In a world where mental health awareness and an individual’s overall well-being are so drastically present during daily conversations, one would not immediately think that festival attendees would fall under those stigmatic topics. As the highly anticipated event is currently taking place, from August 25 to September 3, 2018, it seems as though culture, arts, and performances aren’t the only subjects surfacing from the Nevada fest’. In recent reports, it has been confirmed that several Burning Man employees have taken their own lives, and now, people are demanding answers!
After numerous friends, family, and co-workers the victims have come forward to share their perspectives, all signs point to stress-inducing and highly dangerous work conditions, inadequate pay, and mistreatment being the main causes the seven employees deaths. Here are a few statements in direct link to the suicides and the aftermath the festival’s team’s unfortunate actions:
His friends and family quickly chimed in by stating,
Another Burning Man employee, Ricardo Romero, discussed his personal experience an interview with Salon.com. Here’s what he shared,
Another current employee, whose name has been asked to remain disclosed, shared his sentiments with regards to his former co-worker, Eric Close, passing:
As always, there are two sides to the story. Burning Man has yet to address the suicides directly, however, they have released statements such as “worker safety is paramount to Burning Man and we are exceptionally proud the extensive resources we provide to staff’, “Burning Man’s medical resources at the event also include a state-licensed urgent care facility and six satellite first-aid stations, mental health support services, and on-site emergency air transport”, and “We also have our Black Rock Rangers and People Operations teams on site to support staff in need mental health resources.”
It has also been reported that the female employees are highly underpaid, and not to mention, that there is a specific section in the employee’s handbook that directly addresses suicide.
We look forward to seeing how the future unfolds, as it is evident that there is clearly something “f” regarding this truly unfortunate situation. We wish nothing but the best to the employees, and want to extend our thoughts to all the family and friends the deceased who had to undergo the pain relating to their loved ones’ deaths from 2009 to 2015.
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