Despair in Thar

What is the cost of almost half a decade of famine? We have talked about the cost in disease, in malnutrition, in migration and in death. But there is another cost: despair and hopelessness. Police data suggests that around 43 people have committed suicide in Tharparkar by mid-November this year. The numbers are far higher than previous years and should be taken as a worrying sign of the kind of desperation that the inability to put food on the table and find work bring. And here we are only referring to official numbers. The actual numbers are likely to be higher. While the honourable chief justice visited the district last week, there are still questions over whether the holistic approach needed to improve the situation in the district will be forthcoming. What is worrying is that some of the responses from members of Thar’s civil society have been misplaced. Some have argued that the high suicide rate is due to social disruption, and not poverty. But it must be said that social disruption is one of the known consequences of poverty. If a breadwinner is unable to put food on the table or a mother is unable to tend to her young, it can lead to a sense of hopelessness that some end by taking their life.

It might be too early to say that the suicide rate in Tharparkar is critical, but it should be clear that the situation is certainly critical. We have talked about the drought-hit region for years now without solving the many issues contributed to the crisis. Police have reported that young mothers have been among those to take their lives as well as of their children. This is not an issue to be taken lightly. In neighbouring India, farmers’ suicide under the weight of debt became a political issue. It also became a source of national shame. India has left its farmers behind in the development process – and Pakistan is doing the same with Thar. There is a need to solve economic and social issues confront the residents of Thar. The region is considered critical to Pakistan’s future with the Thar coal mines, but it is those who live there that are still considered lesser citizens. The lack of food, water and medical facilities has made life unbearable for many Tharis. The region needs immediate intervention or the crisis will get much worse.