Migration has become a mere money play. If you’ve an urge to migrate to the best college, then be prepared to have fortunes in your arms. There are many students who wish to migrate to the best college, but, very fairly they could find one, though they deserve. This is has become an increasing concern for the students.

As a student, I’m also planning to migrate to the best college for my course, aspiring to have the North Campus, University of Delhi degree. Few years back, based on my academic record, I thought that I’d be able to get admission in the North Campus. However, watching the current scenario I’m forced me to revise my dreams and aspirations. This is not the case with me only; there are hundreds of students who either compromise with the course or the college and in most cases, students have to kill their ambitions of getting the high-demand courses like B.Com (H) and Eco (H). The cut-offs for these two courses follow a neck-to-neck pattern and is enough to divert the minds of students.

Therefore, it is just a matter of chance that the students could reserve a seat for themselves for the general quota. Hence, mission migration is left unaccomplished for those who deserve.

Without further troubling the reader, the reason for my spiritual chaos and the constant war between right and wrong in my head is Euthanasia. For those who are unaware, it is the process of painlessly helping an incurably ill person to die, also very well known as “assisted suicide” and “mercy killing”. Generally euthanasia is performed by lethal injection, using the same drugs as those on death row are performed. Having it strictly banned in different parts of the world, there are reasons for supporting and opposing euthanasia which punctuate discussions in the mind of an individual constantly.

Karen Ann Quinlan collapsed on April 15th, 1975. She was twenty-one years old. Within hours, she entered a coma from which she could never recover. Her parents, Roman Catholics, knew their daughter would not want to be kept alive by extraordinary means. A year later, as Karen lay in a “persistent vegetative state,” the courts finally allowed her treatment to be stopped; but artificial feeding was continued and she was maintained as a living dead body until June 1985, when she eventually died of pneumonia. Consequently her case stimulated thousands of letters of sympathy and fuelled the “right to die” movement.

Ramon Sanpedro hunted, through the courts, the assistance of a doctor to help him die with dignity. He was paralyzed in Spain as a result of a swimming accident during his youth. He described himself as “a head attached to a corpse.”

His exact words:
“Why die? Because every journey has its departure time and only the traveler has the privilege and the right to choose the last day to get out.
Why to die?, because at times the journey of no return is the best path that reason can show us out of love and respect for life, so that life may have a dignified death.” Ramon certainly did not suggest how other people confined in the same situation might feel. In fact, there are some people out there who, regardless of having the worst physical complexities in life, take enjoyment in living and continuing life as it follows. But Ramon made his choice and choice should be respected, however ensuring, according to the very concept of Utilitarianism, that no other individual’s life is endangered or pressurized.

Supporters of euthanasia are inclined to believe it is a dignified death and must be legalized as it proves to be a pain-free relief for many terminal patients.

On the contrary, a good question to ask is who benefits from the person dying? If a person dies, who will inherit? Who has the decision power? Is it a medical decision that is totally objective or a decision given by the family members that in some way may be biased? Are we not playing God’s role by choosing the time and procedure of our death? Is euthanasia not a nickname of “murder”?

Does it not rob one of his remaining times on earth? Who has the final say, the patient or the doctor?

The argument rages on and on. There are a lot of what ifs and whos and these need to be scrutinized in detail by lawyers, doctors and predominantly governments.

This article is open to all relevant comments, debate and solutions that bring this war between legitimacy and illegitimacy of euthanasia to a positive end!

Words, promises and actions were supposed to follow the massacre. People spoke sense, politics took a back stage and conspiracies let aside for a while. The question here is for how long, how long could we hold on to the same old nerve?
Media shows, reality shows, gossips, suggestions, live coverage and pages of powerful vocabulary and thoughts. Anything converted into execution? Yes, not the actions demanded by our very own fellow-Mumbaikars, but an action enough to hit the headline of the daily leading newspapers scripting words that strike a debate regarding the country owning Ajmal Kasab, the lone terrorist alive, under custody. A debate that again brainstorms highest level of cross-geographical and foreign affairs ministry, enough again to keep us frowned and glued on to the television and newspapers as something must be happening around, apparently, not knowing what though.

