Why Do Foreigners Commit Suicide Rather Than Returning Home?

[drronnie]

Now we have two cases of Europeans committing suicide within a week.

I am just wondering why there are foreigners who rather commit suicide in Thailand than return to their native countries in Europe.

What is going through their minds?

[SoCal]

I was just wondering why people back home commit suicide rather than going to Thailand.

[Who, me ?]

Maybe they actually burn bridges !

Or they are afraid to face family and friends while coming back home on a failure !

[dinthailand]

Now we have two cases of Europeans committing suicide within a week.

I am just wondering why there are foreigners who rather commit suicide in Thailand than return to their native countries in Europe.

What is going through their minds?

what is your source for saying two suicides

[imaneggspurt]

Probably couldnt face being a nobody back home and have to settle for a fat ugly woman ? . alright steady down ,im only joking,. ......i think the mind plays tricks and some imagine/convince themselves that life in the uk or similar would be awful ,..personally i have great memories of the uk, however im a realist and i wouldnt relish the thought of HAVING to go back,but id raher go home than jump,.

[Birdman]

Maybe life in Thailand was the last hope

or there is nothing at home, which could improve their situation

or pressure is so intense, they cannot handle the situation

or they want to show someone, that they mean it serious

or

...

[drronnie]

Now we have two cases of Europeans committing suicide within a week.

I am just wondering why there are foreigners who rather commit suicide in Thailand than return to their native countries in Europe.

What is going through their minds?

what is your source for saying two suicides

The Italian Man who jumped from the bridge last week and yesterday night an young Irish man jumped from the 4th floor at the Suwanphumi Airport.

[Alwaysright]

Maybe life in Thailand was the last hope

or there is nothing at home, which could improve their situation

or pressure is so intense, they cannot handle the situation

or they want to show someone, that they mean it serious

or

...

Why do Thais commit suicide by not paying the money they owe?

[joskydive]

Why does anyone commit suicide? No-one knows for sure because you cannot read the thoughts going on in his/her head at that particular time.

Some of them might be thinking they have no alternative.

Some may think they have nothing left to live for.

For some, it's a cry for help and don't intentionally want to go through with it but it happens anyway.

Some may have a terminal disease and think it's better to go this way than have a prolonged death in agony.

I certainly wouldn't choose this route just from the plain fact that something good might happen tomorrow and I would have missed it.

[drronnie]

Why does anyone commit suicide? No-one knows for sure because you cannot read the thoughts going on in his/her head at that particular time.

Some of them might be thinking they have no alternative.

Some may think they have nothing left to live for.

For some, it's a cry for help and don't intentionally want to go through with it but it happens anyway.

Some may have a terminal disease and think it's better to go this way than have a prolonged death in agony.

I certainly wouldn't choose this route just from the plain fact that something good might happen tomorrow and I would have missed it.

I agree, however we have seen a couple of cases where Europeans had no money and had to leave Thailand so they commited suicide. Perhaps they should have asked their Embassies for help. Since I have lived in Europe I know that if you have no money then there are social welfare programs. So why do people have to go as far as commiting suicide? I think it is more like a psychological thing.

For me there sheer thought of having to return to dark and cold Europe is devastating and very sad for me, but I would never go as far as commiting suicide.

[NewLifeNY]

Now we have two cases of Europeans committing suicide within a week.

I am just wondering why there are foreigners who rather commit suicide in Thailand than return to their native countries in Europe.

What is going through their minds?

Maybe cause they couldnt even afford the ticket back home??

[drronnie]

Now we have two cases of Europeans committing suicide within a week.

I am just wondering why there are foreigners who rather commit suicide in Thailand than return to their native countries in Europe.

What is going through their minds?

Maybe cause they couldnt even afford the ticket back home??

In most cases the embassies pay the ticket back home on a loan basis.

[geriatrickid]

Because they were mentally predisposed to such an action prior to arriving in Thailand. A sudden change or traumatic event is all it takes to bring something on with most of these people. I would expect that many of these sad souls are already socially isolated and Thailand is their last big gamble at the "dream". Once reality encroaches on the dream, that's it for them. With no family or friends to intervene or hold them back, the decision becomes easier.

When I read the death reports, the patterns are right out a textbook; The living conditions, the age, often underlying medical conditions and an overdependency on the "lover". My hunch is that most of these people probably don't even have a companion animal. One thing you will observe is that no matter how grim a situation is, a loving dog or cat owner will move heaven and earth to make sure the furball is taken care of. To the best of my knowledge, I do not think any of the confirmed cases reported in the past year had subjects that had a close companion animal relationship. If I see a case reported where some older man had his dog and had no underlying health issue, I think murder not suicide.

