Suicides in Donbas attributed to economic hardships (06/27/99)

Suicides in Donbas attributed to economic hardships

RFE/RL Poland, Belarus and Ukraine Report

MOSCOW - The number of suicides in Donbas, Ukraine's coal-mining region, has exceeded 700 since the beginning of the year, the Moscow-based Segodnia newspaper reported on June 17.

Sociologists suggest that the reason for most suicides is depression since the victims feel that they have no prospects for the future and thus there is no reason to live.

According to the newspaper, the Ukrainian government, urged by the International Monetary Fund to restructure the coal-mining sector, has brought about an "enormous disintegration" of the coal-mining industry in Donbas. "[Closed] mines have been flooded with water, hundreds of thousands of people have lost jobs and fled the region, mining towns are becoming empty, and the remaining residents pull down public buildings for firewood in [the] winter," Segodnia reported.

The report said only women and children have remained in the towns of Stakhanov and Teplohorsk, while all the men have gone to Russia to earn money. A three-room apartment in Stakhanov can be rented for a mere $200, while in Teplohorsk it is even cheaper and costs only $100. Long lines for bread that is distributed free of charge to poverty-stricken residents are a common sight in those towns, Segodnia noted.

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