emotion in Belgium after the suicide of a young hairdresser

It is a drama that moves all of Belgium. Monday, November 16, Alysson Jadin, a 24-year-old Belgian who had just opened his barber-shop in Liège, was found dead. For her relatives, she could not bear to be deemed “non-essential” by the government and committed suicide. A drama that has become a symbol of distress in the face of the pandemic.

The young woman was found dead, without leaving a written explanation, according to the first elements available. But in his entourage, everyone made the link between the health measures and his desperate gesture, in a country hard hit by the coronavirus and forced to a second confinement.

Asked Thursday in Parliament, the Prime Minister spoke of “a person who wanted to start his business with full of ambition, full of hope” and “was faced with a situation that was not his fault“. This drama “touched us all enormously“,” it is clear that the human and psychological impact of the second wave (of the pandemic) is greater, “admitted the Prime Minister.

An “Alysson fund”

Unemployed hairdresser, Alysson Jadin started her activity in early August, and would not have supported the closure imposed as part of the second confinement three weeks ago. Serge Schoonbroodt, client and friend of Alysson, says that the latter had told him to worry about confinement during their last meeting. “When Alysson contacted the services that were supposed to help her, she was told that it was not essential… non-essential activity, “he told AFP.

“It was necessary to justify payments of social security compared to those of the previous year, which it obviously did not have”, continues the one who now wants to create an “Alysson fund” to help financially strangled independents. In front of Alysson’s shop, tributes have multiplied over the week. Bouquets of flowers are piled up in front of the window.

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