Recent photo of Güines’ “Getsemaní” Presbyterian Church. October, 2002. Note the conditions of the street and the roofs. Photo by Elodia Basaco, Whittier, California

View of Güines’ “Getsemaní” Presbyterian Church, the way it looks today. October, 2002. In the background, Angulo Building. Photo by Elodia Basaco, Whittier, California

Two More Suicides Raise the Total to 62 for the Year

By José Izquierdo, Grupo Decoro

Güines, December 4 (www.cubanet.org) - Another two residents of Güines, a city located in Havana Province, took their lives, increasing to 62 this year, the amount of suicides in this locality, a source in the Municipal Center of Hygiene and Epidemiology informed.

The suicides took place during the week from November 24 to December 1. They were Omar Manresa, 40 years old and Omaida Izquierdo, 39.

Manresa died by shooting himself in the face with a caliber 22 rifle. It is said that he suffered from serious nervous problems.

Mrs. Izquierdo committed suicide by ingesting an undetermined amount of prednisone tablets, a medicine used for treating certain types of allergies. The overdose of such medicine caused a cardiac arrest. Family members stated that recently Mrs. Izquierdo suffered the amputation of a foot, which was probably the cause why she killed herself.

The source at the Municipal Center of Hygiene and Epidemiology stated that Güines Municipality is among the Cuban areas with one of the highest indexes of deaths by suicide.

This information has been transmitted by telephone because Cuba’s Government does not allow access to Internet by a private citizen. CubaNet does not claim exclusivity from its contributors and authorizes the reproduction of this material as long as it is recognized as its source.

Translated by the staff of Círculo Güinero de Los Ángeles.