We need to treat our elderly with love and dignity because they need it

Yesterday we celebrated World Elderly Abuse Awareness Day. Section 26 (3) of our Constitution says a person must not be discriminated on the grounds of economic or social or health status, disability, age.

The grounds are among several listed in this section.

This section protects our elderly or senior citizens from any form of abuse that includes neglect. Their care is the responsibility of their families. This has been a tradition and part of our culture. Sadly, today some tend to look at this responsibility as an unnecessary burden. They are so busy with work and raising their own families that they forget their elderly parents who are neglected and abused.

This problem is not confined to Fiji. It is a worldwide phenomenon. The awareness day is designed to remind us of our responsibility. We are where we are today because of our parents and their parents. It is a terrible shame when we forget our heritage.

Some of us may have been raised by parents who neglected, abused us and we ended up in foster care. We have a responsibility to stop that cycle by not repeating the same mistakes when we start our own families.

One day we will grow old and we will not be able to take care of some of our basic needs. If we have taught our children well, the chances are that they will look after us.

But as we know, this is lost on some children when they grow up and get caught up in a lifestyle which has different values that impact their lives.

They completely forget their parents and expect them to be independent and fend for themselves. Those who have the means pay for carers to look after their parents or grandparents at home or send them to nursing homes where they are cared for by fulltime staff.

One of the challenges here is that there is not enough nursing homes or old people’s homes. They are expensive to set up and can only be financially viable unless they are established with a grant from philanthropic groups or Government and on a userpay basis.

For a long time there has been an expectation that families will look after their elderly. In many villages and settlements this is still part of the culture.

But in urban centres this is a major challenge with the lack of family and communal support. In situations where families lack the resources and the means, the pressure of looking after the elderly can be taxing and sometimes traumatic.

They often lead to abuse and neglect. Families that are going through this experience must seek help from charitable organisations, their churches and community social groups and the Ministry of Social Welfare.

In times of hardships that we are facing now, we should not be ashamed to let these organisations know that we need help.

We need to remember that our elderly do not deserve to be abused or neglected. The Constitution obligates us to ensure that they enjoy a quality of life that gives them dignity, peace and stability. on. NEMANI DELAIBATIKI Feedback: nemani.delaibatiki@fijisun.com.fj