An 18-year-old named Joko Putra, who lived in West Pontianak, West Kalimantan, chose to end his own life yesterday at around noon.

“At the time of the incident, the victim was the only one at the home, his parents were working,” West Pontianak Police Chief Joko Sulistiono said yesterday, as quoted by Kompas.

The teenager left a suicide note, addressed to his mother, that was released by the police to the media:

Dear Mama

I am very sick, mom. My throat makes it difficult to swallow. I am afraid if I get treatment it will be very expensive. Poor mama, you are already suffering enough from debt. But if I continue this way I am afraid it will get worse. Mama is tough … the twins can still give hope for mama and me. You are the greatest mom in the world. I love you.

Joko’s parents said that he had been suffering from throat pain, but the police said they could not find any physical signs of what might have been causing it. His family refused an autopsy and want him to be buried immediately.

Which means we may never know exactly why Joko suffered and why he decided to take his own life. But we do know that at least part of his reason was to spare his mother from further financial difficulty – which says a lot about how desperate and painful being economically disadvantaged can be for some people in Indonesia.

For now, we can at least hope that the government is able to overcome the many challenges to implementing its new universal healthcare system successfully, so that people like Joko can feel like they have some hope in this life.

If you or anybody you know is suffering from mental health issues and urgently needs to talk to somebody, you can call the Ministry of Health’s mental health hotline 500-454.

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