Self-Immolation in the Arab World After the Arab Spring

Abstract

Suicide is a major public health concern worldwide as it is preventable and approximately 1.5% of the population die by suicide. Self-immolation is a particularly alarming and violent method of suicide even if its intent is altruistic or politically motivated. Generally associated with protest and political uprising, self-immolations are also the result of trauma and stressor related disorders, intolerable affective states, social oppression, human rights violations, and experiencing severe and enduring psychosocial stressors. Despite many developments in understanding and preventing suicide, few research studies and clinical scholars focus on self-immolation. In this chapter the authors explore both the current status of suicide and self-immolation in the Arab world and its relation to the recent political uprisings known as the Arab Spring. In addition, they review the challenges to suicide research and prevention in the Eastern Mediterranean Region. The chapter describes the psychosocial aspects of suicide in the Arab world, examining general trends and patterns of self-immolations in the Arab population centering on the epidemic of immolations during the Arab Spring. This is followed by a discussion of medico-legal initiatives and interventions to manage and prevent suicide in this region of the world. The authors synthesize recommendations to address new developments and challenges in research and practice, giving due attention to implications for psychosocial interventions.

“(My sons) are both victims of the state…”

Zeina, Husseini and Saber Kalai’s mother, commenting on her two sons who self-immolated in Tunisia, as reported in a Time magazine interview published 6 October 2016.