This weekend a 54-year-old Italian man set himself on fire in front of the Italian Parliament, reports Reuters.
Angelo di Carlo set himself ablaze in front of the Chamber of Deputies on August 11th, burning 85% of his body before police were able to extinguish the flame and rush him to the hospital where he later died. Di Carlo, who was unemployed, had fallen on tough times, finding only temporary work. He apparently hoped to highlight his struggle.
Unfortunately, this story is nothing new. Suicides of this nature have been highly publicized in Europe. Newsweek's Barbie Latza Nadeau provides stories of people following similar fates.
There's the story of Giuseppe Campaniello, who in Bologna on March 28th, also set himself on fire, this one in front of the office of debt collector Equitalia. The breaking point: a letter from Equitalia about doubling a fine Campaniello could already not pay.
Marco Turrini provides another example. Unemployed and under barrage from tax collectors, Turrini picked up his 4-year-old son and 14-month-old daughter and threw them from his sixth story apartment in May. After trying and failing to end his wife's life in the same fate, Turrini himself turned, jumped, and fell to his death.
Italy isn't alone in these tragic events. Since 2009 almost 2,000 Greeks have attempted or committed suicide. Spain's near 50% unemployment rate for those under 25 probably explains the fact that the same age demographic has the fastest growing suicide rate in the country, reports Newsweek. There's even a name for the wife's of these deceased men: "white widows."
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