The final word of action was diplomacy again, meted out towards the compensation of the lives lost. Not an immediate revamped thought of government and security policies, strengthening and educating militia, emergency enforcement of laws, an attempt to implement civilian intelligence and not a nation as a single kin of suffering and trauma.

Years through the time I have taken to grow from a child to an adult, our torch-bearers still call for media conferences, disclosing strategies in the making and waiting, which has never been executed. Time and again there have been strategy layouts, and cannibals have barged into the nation every time to prove that we fear, we fear Death. And who does not, it is just a matter of metamorphosis of words into actions.

Strengthening accountability at prestigious landmarks, enhancing security measures across prominent places and institutions (not just another scanner or CCTV installed), probing into loopholes on every fateful day that makes headlines, and as mentioned earlier, educating and arming citizens though civilian implementation of police intelligence, slaughtering and not debating any conspiracy involved in any massacre can help build our nation stronger and fight terror better.

Above all, by miles, are the gallant efforts of our brave army personnel who have, time and again proved we should re-think our rights to vote and set the nation on army rule so that political powerhouses do not engage in nail-biting combat for roles, roles that are supposed to safeguard the nation, and often fail as most of the time fades by witnessing a crowd of leaders voicing their opinion out, sadly every individual’s different from the other. At least a team of commandos know they wear the same uniform and would fight the odds, the same way, come what may!

In order to achieve genuine cooperation, it will be necessary to develop a complete and more thorough understanding of Russia’s policy goals and its motivations in achieving them. This comprehensive understanding should be prevalent throughout the highest levels of western governments. By reading between the lines, much of the Western leadership will begin to realize that Russia is in fact a reasonable and predictable actor and understand that there were motives and reasons behind the recent violence in Georgia—it wasn’t simply blind imperialist tendencies worthy of VP Dick Cheney’s blatant condemnation as “illegitimate and unilateral”. In fact, concepts such as the protection of Russians abroad (in this case South Ossetia and Abkhazia) has been a central theme of Russian foreign policy for years and it should not have come as such a surprise to the West (or to Georgia) that Russia would react accordingly in the event of an attack on those
citizens.

Proposals such as missile defense in Eastern Europe or seemingly perpetual NATO expansion to Russia’s borders, and double standards in the application of the international principle of sovereignty may not seem threatening when applied individually, but simultaneously they lead to legitimate Russian concerns of encirclement and distrust. The distrust was advanced in the case of missile defense when the United States rejected Putin’s surprise offer of a Russian-leased radar site at Qabala, Azerbaijan to assist in the U.S. plan. Furthermore, talks of expelling or suspending Russia from the G-8 would give those concerns of encirclement a tangible dimension.

Various Russian authority figures have labeled missile defense, recognition of Kosovo, and NATO expansion as serious, or “red line” issues. Since the relentless western pursuit of these issues would realistically yield relatively little practical importance to the West, it is worth looking into the idea of making some concessions in exchange for cooperation on larger issues, where possible. Hardliners, however, should not confuse concessions with appeasement or backing down, as western relations with Russia are not a zero-sum game.

In understanding Russian concerns of encirclement, the West needs to reevaluate and reconsider the importance of Georgian ascension into the NATO alliance. Instead of backing ‘gung-ho’ expansion to include Georgia, a country in which there is one ruling party and a non-existent free press, the NATO allies need to consider the security guarantees provided by Article 5 of the Washington Treaty: “an attack on one is an attack on all”. In other words, an attack on Georgia, or even another retaliation from a preemptive Georgian attack could potentially drag the entire NATO alliance into conflict and bring both regional and widespread destabilization. The alliance needs to assess whether or not pushing for expansion in the near future would yield positive results for regional stability in the near term.