Something to munch on there.

[oevna]

Ok, I know we hear about lots of foreigners who commit suicide in Thailand in the news stories posted on ThaiVisa. But really, how many of them are there? Let's say that there are about 50 of them per year. I picked that number for no reason other than because I think it is higher than the actual number. I don't think I hear about foreigners committing suicide in Thailand more than once per week. I'm not saying that there aren't more than that, just that my perception, based on reading ThaiVisa alone, is that there are less than that. After all, the OP is basing the question posed in this thread on this perception too, right? Someone feel free to correct me if I'm wrong (I couldn't find a figure for it online).

Now, consider that 14 million foreign tourists visited Thailand in 2007. About one million people commit suicide per year worldwide. The people who commit suicide in Thailand represent a tiny fraction of the total number of visitors and suicides. I don't think it's accurate to generalize about foreigners when only looking at those few.

If someone sincerely wants to commit suicide, they are going to do it no matter where they are.

Edited February 27, 2009 by oevna

[Boater]

Now we have two cases of Europeans committing suicide within a week.

I am just wondering why there are foreigners who rather commit suicide in Thailand than return to their native countries in Europe.

What is going through their minds?

what is your source for saying two suicides

The Italian Man who jumped from the bridge last week and yesterday night an young Irish man jumped from the 4th floor at the Suwanphumi Airport.

is there a link anywhere for the irish man????

[drronnie]

Because they were mentally predisposed to such an action prior to arriving in Thailand. A sudden change or traumatic event is all it takes to bring something on with most of these people. I would expect that many of these sad souls are already socially isolated and Thailand is their last big gamble at the "dream". Once reality encroaches on the dream, that's it for them. With no family or friends to intervene or hold them back, the decision becomes easier.

When I read the death reports, the patterns are right out a textbook; The living conditions, the age, often underlying medical conditions and an overdependency on the "lover". My hunch is that most of these people probably don't even have a companion animal. One thing you will observe is that no matter how grim a situation is, a loving dog or cat owner will move heaven and earth to make sure the furball is taken care of. To the best of my knowledge, I do not think any of the confirmed cases reported in the past year had subjects that had a close companion animal relationship. If I see a case reported where some older man had his dog and had no underlying health issue, I think murder not suicide.

Something to munch on there.

Thank you for your comment. This is an interesting point to think about. I include myself that I have left Europe a lonely man. Especially in Germany where it is hard to make spontaneous friendship and I was always some kind of an outsider. Luckily when I came to Thailand I was able to get a job and friends so I am all happy. By the way my family lives here. However what would have been the case if I did not find a job and had no family here?

I agree that Thailand is a last haven (or at least they believe) for some Europeans who have had bad relationship and other mishaps in their country. The magic of Thailand is that there is no place like this on the world. Everywhere you go there is LIFE and not like in Germany were the cities fall into sleep at 20:00.

I guess that for some sensitive people it is not acceptable to go back to their native country which is cold and where the people are indifferent. Thailand is indeed a magical country with friendly people however when somebody has no money there is not place to go even for Thais.

[drronnie]

Now we have two cases of Europeans committing suicide within a week.

I am just wondering why there are foreigners who rather commit suicide in Thailand than return to their native countries in Europe.

What is going through their minds?

what is your source for saying two suicides

The Italian Man who jumped from the bridge last week and yesterday night an young Irish man jumped from the 4th floor at the Suwanphumi Airport.

is there a link anywhere for the irish man????

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/Irishman-Com...bh-t246044.html

[Heng]

Why do people assume there is a "home" to go home to?

Running out of money via getting defrauded or being stupid are probably up there at the top of the list. Getting sick while not being able to afford healthcare is probably a close second... especially for terminal diseases or "embarrassing" illnesses like becoming HIV+.

Being poor with no way out in Thailand sucks... but if you do it discreetly, maybe the folks you grew up with back home won't ever hear that your "retiring in Thailand" plans didn't exactly pan out as you imagined.

Edited February 27, 2009 by Heng

[Maigo6]

Maybe they actually burn bridges !

Or they are afraid to face family and friends while coming back home on a failure !

Bingo !!

Many Farangs come to Thailand with little thought to long term outlook, they think that 50,000 Pounds will last them for the rest of their lives cos the new Thai Girlfriend told them they would look after them no matter what!

Many Farangs have left Jobs, children and wife, friends and family shocked by their desicion disown them, many will run up huge credit debt and bank loans before they take the plunge to head off for the new life they could only dream about before they discovered Thailand. The dream can also become a nightmare...

