MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency
Concern over Falklands veterans suicides.
A recent estimate that as many as 100 veterans of the Falklands War may have committed suicide in the 19 years since 1982, seven of them in the past year alone, has caused concern in Combat Stress, the leading British charity concerned with post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Speaking in an interview on the BBC World Service, Dr Morgan O'Connell of Combat Stress, said that, if substantiated, the figure would not surprise him. "Alcoholism is unfortunately quite a feature among homeless ex-Servicemen, and we know that suicide is a high risk factor for those who suffer from alcoholism."
He said it is "most definitely" an area which deserves more investigation, and hoped that the new government will give the issue the attention it deserves. Dr O'Connell said he was heartened that the Ministry of Defence has allocated responsibility for veterans' affairs to a minister, but he said he remains "somewhat cynical about this because we have heard promises like this before and nothing has really come of it.
"But on this occasion, the bringing of the War Pensions Directorate under the Ministry of Defence means considerable resources are feasible now to be allocated to this very demanding need."
Dr O'Connell supported the idea of veterans returning to the Falklands to mark the 20th anniversary next year, saying that those who suffer from PTSD can sometimes complete their "bereavement process; to work through the grief" by bidding farewell to lost comrades and see that the once horrific scenes of death and destruction have been returned to beauty and tranquillity.
The Combat Stress therapists said that he had personally taken a disturbed Royal Marine veteran to the Falklands and walked with him across the battlefield where he won a medal for bravery but also lost a close friend. "It became quite apparent to me that he needed to say goodbye to his mate," said the doctor. "Matters came to a head when he was able to stand beside the grave of his fallen comrade and openly weep for him."
Combat Stress said that although much more is heard of the distress suffered by veterans of recent wars like the Falklands and the Gulf, those who fought in Korea and the Second world War probably suffered, and in some cases continue to suffer, just as much. "They are all describing the same symptoms, the same distress, the same disruption in their family and the professional lives. I think we are just more aware of it now."
Source BBC
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