The World Health Organization identified Guyana as amongst the countries with the highest suicide rate. This work investigates the underlying factors contributing to Guyana’s exceptionally high suicide rate. It looks at the country’s complex history, marked by European colonization and involving the painful legacies of slavery from West Africa and indentured labor from India, Portugal, and China. It also extends its examination to present-day living conditions, revealing the enduring legacy of colonialism and the complex systems of oppression that continue to impact Guyanese society. This work challenges the notion that suicide is solely an individual failure, asserting that suicide is a collective failure, a consequence of systemic shortcomings.