Host: Hello, welcome to the Sunday Forum, I’m the host, Sum Tang. As all we know, there’re so many youth committing suicide recently. Actually, what lies beneath? Unemployment? Poor exam result? Relationship? We feel sorry for those who committed suicide. They were young and they would have a bright future if they tried to strike for. So, today, we’re going to have a discussion on the topic, Why do the youth commit suicide? We will examine the reasons for their committing suicide and discuss the problems brought. First of all, let me introduce the guest speakers, Psychologist, Dr Karly Ku, Social Worker, Miss Winnie Yiu, Parent, Miss Jessica Lam and policewoman, Miss Wong Man Ho. Before the discussion, we will first watch a short play about two girls, Tracy and Mandy to see how relationship leads to youth committing suicide.

Tracy and Mandy are talking and Tracy is asking for love.

Tracy: Can you stay with me for the rest of my life?

Mandy: Sorry, what are you talking about?

Tracy: I mean I love you and I want you to be with me forever.

Mandy: Oh, my god! What hell are you saying?

Tracy: I love you with all my heart. You know, I think of you day and night. You’re always always in my mind. I try out every means to please you. You need not to worry about our living in the future. I’m bright, and I can find a very good job and have a very good salary. I will provide you with the best. I give my heart to you and care you. You know, your life is more precious than mine. You’re my angel, you’re my life, you’re my everything. Tell me, who else on earth can love you so deeply like I do?

Mandy: I care you all because you’re my friend. Nothing else, please don’t misunderstand. I need someone to protect me.

Tracy: I’ll be the one who protects you. Trust me, my love for you resembles the eternal rocks beneath, time won’t change it.

Mandy: Oh, you still don’t understand. I love man. Our society will never accept homosexual. Listen to me I will never love you. Don’t be silly, I have to go now. I have a date with John.

Tracy: I love you, why don’t you love me? No one loves me. All of you leave me alone. What’s the point I have to live in this lonely world?

Tracy is burning the coal. She dies.

Host: Ok, the girl commits suicide because the friend doesn’t accept her love. She undergoes self-destruction easily. In fact, some of the youth don’t cherish their own lives. The girl in the story is one of the examples. Ok, now, let’s first invite Dr. Ku to give opinions.

Psychologist: They youth sought for death superficially because of different grounds but all of them shared the same feeling, the end of the world! Nowadays, the young people are mentally weak. It is mainly due to their living environment and the ways their parents care them. The living environment of citizens in Hong Kong has improved in the past few decades. People can afford providing a better environment to their next generation. Since they were born, they are given the best. Unlike the previous generation, they rarely need to earn for their daily necessities, say school fees. The young generations seldom have to struggle for their living. They simply ask their parents and what they want will be offered. Moreover, many of them are their parents’ only child. They are the “prince” or “princess” of the family. Their parents love them very much and sometimes even spoil them. The parents will try their best to protect them from being hurt. They will try to knock down the barriers for their kids. Therefore, in the early years, the road that they are walking is smooth. They have never lived under adversity. It makes the young people have a misconception that life is always smooth.

Social Worker: Yes, most of my clients are youth and many of them are mentally weak and some of them have ever thought of committing suicide. In fact, when they encounter unpleasant situations, they will be scared. They fail to solve the problems as they don’t have critical and independent thinking. They think that they’re the unluckiest ones. They think that the problem they get is the biggest one in the world. They find that life is no longer meaningful and then seek death. In fact, what they are encountering maybe something that many people have experienced before, say failure in the exam, unemployment etc. It is a paradox that there are people who easily give up and undergo self-destruction. However, in the other side of the world, there are people who struggle for a brighter and more meaningful life even if they have got a terminal disease. Without any bitter experience in their lives, the young people can hardly live under adversity.

Parent: Young people are selfish if they commit suicide. Parents cultivate them by giving their best. More importantly, we love our children with all our heart. In the parents’ eyes, kids’ lives are always more precious than theirs. We, as parents, will just like living in the hell if we lose our kids. We will hurt too much and it will never be recovered. If my kids commit suicide, I will think of them day and night and weep all the times. I think I will become crazy. The graduate who studied Computer Studies in the Chinese University of Hong Kong jumped down from the estate since he could not find a full time job. I’m sure that his parents are heart-breaking.

Policewoman: In fact, their committing suicide may also hurt people who don’t know them. If the people try to end their lives by jumping down from the estates, they may hurt the passers-by in the street. Several months ago, my colleague was injured as he’s crushed by the person jumping down. He was innocent! Moreover, if the people try to make use of the gas to kill themselves as they will be suffocated, it may also lead to explosion. It will risk the lives of people living in the next flat. Apart from physical impact, people will suffer mentally. They may be haunted by the incident and are living in darkness. Just like my colleague, he has suffered for several months. I can see that he’s so frightened.

Host: Ok, thank you very much for all the guest speakers today. They really give us a very detailed analysis. In fact, committing suicide should never be tried out. There are always solutions to problems. Life is precious. We should respect the sanctity of life and try to live in a happy way. People have to be strong. We have to face problems, solve them and hold our future. Tomorrow is another day!

The End.