105“It was very sad,” says Dainius Bardauskas, the mayor of the Kupiškis District
Municipality who seems reluctant to talk about suicide at all. “The problem was
coming from the fact that there was no work. People had nothing to do and they
would drink too much alcohol.” Twenty-one people died by suicide in the district
in 2015. In a municipality with just over 23,000 inhabitants, the suicide rate was
113.8 per 100,000 people, which is about four times the national average and al-
most eight times higher than the rate in Vilnius.
“It’s not just one challenge, but a circle of problems. We have to try to change
the mentality, what we think of ourselves and other people. There are lots of prob-
lems in our culture. We are not talking much about it,” Bardauskas says. The mayor
has focused on developing the city in order to improve the suicide problem. His
programme included investment in jobs, sport and culture, in order to create a
more positive environment. Even the mayor’s mood quickly changed when the
conversation shifted from suicide to the city’s local basketball team.
But there are others who are more willing to talk about the city’s suicide problem
and are taking a proactive approach to combat the issue. We came across a small
group of dedicated locals who have organised to liberate Kupiškis of its unwanted
distinction. The volunteers have set up a telephone hotline for local residents who
want to discuss their feelings with someone anonymously.
Since the average age of those who die by suicide in Kupiškis is 65 for men and
68 for women – a statistic that reflects the country at large – the hotline was set up
The curse and miracle of Kupiškis, Emil Staulund Larsen and Noah Groves Opinion & Analysis
The derelict bus station in Kupiškis is the only connection of the city to the rest of the country.Photo: Emil Staulund Larsen