Elders and the Reverence for Life ethic

It was no less a person than Social Services Minister Felix Perera who disclosed recently that on the average some three elders are left abandoned on local roads. That quite a few of our elders end up in Homes for the Elders and such institutions is no longer news, although this information too should be considered unsettling by what are considered Lankan standards on these matters. However, this revelation of the total abandonment of some of our elders in completely unfamiliar and may be even hostile surroundings, should shock the consciences of the civilized. It is food for thought today, which is dedicated to the world's elders and its children.

This subject of caring for the elderly has been widely discussed and commented on over the past decade or so and we would not be saying anything new by stating that Sri Lanka, like most other developing countries, should gear-up to face the reality of a steadily increasing elderly population segment. That is, the obligation of caring for the elderly, on the part of society as well as the state, will grow in magnitude in the coming years. In this respect, we are told, Sri Lanka would be comparable to most Western countries which are facing the same reality of a growing number of older citizens who would need to be fended for.

In a way, it is highly ironic that Sri Lanka too needs to observe 'Days' of the year for elders and children. For, such practices in relation to these population segments are considered alien and antithetical to the local ethos and culture which has, rightly, been seen as customarily caring and accommodative of the young and the old. If special 'Days' are seen to be necessary now to bring into focus the condition of the old and the young, we could only conclude that the perception is not widespread in this country any longer that the relevant population segments should be continuously cared for.

That a 'discourse' on elders and children has come into being now is reflective of the drastic changes which have come over the local culture over the years. Such 'discourses' too are antithetical to traditional Sri Lankan culture because caring for the old and the very young has been considered second nature by most Lankans. Moreover, it is equally revelatory that economics dominate these 'discourses' and not humanitarian issues as such.

Today, the thinking and planning over the bourgeoning elderly component in our population centre on whether the individual citizen, the family and the country could generate and sustain the necessary material means and money to cover the 'costs' incurred by our elders. Humanity and the need to revere life, which are seen as integral to traditional Lankan culture, are, significantly, out of current thinking on fending for our elders. This is a measure of the extent to which purely utilitarian and practical concerns are dominating contemporary thinking and planning on these questions.

However, one cannot be too judgmental on these issues. Traditional culture has been steadily eroded over the years by the crude materialism which 'market reforms' and the consumerist ethos, which is typical of neo-liberalism, have unleashed. If, both, the individual citizen and the public are tending to lose their moral bearings, they cannot be harshly criticized over it. For, erosive forces are at work, which are beyond their control.

While issues concerning our elders have not reached crisis proportions because some 77 percent of our elders continue live with their children, what one should find intriguing is the statistic that only 13 percent of them enjoy emotional support. This translates into the fact that although children and elders continue to co-exist physically, the latter do not enjoy the emotional security they crave for. Such disclosures should have the state and the citizenry thinking. While physical closeness matters very much, this would amount to nothing without emotional closeness.

The emotional needs of particularly the elderly and the young cannot be met by legislative enactments. Nor could they be fulfilled by Executive fiat. The elders' and children's main emotional needs are love and caring and these are met by the outpourings of the care givers' hearts, which in turn result from an attitude of Reverence for Life. The latter virtue is the offspring of profound spirituality whose domain is religion. Accordingly, the responsibility devolves on our religions and their allied institutions to foster in the heart and mind the ethic of Reverence for Life which is the sustainer of wholesome living.