Suicide at farmers' protest

Suicide at farmers' protest

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A farmer hanged himself from a tree during a political rally organised by the Aam Aadmi Party in New Delhi, in what appeared to be a desperate protest against the hardship felt by many people scratching a living in rural India.

Reuter photographer Adnan Abidi witnessed the suicide and describes the scene in this blog.

. NEW DELHI, INDIA. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi

I had seen this man, along with others, climbing the tree a few hours earlier when I arrived. He sat on a branch lower down. It’s normal in India; people often sit in trees to see what’s going on at events like these.

I was standing in the media enclosure listening to the speeches by the leaders when suddenly I heard people shouting and yelling. They weren’t sure what the man in the tree was doing.

Quickly I got to higher ground around 50 meters from where I was standing and saw people were looking towards a tree. I saw a human figure through the leaves.

. NEW DELHI, INDIA. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi

As soon as I realised what I was seeing it was really shocking. This was the man I had seen climbing the tree only a few hours before.

When I saw him hanging I really wanted to climb the tree to help him. I grew up in a village and I know how to climb trees. But I couldn’t, firstly because I have an injured left hand, secondly because I soon realised there was only one thing I could do: show what was happening. I decided to do my job. It was a very quick decision for me to make.

. NEW DELHI, INDIA. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi

I reached and pointed my camera using a telephoto lens. When I started shooting photos few protestors began pushing me, asking me leave my camera and save the man. So I had to change my position otherwise I wouldn’t have shot any photos. They were getting very angry with me.

The main challenge was dealing with the crowd and making my way to find a perfect spot to get a clear picture.

To see someone hanging there, with no movement in his body, that was such a shock to me.

. NEW DELHI, INDIA. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi

Four people climbed the tree to try to save the man. They released his body to a crowd below where people tried to catch it in a plastic sheet but it couldn’t bare his weight.

The farmer who died was from Rajasthan, the government said. Local media reported that he left a suicide note stating he had faced losses due to crop failure.

. NEW DELHI, INDIA. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi