Map by Sahina Shrestha and Smriti Basnet
Ram, who was from Gorkha, went to work in Malaysia to support his family. Mistreated by his employers, the father of a six-year-old boy soon returned to Nepal but could not find a job in Kathmandu. He recently hanged himself from the ceiling of his room in Boudha.
Biswas was a 21-year-old Dalit who moved to Kathmandu from Sindhuli to run a small tailoring business. The father of a seven month-old daughter hanged himself in his shop.
The deaths of Ram and Biswas are among a dozen suicides reported to police every month in the Boudha area alone.
Extrapolated nationwide, the statistics of suicides among young men driven to migrate for work are shocking. Neighbourhoods like Boudha and Balaju, which have high migrant populations, have shown a greater incidence of suicides within the Valley.
“One contributing factor may be recent migration and poor living conditions. Such life factors contribute to overall stress and may play an important role in an individual's mental health,” said American Fulbright student of Public Health Ashley K Hagaman at a talk at the United States Education Foundation, Kathmandu in May.
The world over, 90 per cent of all suicides are attributed to mental health problems. While Nepal has no recorded statistics of causes, experts cite migration, displacement and loss of support as leading to depression and driving some to take their own lives. Nepal’s national suicide rate is 24.9 per 100,000, the seventh-highest in the world after countries like Sri Lanka and South Korea. However, Nepal has the third-highest rate of female suicides, and it is the main cause of death among women in the 15-49 age group in Nepal.
“People migrate for better economic opportunities. When they do not find them, they become frustrated, which may lead to depression,” said Ram Sharan Pathak, Professor and Head of Population Studies at Tribhuvan University.
Besides dislocation, exposure to violence during and after the war as well as recent natural disasters could be other factors leading to a rise in mental health problems, believes Khem Karki at the National Health Research Council: “Over the years, the migration and displacement of people have been exacerbated by the ten year-long conflict, floods, landslides and most recently the earthquake. There is a lot of stress related to both internal and external migration.”
Jhapa in the eastern Tarai has seen a sharp increase in its population due to new migration from the hills, and there seems to be a correlation with an increase in the suicide rate there over the last three years.
Hari, 26, moved to Jhapa with his wife from their ancestral village in Khotang. The displacement and new surroundings drove Hari to alcohol while his family struggled with earning enough. In September last year, Hari hanged himself on a tree outside his house. He was among 249 persons who committed suicide between April 2015 and May 2016 in Jhapa alone.