There are people who go back and face the music, do their time in prison or whatever they may have run from and manage to rebuild their lives, also there are people who have gambled everything they ever had or anyone they ever cared about just to try to live the dream and failure can lead to utter desperation, broke and lonely in Thailand is no place to be.

Faced with fact that your ex wife will not even take your calls and your kids hate you and will never speak to you again , your own parents and siblings may also distance themselves from you knowing that your screw up is gonna result in them having to bail you out. Many can't face it.

I am never surprised at the ammount of suicides in Thailand, I'm actually surprised there are not more.

Edited February 27, 2009 by Maigo6

[IMA_FARANG]

Now we have two cases of Europeans committing suicide within a week.

I am just wondering why there are foreigners who rather commit suicide in Thailand than return to their native countries in Europe.

What is going through their minds?

Short answer...because there is no "home" there any more.

Don't get me wrong I have no intention of committing suicide, but I've been outside the U.S. since 1970, except for occasional visits.

Home is here in Thailand with my family and friends.

I am originally from the state of Massachusetts.

As the BeeJees said clearly in their song,

"Massachusetts .... is one place I have been."

[Tod Daniels]

I think there are a disproportionate number of "suicides" which are listed as such because it closes an investigation quickly.

All too often we read about someone failing to receive their 'wings' after joining the PFC (Pattaya Flying Club) or the BFC (Bangkok Flying Club), and leaping from a conveniently tall building. Inevitably it comes out the recently departed was despondent over the break up from his (in)significant thai other, (who may already have had a thai husband or boyfriend) and then killed himself. Often I think they are murders which are played off as suicides, to close the case as quickly as possible with as little media coverage as possible.

Two articles come two mind; I remember just after I moved here a foreigner committed suicide by "hacking himself to death with a machete" in a fit of depression. Now I would think you hafta be pretty f*cking depressed to hack yourself to death with a machete. The other one was about a man who put a plastic bag over his head, tied his hands behinds his back, slit his own throat and then shot himself in the back of the head not once but TWICE!! The police ruled that a suicide as well. No matter how I tried to sequence the events, there was no plausible explanation of how he managed to do ALL those things alone.

Here in the glorious "Land 'O Thais" I think more times than not, it is a convenient and in thai eyes an expeditious end to the investigation.

[bunnaag]

How many of the suicides published in the papers are real suicides and not murder.For example how many jumped from balconies instead of being pushed.

[Geekfreaklover]

It's not just the bridges burnt back home that makes some of these chaps take the plunge. It is how quickly the local farang community turn on them once they go through a broke period. The blokes they were buying drinks for and lending money to are suddenly nowhere to be seen.

No one loves you when you down and out, baby

[soundman]

If this topic cannot remain free of nasty & inciteful comments, it will be closed.

[Gary A]

Two articles come two mind; I remember just after I moved here a foreigner committed suicide by "hacking himself to death with a machete" in a fit of depression. Now I would think you hafta be pretty f*cking depressed to hack yourself to death with a machete. The other one was about a man who put a plastic bag over his head, tied his hands behinds his back, slit his own throat and then shot himself in the back of the head not once but TWICE!! The police ruled that a suicide as well. No matter how I tried to sequence the events, there was no plausible explanation of how he managed to do ALL those things alone.

I'm sorry but this sounds like bar stool beer talk to me.

[Heng]

Surely there are a few that fall into that category, but to assume successful organized murder as suicide conspiracies are the norm or common is just silly.

Successful organized plumbing is already a stretch for most here.

[Briggsy]

Why does anyone commit suicide?

A few months ago, an ABAC teacher in her twenties, flush with cash from her wealthy family, in a safe and prestigious job, in perfect health, with a postgraduate degree killed herself.

Also, from the latest UK figures available, 5377 killed themselves in the UK in 2007. I don't know how that relates to Brits killing themselves in Thailand. Perhaps someone wants to try a 'back of an envelope' calculation.

[jtp]

Thailand,like most countries has people/places that can and will help you if all seems lost.Buddhist temples will never turn you away,churches of many denominations will not turn you away,there is voluntary work that will feed clothe and shelter you....It's up to YOU too go and seek out these places,they don't come to you.But when your mind is muddled,help seems so far away.

[teacup]

Someone who has hit 'rock bottom', and there's nothing in this world to live for anymore, I would assume “mostly”

Basically …..I QUIT!!!

[neverdie]

Suicide is normally a permanent answer to a temporary problem.