Good things can and will come from genuinely friendly relations with Russia.. The world witnessed the success of the Six Party Talks in persuading North Korea to dismantle its nuclear weapons program. These multilateral, diplomatic efforts can be successfully applied to other states whose leaders seem to have a one-track mind. They show the positive outcomes of situations when Russia is incorporated into the negotiation process. Many politicians in the West, especially in the United States in the election year, talk of energy independence from Russia. Alternative sources include the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) or Nabucco (proposed) pipelines and by investing in alternative fuels, but the fact remains: Russian oil and gas are still king and will remain the among most important energy sources for years to come.

This is evidenced by two facts. First, Russia supplied 50 of the EU’s gas and 25% of its oil as of 2006. Second, Russia has passed Saudi Arabia as the number one producer of crude oil, producing about 9.5 million barrels a day. Therefore, Russia’s vast resources will continue to be a powerful influence over many western economies, especially European economies, for the foreseeable future.

Looking at various problems through Russian eyes and understanding motivations of Russia’s foreign policy are absolutely paramount to achieving lasting cooperation. The next step is realizing that some current western policies are indeed pushing Russia’s wrong buttons—and pushing them all at the same time. If we truly aim to solve the current multitude of pressing international issues, governments around the world need to get over the Cold War mindset and seek to develop comprehensive and honest West-Russian cooperation.

For some it’s ‘just a way of earning a living’. And why not! If we’re observant enough, and articulate enough, to express our ideas such that others will pay good money for them it would seem good sense to do so. It’s just making the most of our abilities in the same way that a fit or strong person might become a professional sportsman.

But for many, even if we’d like to make a living out of our writing, the financial rewards can be few and fear between. So what makes us keep on writing?

A common, and perfectly good response, is that we enjoy it: finding the right words, making stories, describing ideas or events gives us pleasure. It’s a creative pursuit . . . and in this materialistic, rationally oriented, world don’t we just need such an antidote? When the pressures and controlling logical ways of thinking take us over, writing reconnects us to our imagination . . . our heart and soul.

And perhaps there’s more to it even than this. With the encouragement of web communities and self publishing companies, more and more of us humans are allowing ourselves the opportunity to create stories, poems or other works of fact or fiction. It could even be consider a ‘sign of the times’ . . . along with the huge growth in ‘Mind-Body-Soul’ publications & workshops and interest in alternative religions and philosophies.

In my experience these factors are all very much connected: we write because we need to! Our urge to be poets, authors, journalists (or whatever), seems to come from a much deeper place within us: from our inner core, that’s calling us to question prevailing wisdom. It’s time for each of us to piece together our own view of reality. By writing we can stand back and develop our own religious idea, theories on fulfilment and what makes life worth while . . . or not.

Being a writer has, for me, been about growing up and become more aware, more conscious or who and what I am. It’s helping me to be me. From at least some of the large amounts or writing I’ve seen in many forms over recent years, I can’t helping thinking that I’m not alone in such a feeling. Through writing, we’re evolving.

However, what hits one with great surprise and emotional disturbance is the suicidal death. It is that one stage in a person’s life when he becomes exceptionally tired to live another day. He becomes so weak and doomed to failure that at this point, suicide is his only answer – the point when he breaks the mirror of his fears into countless pieces and walks over them daringly. He feels no need to tell anybody about what he is going to do next. Perhaps, this is the only time when he thinks about HIMSELF most selfishly and leaves no room for any sort of interference.

I know when a man decides to sit down one day and finish himself and all boundaries of undue tolerance, he must be unafraid of God – for suicide is an unpleasant act in His eyes without any argument. He must be a coward as he chooses to leave the people behind to deal with the mess. Lastly, he must be a loner, unaided and figuratively dead already before committing suicide.

If the issue has become very fragile and you are feeling suicidal now, please stop long enough to read this. I do not wish to talk you out of your bad feelings. I am not a therapist or other mental health professional; only someone who knows what it is like to *feel* suicidal. I do not know who you are or why you are reading this page. I only know for the moment, you are reading it, and that is good! I can assume some of you are here because you are troubled and considering ending your life. If it were possible, I would prefer to be there with you – to sit with you and talk face to face and heart to heart. But since that is not possible, we will have to make do with this.

Well, you’re still reading, and that’s very good. I’d ask you to stay with me for the rest of this page. I hope it means that you’re at least a tiny bit unsure, somewhere deep inside, about whether or not you really will end your life. Often people feel that, even in the deepest darkness of despair. Being unsure about dying is okay and normal. The fact that you are still alive at this minute means you are still a little bit unsure. It means that even while you want to die, at the same time some part of you still wants to live. So let’s hang on to that, and keep going for a few more minutes.

Start considering this statement:

“Suicide is not chosen; it happens when pain exceeds resources for coping with pain.”

This means that you can survive suicidal pains if you do either of two things; find a way to reduce your pain or find a way to increase your coping resources. BOTH ARE POSSIBLE!

1. You have to believe that people do get through this — even people who feel as badly as you are feeling right now. Statistically, there is a very good chance that you are going to live. I hope that this information gives you some sense of hope.
2. Give yourself some distance. Say to yourself, “I will wait 24 hours before I do anything.” Or a week. Remember that feelings and actions are two different things – just because you feel like killing yourself, doesn’t mean that you have to actually do it right this minute. Put some distance between your suicidal feelings and suicidal action.
3. People often turn to suicide because they are seeking relief from pain. Remember that relief is a feeling. And you have to be alive to feel it. You will not feel the relief you so desperately seek, if you are dead.
4. Suicidal feelings are, in and of themselves, traumatic. After they subside, you need to continue caring for yourself. Therapy is a really good idea. So are the various self-help groups available both in your community and on the Internet.

Well, it’s been a few minutes and you’re still with me. Im really glad!

Since you have made it this far, you deserve a reward. The gift you will give yourself is a coping resource. Remember, back up near the top of the page, I said that the idea is to make sure you have more coping resources than you have pain. So let’s give you another coping resource, or two, or ten…! Until they outnumber your sources of pain. Here are a few online links that can be helpful to you a great deal.

• How serious is our condition? …”he only took 15 pills, he wasn’t really serious…” if others are making you feel like you’re just trying to get attention… read this.
• Why is it so hard for us to recover from being suicidal? …while most suicidal people recover and go on, others struggle with suicidal thoughts and feelings for months or even years. Suicide and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
• Recovery from grief and loss …has anyone significant in your life recently died? You would be in good company… many suicidal people have recently suffered a loss.
• The stigma of suicide that prevents suicidal people from recovering: we are not only fighting our own pain, but the pain that others inflict on us… and that we ourselves add to. Stigma is a huge complicating factor in suicidal feelings.
• Resources about depression …if you are suicidal, you are most likely experiencing some form of depression. This is good news, because depression can be treated, helping you feel better.

Other readers, if you know someone who is suicidal… or if you would like to be able to help, if the situation arises, learn what to do, so that you can make the situation better, not worse.

• Handling a call from a suicidal person …a very helpful ten-point list that you can print out and keep near your phone or computer.
• What can I do to help someone who may be suicidal? …a helpful guide includes Suicide Warning Signs.

And lastly …take care!

For those who do not know, I hope to be in Mumbai (Bombay) towards the end of July. This will be my very first trip during the monsoons, many years after I left the country to do what most others do when they leave their country of birth. Prior to this, I have returned only during November-December when the weather has been bearable for most NRIs (non-resident Indians).

Getting to the Indian monsoons. As I do on most mornings, I made a concerted effort to get away from my computer and race outdoors before I get side-tracked with communicating. However, this morning the sky looked pregnant, more so than yesterday. But still I went out, “got to get at least 30 minutes of exercise, or else I’ll become a computer potato,” I thought.

Just as I was heading back home, rain drops as big as frogs jumped out of the sky without any warning, though not unexpected. Still it felt as if a switch had been suddenly turned on. But with the same suddenness, the frogs changed to tadpoles, and then to a faint drizzle, and then no rain at all. Yes of course I was soaked, since I cannot run. But it was fun! Fun because it was as if the heavens were playing with me, warning me, warming me, reminding me of what it used to be like before I became more of who I have become.

“Preparing for the Indian monsoons,” I mused. It had been many months, even years, since I had walked back home in the rain.

