memory, new figures showed Sunday July 14. The French Press Agency (AFP) quoted experts as saying that Hungarians, long regarded as notoriously pessimistic, are increasingly seeing their lives from the bright side.
Some church leaders have suggested that the pessimism among Hungarians could have been a result of Satanism, including a contract with the Devil made by families during the middle ages, BosNewsLife learned.
Scientists do not rule out a genetic problem, while others blame it on the fact that Hungary lost most battles throughout its first millennium as a nation. But a new study by the World Health Organization shows that Hungary ranks fifth place, with a rate of 67.9 suicides per 100,000 population, behind Lithuania (87.4), Russia (74.2), Belarus (71.1) and Estonia (68.1).
EVOLUTION
"The development of psychiatry and economic development are the two factors causing this apparent evolution," Laszlo Tringer, head of Hungary’s Psychiatric Society, explained to AFP.
That does not mean that all Hungarians now embrace life. Its suicide rate is still twice as high than most of the countries in the EU, which Hungary hopes to join in 2004. Recent studies show that EU member Luxembourg for instance has a suicide rate of 39 per 100,000 of the population, while France has 38 and Denmark 34.
Many Hungarian students and those who went to school under Communism tell stories about class mates committed suicide. Some of the Budapest bridges are notorious for often attracting crowds for the wrong reasons. Psychiatrists say that alcoholism, sexual problems, money worries, family troubles and drugs are still the main reasons for suicide in Hungary.
500,000 ALCOHOLICS
"You have to look things in the face. We have 500,000 alcoholics in a population of 10.2 million, some 100,000 known schizophrenics and, if we believe the most recent research, half the active population has sexual problems," said Janos Furedi, director of the Psychiatric and Neurological Institute in Budapest.
But despite these depressive facts, analysts believe that the new suicide figures show that this pessimistic former Communist country may finally see some light at the end of a dark tunnel—as it moves towards towards a more prosperous future.
