Celebrating the ‘international days’ humanely

CELEBRATIONS: Two very important ‘International days’ were celebrated this week. Those are Universal Children’s Day and International Elders’ Day. Every year so many people speak about how to take care of elders and children, the two groups in society which need love, care and protection. It is interesting to focus on certain unnoticed issues related to these two groups.

A strange type of child abuse in certain rural areas in the country is going on unnoticed. Although the National Child Protection Authority and several other institutions are there to take care of this matter, a complaint should be made to them to commence an investigation. When there is no complaint, no action can be taken.

In certain rural and semi urban areas child abuse has become a serious social issue but no one comes forward because of the fear for life. Such abuses are going on in a very organised manner.

Thugs, drug dealers, three-wheeler drivers, guardians (other than parents) of children and all sorts of persons are involved. Child exploitation is carried out in different forms including child prostitution. Poverty, mothers employed in Middle East, etc are some of the reasons for some cases.

But no family member, community leader or other State employees such as school teachers, principals who deal with such children do not come forward to expose it. They quietly carry out their work and go home without uttering a word because they exactly know what will happen if they come forward to expose such incidents.

They can be subjected to numerous violence including throwing acid on them, stabbing, raping (females) and the whole family getting massacred. The other fact is that they know very well how long court procedures consume their time, money and physical energy.

When it comes to elders, it is pathetic to say that most of the problems faced by them today are created by themselves long time back.

Even this is a modern era, still there are parents who treat their children differently. They favour one child and discriminate the other. When distributing property among children they discriminate some of them, especially daughters. In some other cases they force the elder child to take the responsibility of younger children. No wonder they abandon them in elders’ homes after becoming adults themselves !.

The other fault is, the parents always admire foreign things than local things and encourage children to do the same. Ultimately they think a foreign country is much better than Sri Lanka to reside permanently and leave the country putting their aged parents in elders’ homes.

Then it is too late to change the attitude of the children. Sometimes children see how their parents ill-treat their grand parents and after becoming adults they start to ill-treat their own parents.

The other problem is, the elders do not think about their own future and spend their money, time, energy and everything on their children and grand children. Sometimes they willingly or unwillingly look after their grand children. After aging they are left alone without anything, no steady income, no place to stay and no one to take care of them. But the society always see the fault of children and not the elders’.

The truth is both parties are equally responsible for the current problems faced by our senior citizens. When considering both parties it is very inhuman to transport them to long distances and forcing them to sit and wait at one place (sometimes even without fresh air) the whole day, when celebrating Universal Children’s Day and International Elders’ day.

This year some Ministries such as Child Development and Women’s Empowerment refrained from doing this.

But still it is done by some NGOs and State institutions often. When doing this both kids and feeble elders suffer in numerous ways without fresh air, adequate space to stretch their hands and legs, without required specific food and beverages, unable to use the toilet as they wish.

Both children and elders are different from ordinary people and have special requirements. No one should suffer just because they get something free from an NGO or any other organisation!