conflict.
At present, several Indian social and spiritual groups are working in Oman to prevent the rising number of suicides.
"The reason for the high number of suicides could be due to lack of people to confide in," said Indian Social Club Welfare Secretary P M Jabir.
"Many of the victims are people living away from families and relatives, which leads to loneliness and stress. Most of these people could be undergoing tremendous financial crisis in fulfilling family obligations back home," he said.
"To overcome all that, they seek easy methods such as taking loans from private money lenders which later turns out to be a death trap," he added.
A senior Indian embassy official said the embassy is ready to provide assistance to Indians facing stress.
"A community welfare wing headed by a senior India-based officer caters exclusively to the needs of distressed Indian workers," said A P S Chauhan, Second Secretary (Community Welfare, Culture and HOC) at the Indian Embassy. -- NNN-BERNAMA
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