Suicide rocks No.2 village, East Canje, Berbice

By Malisa Playter Harry

The quiet village of No.2, East Canje, Berbice was on Saturday grappled with the news of the sudden death of a young and vibrant soul.

Dead is 16-year-old Marissa Singh, a student of J.C.Chandisingh Secondary School. Speaking to a cousin of the deceased teenager, he related to this publication that she is believed to have ingested more than the required amount of ‘pressure tablets’ at approximately 15:00 hrs at her No.2 Village home.

According to information received, she was found two hours later by her grandmother, Inez who went looking for her after noticing that her granddaughter was not around the house as usual. The grandmother allegedly ventured upstairs and noticed that the door to Singh’s bedroom was locked. After several calls went unanswered, she contacted the teenager’s ‘Raaki brother’ who lives a short distance from their home. The young man then jumped into the room where her motionless body was found. She was rushed to the New Amsterdam Hospital where the doctors tried to save the teenager’s life, but to no avail.

It is reported that she sent a text to a friend of hers saying that ‘she wanted to die’.

According to one of her cousins, Singh lost her mother Orpha Jodhan to a fire two years ago at Vryman’s Erven, New Amsterdam. It is believed that since the death of her mother, she has never recovered from a state of depression. Her cousin said she would normally tell his grandmother that her mother wanted them to go with her. She allegedly attempted suicide a year ago by also ingesting tablets.

The sixteen-year-old lived with her grandmother, step sister and step brother at their No.2 Village home. She was described as a jovial, funny and intelligent person. She was also said to have been a popular girl around her village and school and participated in several dancing activities at her Mandir and school.

Meanwhile in a Facebook post by one of her teacher’s attached to the J.C.Chandisingh Secondary School she stated ‘I am lost for words, Marissa hug me two days ago and told me how stressed out she was, she promised to reach back with me to talk’. Her friends and family members are still trying to cope with the tragedy.

If you or anyone is feeling depressed and possibly contemplating suicide, please call the The Guyana Inter-agency Suicide Helpline which operates 24 hours, and is organised by the Guyana Police Force. Telephone -223-0001, 223-0009, 223-0818 Cellphone – 600-7896, 623-4444.