Heading back to computer, guess what I came across? A Sepia Mutiny blog entry titled, “Mumbai sensitive about its manholes.” The entry warns American citizens of the open drains in Mumbai, warns them that they could one minute be on ground and next underground since there are no markers or warning signs of the open human and animal engulfing holes. Only the occasional tree branches cover the holes, as if everyone is supposed to know what that means and can see them during the low visibility periods.

Here I had been going back in my mind to the good old days when I occasionally walked back home in Pune (Poona) during the monsoons, looking forward to perhaps doing the same in Mumbai. “Perhaps that will wash off some of the cynicism accumulated over the years through experience, of course,” I day-dreamed.

Just yesterday one of my new friends wrote to me, requesting that I should be careful walking over drains in India.

“Of course, I’ll be careful,” I thought. “It’s not as if I was going to the moon. Its only India,” I thought. Though nothing “only,” about the country whose economy is growing leaps and bounds, at least 8 to 9 percent per year, if not more.

“Needlessly worrying, how sweet though,” I happily thought. “How kind of someone I met this past weekend to be concerned about my safety in our mutual country of birth” I pondered.
Others have told, “take an umbrella, its your shoes and pants that get ruined,” Minor details I thought.

But reading the blog article has made me think this whole thing over. In the US, it is I who typically warns my friends, “Be careful, don’t walk on drains, as if the inevitable is waiting to become the evitable. One never knows.”

“Don’t be so paranoid,” is the look I mostly receive. But my friends know that I am the cautious sort, for the most part.

Turns out such things do happen, perhaps more so back in Mumbai. So if I do not blog towards the end of July, or ever again, please do not assume that I have been swallowed by one of those holes in the ground in India. But then again, you are most certainly free to think as you wish.

By the way, has anyone ever stopped to wonder why is it in life that our good deeds are always overlooked and our bad deeds are always in the spotlight? It is very rare that one will remember that good “thing” you did for them in their life but once one bad incident happens; an enormous issue is made out of it instantaneously. It is quite interesting how that never fails to happen to us every so often. C’est la vie, n’est-ce pas? (That’s life, right?)

So as I may proceed to continue with the incident, I do also want us to keep in mind that if there is anything good that we are doing out there, it is not for anyone in particular. It is for ourselves and that goodness that we carry out, will give us peace of heart and mind. It is God that knows what is in our hearts at all times and these things never go unnoticed and I truly and honestly believe that.

It so happens that one mid-afternoon last July, my friend had received a call from a passionate though frustrated customer. Now mind you, she had happened to be quite an elderly lady in her late 80’s. She had started her conversation that day yelling, screaming and cursing at the top of her lungs however my friend stayed calm. I was surprised at her reaction after she had told me this. After a few minutes the lady started crying on the phone. Obviously very astonished at this point my friend had naturally wanted to know what was wrong. She went on to explain to her how she had 3 sons that had been married off and had left her behind. They had not looked back at her once or even had called to check up on her once in a while just to see how she was doing. Last week, she had claimed that she had slipped and fallen in her bathtub while taking a bath and had managed to break her hip and could not get out of the tub. She had apparently spent 3 days in the tub just surviving on water only because she could not get herself out and none of her 3 sons had even made a courtesy call to their mom to check on her well-being and health. She was totally helpless that day.
After approx. 3 days, her landlord had noticed she had not come down to check her mailbox in the apartment building, which had forced him to go up to check on her. As he was ready to knock on her door, he heard cries of help coming from inside the apartment.
She had spent almost a week in the hospital recovering from this ordeal. The aftermath of this mishap left a bad taste in her mouth for her inconsiderate sons.

Apparently, my friend claimed that she had wanted to talk things out on the phone only also because she was so lonely and no one cared for her hence this incident that had happened, left her even more fearful of her health. She had asked for a promise from my friend. She had asked if my friend would be able to do her a favor and call her every Saturday just for a few minutes just to make sure that she was ok and whether all was alright. My friend agreed and took upon her shoulders the responsibility to call her every Saturday, which she had consistently done for 8 months straight.

