The pain in Spain

Suicide rates in Catalonia, the region in the north-east of Spain where the tragic Sant Andreu graveyard deaths occurred, have increased by 10% in one year alone and reflect a nationwide trend. Spain is slipping into despair as unemployment rates in the under 25s reach 52%. Overall unemployment is twice that of Ireland’s. Richard Fitzpatrick reports from Barcelona

A FEW WEEKS ago in the northern part of Barcelona, a 74-year-old man killed his son in the Sant Andreu graveyard. It was 11.30am. The sun had already announced that it was another hot day in the city. The graveyard was quiet, with only a few people in attendance, none of whom witnessed the murder.

The man’s son, who was aged 46 and confined to a wheelchair, was severely mentally disabled. After he shot him, the man turned the gun on himself. They were by the vault of his wife, the mother of his disabled son. She had died a week beforehand.