Old Age Homes: A Societal Ingratitude
By: Amy Syed
“What have they done to you? Have they ever mistreated you? Have they ever made you feel like you were a burden to them or left you alone when you needed them the most? Then why do you consider them a burden, why have you left them in their time of need.”
Parents spend their lives nurturing their children and making them who they are now. They make their children their priority, burying their own wishes to make their children wishes real. Then why do these children forget what their parents did for them, why do they feel that it’s an obligation to take care of them, one they perform grudgingly or not at all. Why those who were once a focal point of a family now discarded into an old age homes.
The growing need for old age homes in this modern time is a shame for the society. Not too long in the past, taking care of the elderly was considered an honour, but now it is just considered as a burden. Unfortunately, joint family system has become the relic of the past and old age home is becoming a trend, raising questions on the moral values of today’s generations.
The elders are either forced to leave their family (due to being verbally and mentally abused or abandoned by their children, son/daughter in law etc.) or they believe themselves to be the burden on their family (due to the family’s behaviour towards them) and choose to reside in these homes themselves. Either way the question is why do children make their parents, their elders feel unwanted, unloved and a burden, why do they create the desire in them to be away from the family they created with love and hope?
An elder needs love, kindness, safety and comfort from his/her own children rather than a stranger. Although I agree that they need people their age to talk to but that doesn’t mean that you can just leave them. Don’t you also need friends to relax, spend your time with, so does that mean you should live with them for the rest of your life? No, right? So why do you think your elders can be happy without their family, doesn’t your heart feel unsatisfied and disturbed?
The time and money spend on the elders feels as a waste to the people, have they ever thought about the time and money that was invested on them, wasn’t that also a waste as it could not turn them into a better person.
They invest in you throughout their lives and all they ever want in return is respect, a little bit of love and support from your side. So look after your elders and earn their blessings. Make your heart feel at rest. Don’t let that moment come when you yourself are sitting on a chair in a small room with bare necessities, looking out of the window with tear stained eyes, holding a letter, which says that your children are unable to make a visit this year and will try next time. Think about it, what you do today, your children will do tomorrow.
