You read from the news that the suicide rate is on the rise among young Hongkongers. You are alarmed by this phenomenon and have therefore decided to write a letter to a local newspaper Hong Kong Post to voice your opinion. In your letter, express your concern and discuss the possible causes. You should also suggest possible solutions to the problem. Sign your letter ‘Chris Wong’. Do not write an address.
Dear Editor,
I am writing to express my concern on the rising suicide rate among the young HongKongers. According to the annual report of the Centre for Suicide Research and Prevention at the University of Hong Kong, the overall suicide rate had dropped by almost 35% from its peak in 2003. However, the rate among those aged 15 to 24 rose by about 2%. This is a terribly worrying situation that we may feel pessimistic. With few job opportunities and increasing housing prices, young HongKongers cannot see a clear and bright future. It may finally cause anxiety. As they think that they cannot solve these problems, they would choose to escape and they may see ending their life as one of the ways out. We can see that having uncertainty about the future would be another cause.
Last but not least, lacking help may push young people to the dead end. At teenage, people would face many difficulties like broken families and dating problems. All these issues would drive them crazy. Therefore, they will find someone for help. However, they do not know how to do so especially for those who lack family love. The only one that they could find is their peers who are at similar age with them. They may not be mature enough to give feasible advice. They may even do some extreme behaviour like attempting suicide. Youngers may follow suit. They would start hurting themselves. So, lacking help would definitely be a possible cause of the rising suicide rate.
This phenomenon is truly worrying. All of us need to join hands to remedy the situation. Here are some of the possible solutions.
For the parents, they need to show more love to their children. Youngers are at the age that needs extra attention. However, parents nowadays are very busy at work in order to earn enough to support the family. Some of them may even need to work around the clock and do not have much time spending with their families. Youngsters may think that they are ignored, which may lead to depression. Therefore, parents need to spend more time with their children and show their love to them. Love could solve any problem.
Not only should the parents devote their efforts to looking after their young children, the school needs to do something too, The school could enhance the Liberal Studies subject’s syllabus by adding contents about how students could seek help when they need. It is true that there is not much time in the lessons. However, I think it is also important to equip the students with the right values and judgment besides the textbook knowledge. It would help to solve the problem of lacking help. Therefore, the school could help improve the situation through education.
Finally, the press media could reduce the space used on reporting the suicide cases. It is true that the media should report the real situation to the general public. However, youngsters could be easily affected by others. Therefore, if the press could reduce the size of the articles, youngsters may be less affected and would not follow their example. Although it is a small change only, it helps a lot for avoiding suicidal cases.
This phenomenon really alarms the society. However, if all the parties could join hands to deal with the problem, the young HongKongers would love their life and protect themselves. Therefore, I hope this letter can raise the public’s aware of the issue and the suicide rate among the youngsters will eventually fall.
Chris Wong