Suicide in Botswana

[LiviaOlivia]

Sydney Morning Herald
February 18, 2004 - 11:00AM

Officials in Botswana have reportedly urged people wanting to kill themselves to "use trees" and not trains.

"If people want to commit suicide, they should use trees, not our trains," the country's minister of works and transport Tebelo Seretse told a Gabarone newspaper, according to The Star in neighbouring South Africa.

"I am sick of these people who throw themselves in front of the trains. The drivers are people - why turn them into murderers?" she was quoted as saying.

Train drivers in the diamond-rich southern African country often faced having to remove human body parts from their engines, the Star said.

DPA


This story was found at: http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/02/18/1076780011878.html

[DemBones DemBones]

1. Very sad. I wonder how many suicides

"by train" they have in Botswana. I'm sure it is disturbing to be an engineer and have someone throw themselves in front of your train, particularly if you have to "remove body parts" as it says in the article.

Still, it sounds pretty callous to tell people to "use tress, not the trains" if they want to kill themselves.

I'm guessing suicide hotlines could be unheard of there. . .