On Schoch Street in Mbabane, the de facto capital of Eswatini, a schoolgirl walks home. She is walking in a westerly direction so I know that it is the afternoon or early evening. Eswatini used to be known as Swaziland but in 2018 King Mswati III decided to change the name - partly to mark fifty years of independence from Britain and also because the old name sounded too much like Switzerland! Eswatini simply means "Land of the Swazis" - by far the little country's largest ethnic group.
Located in south eastern Africa, Eswatini has a population of 1,236,000. Life expectancy is low at just 58 years and this is partly because the country continues to suffer an HIV/AIDS epidemic with 28% of the population being HIV positive. The country's median age is 22 years compared with say Japan where the median age is 49 years.
Above - the amusingly named End Street is in the spacious low rise suburbs of Mbabane. Looking around the city via Google Streetview you do not see obvious signs of dire poverty. On the surface at least, it seems like a reasonably prosperous place where citizens take pride in their homes and surroundings.
This is the flag of Eswatini. It was designed by King Sobhuza II and has been the country's flag since full independence was achieved in 1968. The spears and shield remind the Swazi people of their military history. The hide shield is black and white to suggest that black and white people can live in harmony together.
His name was Andy Monkman and he always seemed like a happy, solid kind of bloke but a few years ago I was horrified to learn that he had killed himself. Try as I might I failed to unearth any details - like why, when and where. He is one person I wish I had stayed in touch with. It is possible that somebody else who knew Andy might stumble across this blogpost and be able to fill in some details. I would be most grateful.
No one told me it was no longer called Swaziland. I don't think I will remember the name Eswatini.
ReplyDeleteSometimes we are never meant to know, no matter how curious we are. There may not even be a definitive reason or reasons why someone takes their life.
If you keep saying Eswatini over and over again I think you will eventually remember it.
DeleteI guess you might say that these people are doing the best they can under the circumstances. It is extremely difficult to come to terms with deaths from suicide.
ReplyDeletePoor Andy! We had some good laughs together and we were similar in several ways.
DeleteEswatini is indeed a small country. From your pictures, it looks nice, clean and tidy. I wonder how much of their problems with HIV are due to religious (and other) superstitions and beliefs.
ReplyDeleteYour old school friend's story is sad. More often than not, people who commit suicide are those we'd least expect it from. Those who always seem morose and have nothing good to say about their lives often stick around until great old age.
Two big factors in Eswatini's ongoing HIV/AIDS crisis are:-
Delete1) Ignorance
2) Truck drivers following well worn routes up the east coast of Africa.
Swaziland is now Eswatini? Did the rest of the world get told at the time of change? because this is the first I've heard of it. I'm going to have to add a little note in my atlas.
ReplyDeleteDidn't you see it on "The News" in 2018?
DeleteIt's easy to think one could have done something to help when someone kills themselves.
ReplyDeleteIt is easy to think that and sometimes it is true.
DeleteVery sadly our family is having to witness a member, who has expressed the will not to live, now in hospital and going through the process. As I saw my daughter off to Switzerland this morning I said to her that I greatly respect his decision. But the pain that his wife must endure is to my mind unbearable.
ReplyDeleteSometimes we should shed the guilt and fear and have what I would say is a frank discussion about the ending of life.
People often wrestle with terrible secrets that would seem less worrisome if they could only open up and share their darkest thoughts. In some instances those who choose suicide appear extremely selfish - hardly stopping to consider the impact that their death might have upon family members and friends.
DeleteThe suicide rates in young men are dreadful. I had a nephew who killed himself. The whole family felt a collective guilt. Could we have done more? Shouldn't we have noticed he was suffering? All too late now. As for Swaziland, it is a country I have thought very little about - and never thought about it with its new name! Now going to look it up on Wikipedia so thanks for adding to my world knowledge!
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome! Not everybody is the same but I am curious about other countries and how other people live. Sorry to learn about your nephew. If only he had found a way to talk or receive counselling.
DeleteNo wonder people risk their lives travelling on boats for a better life?
ReplyDeleteTo leave your homeland to seek a better, safer life is a huge thing but Sunak never pauses to talk about that. To him it is just "the small boat problem". Idiot!
DeleteI wonder what made you think about Andy and Eswatini today, Neil. When I look at that map, I see the little country of Rwanda where my daughter-in-law is from. I went there for their wedding and it was a wonderful adventure.
ReplyDeleteI was cruising around South Africa via Google Streetview looking for a town to blog about when I suddenly thought about Eswatini. That's all. I am jealous of your Rwanda adventure Ellen.
DeleteRory O'Connor, Professor of Health Psychology at Glasgow University,
ReplyDeletehas written a book on suicide, When It Is Darkest.
*When It Is Darkest : In Conversation with Rory O'Connor* online.
Jennifer Michael Hecht's book is worth reading :
Stay - A History of Suicide and the Arguments Against It.
As one who fears death and has only ever wanted to live, I feel desperately
sorry for suicides, and for the families left with unanswered questions.
Gregory Peck's son took his life while engaged in valuable work in Africa.
His father said there was scarcely an hour when he did not think about him.
I had great admiration for John Gale, a novelist and journalist on Lord Astor's
Sunday Observer.
He was found slumped on a London park bench in 1974 age 49.
He wrote a brilliant memoir, Clean Young Englishman, and was married
with teenage children in their house in Hampstead.
We spoke several times on the telephone but never met.
There is something deeply poignant about the African schoolgirl walking
home.
Such sights remind me why I want to stay alive and well.
Suicidal people do not have these necessary ties connecting them to life.
They want the pain to end.
The shadow that follows the schoolgirl is like a weight that she is dragging. It might prevent her from achieving her dreams. Many African schoolchildren work much harder at their studies than their western counterparts who frequently take the privilege of education for granted.
DeleteReasons for suicide are as varied as the methods employed. What might seem like a trivial problem to one person can tip another over the edge. I have known two family members and many more friends who have ended it all. One just wishes they'd have talked about it.
ReplyDeleteThere are patterns in suicide figures. It is mostly a male thing.
DeleteEnd Street seems like a nice little suburban area.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure it's really possible to understand the suicide of another.
But we can lend an ear and maybe that's all that some potential suicides need.
DeleteHope your bladder is better. Expect brown urine
ReplyDeleteInteresting. Thank you. I learned something.
ReplyDelete