As you may know, September is the Suicide Awareness and Prevention Month. Suicide is a serious issue that is on the rise in the US and all over the world.
A major study in the last 25 years shows that suicide rate has skyrocketed across the Arab and Muslim world from Morocco to Pakistan. In 2015 alone, about 30,000 people committed suicide, and 35,000 were murdered. These figures do not include deaths in places torn by war, such as Syria, Iraq and Yemen, and represent increases of 100% and 152% respectively since 1990.
In keeping with current events, we’re airing our new series “The Blue Whale” (in reference to the online challenge linked to a number of child suicides) during the month of September. The guest speaker is a well-known Christian psychiatrist and counselor. Throughout the 19 episodes, he talks about this phenomenon, including the reasons behind it, why is it increasing, how to detect it, how to help people with suicide tendencies, etc.
It’s hard for us to imagine how a person would decide to take his or her own life. However, we’ve never been in that dark place with no hope in sight. Hope is what keeps us going in face of our problems and personal struggles. Jesus is the source of our hope in a hopeless world. That’s why we share the message of Good News with our listeners, that no matter what’s happening around us, we still can hold to the Lord’s promise in Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
