The video below is disturbing. Watch it with caution.
Video link: here.
The video looks real. And according to the following news item (link), the woman in question, Amina Ismail, did throw herself off the balcony of her apartment at the 8th floor of a Beiruti building. She has been buried in her hometown, Tyr.
I wonder what got into her husband’s head to start filming though. It must be completely natural to bring up a camera when your wife straddles herself off a balcony in order to jump to her death. Or could he have sniffed out signs that his wife might do such a thing and figured a video is the best way to prove his innocence in court?
Either way, this tragedy, regardless of whether the video turns out to be true or not, is further proof that we are in dire need for two very important things:
- De-tabooing the idea of mental health across the country,
- Making psychiatry more accessible for everyone.
I don’t know what the conditions that led to this woman jumping are. But her death, if the video isn’t fake, could have been prevented if the idea of seeking help hadn’t been, in this country, worse than the idea of death itself.
May she rest in peace.
Update: according to an email from a reader who allegedly knows the couple, the man was filming their newly bought apartment when the incident happened.
Filed under: Lebanon Tagged: Lebanon, Suicide