Until one day, my friend had gotten a call from one of her sons from the elderly lady’s lawyer’s office. They had asked her to drop by for a few minutes that day so she agreed on doing so. When she got there, she had learned that the elderly lady had died only a week before and left my friend’s name and contact # in her diary for the reason they were able to trace my friend and call her in. Not only did my friend have to bear the bad news which made her come home and sob uncontrollably, but to her surprise she had left my friend with $200 and a thank you card for all my friend had done for her. Which was just a simple few minutes call every Saturday. Even I had become emotional and tears had filled my eyes when my friend had told me this story. I was so surprised at the good deed and gesture my friend had put forth by just lending a hand to her and acknowledging her presence as a human being.

After my friend had shared this with me, my respect has risen for her tenfold. I admire her for her “ Noble Deed ” that she carried forth just to make the elderly lady’s last days all the more merrier and it cost nothing other than a few minutes of her Saturdays.

Today, I must say that by sharing this story with you all, I have given praise and credit where credit was due.

I think that after learning about this incident, I am sure it would make you want to do something good for someone out there just for the sake of doing so. I am a strong believer in the saying that goes, “What Goes Around Comes Around”. If we take care and do good for others, we will certainly have good done upon us one day or another. We must always keep that in mind.

First, Dr. Davutoglu sees the necessity of balance between security and freedom. Without security, freedom becomes anarchy, and without freedom, security becomes an authoritarian regime. As the Western society tends to outweigh freedom over security, I believe that it is important to note that there is a freedom to chose security over freedom. In other words, while the basic human rights must be observed under any circumstances, some other rights (such as freedom of travel in the conflict zones) can be limited. It is difficult to say, however, where the border line between security and freedom would be.

Second, Dr. Davutoglu calls caution on the geopolitical characteristics of Turkey. In the past twenty years, there are three civil conflicts which led to foreign intervention: former Yugoslavia, Afghanistan, and Iraq. Yugoslavia was the small Balkan; 6 republics, 5 nations, 4 languages, 3 religions, and 2 alphabets coexisted under 1 government. Afghanistan is the small Central Asia, and Iraq is the small Middle East in the similar sense. All three countries hold ethnic and religious minorities of the region within its relatively small territory. Thus, Dr. Davutoglu emphasizes, Turkey must be careful: Turkey has all the characteristics of the Balkan, Central Asia and the Middle East. There are more Albanians, for example, in Turkey than in Albania. Yet, Dr. Davutoglu is optimistic. He recalls our memory and asks since when Turks and Kurds have fought each other in the name of ethnic discrimination. After all, they fought the war of liberation together. So, why not today?

Turkey today is very active in International Relations. It is an observer of the African Union and many other non-European organizations. While many conflicts from Kosovo to Iran are directly related to Turkish interests, Turkish current government believes that other issues such as Sudan is indirectly related to Turkey. This notion has already been the major understanding of the world in European nations, and in this regard, Turkey became more European. On the other hand, Turkey today is the only country which has a nice relationship with variety of countries beyond religious and cultural differences: Greece, Russia, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon… the list seems not exhausting. Turkey is, thus, in very unique position to hold people together under the balance of freedom and security.

It is easy to say that Turkey is still in the process of modernization pointing out the differences between Turkey and say France. Nonetheless, in the last election, a woman in jail who was accused to have a relationship with PKK (a radical Kurdish secessionist party) was elected as a Member of Parliament. That is, Dr. Davutoglu emphasizes, “the strength of Turkish democracy.” I must agree with him that since the age of Ottoman Empire, Turks and Turkish polity have been generous to religious and ethnic minorities. Although I also believe that Turkish authorities today ignore some political freedom (at least comparing against the Anglo-Saxon Standard), it is still fair to say that Turkey has strength to embrace democracy in the region and brings cooperation in the three decade-long problematic regions: the Balkan, Central Asia, and the Middle East.

The research article titled, “Manifestation, Attribution and Coping with Depression among Asian Indians from the Perspective of Health Care Practitioners” published in the Journal of Transcultural Nursing in 2005 discusses in some detail how the Indian social and religious beliefs impacts us in the US and how those affected with a mental disorder cope with the illness in the US.

