Mental Health Discourses on Descendants of Indian Indentured Labourers in Suriname: A Scoping Review

Abstract

Background:

Recent research on the mental health of Indian descendants of indentured labourers in some of the host countries shows a rising trend in mental health morbidity, including death by suicide, sparking intergenerational memories and traumatic experiences of the infamous indentured labour system often described by scholars as nothing but “another form of slavery”.’ According to UNICEF, in 2024, Suriname had the sixth highest suicide rate in the world. Though few articles deal with the mental health of Surinamese people as a whole, there is a dearth of research articles that exclusively focus on the unique life stressors of Indian descendants of indentured labourers. This review focussed on the mental health discourses of Indian descendants in Suriname.

Aim:

The study aims to map whether research articles on mental health among Indian descendants in Suriname locate their unique historicity of colonial indentured labour migration from India. We are interested in understanding whether mental health researchers have paid enough attention to the (re)shaping of social locations and psycho-emotionality, drawing on their memories and stories of indentureship.

Methods:

We followed Arksey and O’Malley’s methodological framework for scoping reviews. Peer-reviewed journal articles published in English language were searched in five electronic databases and selected citations were uploaded to Rayyan systematic review software to remove duplicates. Data extracted from the selected articles were synthesised thematically.

Results:

Suicidal ideation, anxiety, depression, psychosis and schizophrenia were major diagnoses found among Indian indentured descendants. Suicide rates were notably high among this group. Poverty, unemployment, educational backwardness, gender discrimination and lack of proper mental healthcare facilities are found to be the major causes of mental health issues.

Conclusion:

No articles explored the lived experiences of the descendants of Indian indentured labourers. Socio-politico-economic problems continue to be a threat to any displaced community, and there is a compelling need to understand their unique historicities and first-person accounts of suffering.