“I am a failure. I am an envious failure. Let’s think about it: I am 22 years old, have no skills, and am single—not because I chose to be single, but simply because I cannot have a girl. I had one, but as it happens with narcissistic perverts who don’t know what to do but make others’ lives a misery, she left. That was the best decision of her life. As far as I’m concerned, I had nothing to offer her, and all I would do is suck the energy out of her life. Oh, I enjoyed doing that; I did that as long as I had the chance, and trust me, I was good at creating such opportunities. A parasite, that’s what I am. Always looking for a host. I became one to my family, my community, and now I am a parasite to the rest of the world. This is my story.”

These are the words with which my friend Cocobongo received me, on his hospital bed at Saint-Denis, after a failed attempt to take his life. What brought him to such an extreme act?