The primary reason for Asian Indians not seeking help in the US could be the lack of awareness of resources or the existence of a mental disorder.

Not too long ago Perveen Babi a popular actress in the 70’s and ‘80’s, featured on Time magazine’s cover in 1975, known for her unconventional behavior and roles suffering from paranoid schizophrenia was reported dead on January 20, 2005 in her Mumbai apartment. The oddity of her behavior had been reportedly witnessed by several on numerous occasions. It is said that many tried to help her as best as they could. But alas it was too late. In her later years she lived her last years as a recluse with diabetes. Mahesh Bhatt’s semi-autobiographical movie Who Lamhe is his tribute to their relationship.

Recently there have been a handful of other movies like Hiding Diva, 15 Park Avenue, and Maine Gandhi Ko Nahin Mara that deal with mental disorders, but by an large mental illness remains hush-hush because of the social stigma attached to such illnesses.

Diseases such as diabetes, heart conditions, cancer can easily be blamed on stress, eating habits, and the environment. Some of us even proudly go out in public with our several inches bigger than healthy waist-line because of our age-old belief that the size of our bellies or being overweight reflects our prosperity. But most people suffering from mental illness go unnoticed in society. If they do get attention, it is not the correct type of attention. This is not necessarily because medical help or support might not be available, but because of the barriers associated with seeking and receiving help.

How does one explain to society at large that their autistic child is not their fault? Or the fact that their child has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is not their fault? And neither is depression or anxiety in their spouse or child?

How do make sure we do not commit suicide or are not responsible for helping our loved ones try to take their lives?

Our first instinct is to immediately deny that no such thing could happen to us. Because we are after all one of the most educated, affluent, upward mobile and politically savvy ethnic immigrant community. We are Indian-Americans.

But let us not forget that we have left our homes to make a new home in a foreign county, some of us voluntarily and others not so voluntarily. Even to the most adaptable of us, this can prove to be stressful. Once we arrive, we have to adjust, accommodate, keep compromise, and keep proving to our selves and others 24/7 that we are just as good, if not better than others at what we do. At some time or another we face depression, anxiety, stress, isolation, feelings of guilt, pressure trying to assimilate into mainstream American culture outside our homes. In the case of some of us, these symptoms are heightened by socio-economic status, family structure, work conditions, cultural expectations, violence, generation gaps, and the universal gender discrimination.

Whereas elderly women report feeling isolated due to lack of established family and social networks, which served as support systems back home.

What and where does this get us? We get to keep our jobs, climb professional ladders, put our kids in good schools, and do our best to make sure their lives are secure at the expense of our health and families. We even try to get dual citizenships.

At the end of it all, if things don’t always work out as we expected or would have liked to, what then? Whom do we turn to? With the change in our family and social structures talking to a friend or two is not always a viable option.

In general, feelings are kept bottled in going day in and day out about our business. And it works for most of us, because perhaps we expect a certain level of disappointments, misery, stress, and aliments because we are originally from another country, belong to more than one place, in more than one sense. We speak differently to the native’s; our English is not quite of the Queens. Ours has color, whereas there is bland. We know this and even make light of our accents and differences during stressful moments in our lives as foreigner. But how do we face problems that persist and do not going away in spite our trying to make light of them?

It not surprising that November 2006 results from the Asian American paper drawn from the first larger National Latino and Asian American Study (NLAAS) showed that overall Asian immigrants have a lower prevalence of a mental illness compared to all Americans (almost half, about 25 percent).

For this paper, the researchers interviewed from May 2002 to November 2003 nearly 2,100 native-born or immigrant Asian Americans who were 18 or older. Participants included 600 Chinese, 520 Vietnamese, 508 Filipinos and 467 other Asians including Japanese, Koreans and Asian Indians.

However, according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), based on NLAAS, US born children of Asian immigrants are not so fortunate where mental health is concerned. They have more lifetime cases of mental disorders. What is disconcerting is not only that Asian American immigrants seek less help, but also their children show similar patterns in terms of seeking mental health care compared to the general population.

