NINETEEN-year-old Kevin Holligan of Samaroo Dam, Pouderoyen, West Bank Demerara was found hanging from a tree in his parents’ back yard last Saturday morning.

He is said to have been an employee of Banks DIH Limited who had lived with his parents and had reportedly borrowed an undisclosed sum of money from his mother. He had presumably been unable to repay her, defaulting on his promise to repay.

The Guyana Chronicle was informed that Holligan had eventually repaid a portion of the money after he had been chided by his mother, but the balance had not been forthcoming.

After his default had been rebuked on another occasion by both parents, Holligan apparently became annoyed, or frustrated, or both; because he climbed a tree and ended his life by hanging himself.

There are reports circulating that another young man living in the same area had, a few months ago, attempted to hang himself, but had been intercepted by someone who had noticed him.

Ironically, a few weeks ago, two other lads living in the same neighbourhood had attempted suicide, but their attempts had also been aborted.

On learning of their plan, Kevin Holligan had reportedly frowned on it, had asserted how foolish it was of the young men to have attempted to end their lives, and had said that he would never do such a thing.

Whatever the extent of the pressure that caused him to buckle and change his mind regarding suicide, only he knew; but ‘village elders’ are contending that the spate of suicides and attempted suicides rocking the village represents a curse brought on by a ‘suicide demon’, which must be exorcised from the village in order for the curse to be broken; and that now is the time for action to be taken in this regard.

“Every day could be a day too late,” they contend, as they reach out to the nation for corporate prayers to break this curse.

(By Shirley Thomas)