The burden of mental illness is high among Asian Americans. This is reflected in the high statistic for suicides rates, more so in the immigrants from India.

A study done by Patel SP showed that suicide rates of young women immigrants from the Indian subcontinent are consistently higher than those of their male counterparts and of young women in the indigenous populations of the countries to which they immigrate. In most cases, family conflicts appear to be the precipitating factor. More research is needed on the epidemiology of psychiatric illnesses and their contribution to suicide in Indian immigrants.

It is not surprising that Asian Americans show lower rates in terms of seeking help for mental disorders. The associated stigma and importance to social status does not make things easier. In the study presented at American Psychological Association 2005 Annual Convention in Washington, D.C., the investigators found that 74 percent of Asian-American NLAAS participants said they had experienced some kind of unfair treatment and 63 percent attributed such instances to racial factors.

It has been speculated the disparities in treatment could be due to the unfamiliar culture or their proficiency of the English language, making seeking treatment less important.

Unfortunately, when Asian Americans with mental illnesses do present to primary care providers, providers often find it difficult to identify their patients’ mental disorders, because typically these patients present to their primary care physician with somatic (physical) symptoms such as dizziness, aches, and pains. Doctors don’t tend to ask about mood and feelings, making mental illness under diagnosed in such patients.

Lack of understanding different cultural sensitivities further hinders accurate diagnoses, since unlike other illnesses mental disorders can be diagnosed only from verbal and nonverbal communications with a doctor.

According to the US Surgeon General’s Report, finally when Asian Americans do use mental health services, severity of disturbance tends to be high, because of the delay in seeking appropriate treatment.

When Asian Americans do get prescriptions for their mental health, successful treatment with drugs is often times less, because compliance is low due to more side effects compared with Caucasians or other the races. In short, a lot more needs to be done towards helping Asians have better mental health in terms of medical practices. After all they are an influential race in America in terms of education and financial progress of the country.

It is not surprising that the supplement released by The US Surgeon General in 2001 to a report on mental health entitled “Culture, Race, and Ethnicity,” states that “culture counts” in the diagnosis and treatment of the identified ethnic groups.

The clearly increasing cultural diversity of the country requires that physicians without ambiguity understand how cultural differences impact diagnosis and treatment.

According to the February 2007 survey report released by American Community Asians released there are at least 12 million Asians, a 4.2 percent of the total population, and the number is increasing rapidly. According to a May 2006 CNN report there was a 3 percent increase in Asians in the US from 2004 to 2005, yet the US Surgeon General’s Report shows that there are only about 70 Asian Americans providers available for every 100,000 Asian Americans in the U.S., compared to 173 per 100,000 Caucasians.

The dilemma with mental health is that most consider “Asian Americans” as a single entity, wherein the term includes more at least 43 different ethnic subgroups originating from different countries and speaking over 100 languages and dialects, making effective communication on both patient and physician side challenging and reporting of accurate analyses. Pacific Islanders are also lumped in under the term.

No reliable information is available regarding the Asian language capabilities of mental health providers in the U.S. To add to the problem, overall about 21 percent of Asian Americans lack health insurance compared to 16 percent of all Americans.

The Centers for Disease Control Fact Sheet indicates that disparities in mental health between races in the US exist. Only 25 percent of Asian Americans are likely as whites and 50 percent likely as African Americans and Hispanics to seek outpatient care and are less likely than whites to receive inpatient care, which largely accounts for their under-representation in most mental health services.

If these trends continue, rates for Asian Americans with mental health problems will rise dramatically, especially since we know that patients with chronic illness such as diabetes tend to have a higher prevalence of depression, impacting costs from every angle and at each level.

It is obvious that more needs to be done for this group in terms of research, prevention and treatment, in particular for the Indian-Americans as it has been reported that the suicide statistics for immigrants in general from the Indian subcontinent are at least 2 to 3 fold higher (particularly in the UK) compared to other countries in Southeast Asia.

More needs to be done so that the Asian American community seeks more help before mental health crises.