Let not our elders suffer

We hope Social Services Minister Felix Perera’s disconcerting disclosure, which we highlighted in this newspaper yesterday, that some two to three older citizens of this country are abandoned on our highways everyday, would help in raising awareness among the local public on the condition of the majority of Sri Lanka’s elders. We would not be exaggerating if we take-up the position that the majority of our elders’ condition is rather desperate.

Minister Perera needs to be commended for his candidness. Recognizing the factual situation of our elders is a fundamental step towards alleviating their sad lot. It is public knowledge that quite a few of our elders suffer in grim silence but it is news that some of them are even abandoned on the streets by apparently indifferent children and relatives. On and off, the public is alerted to this tragedy in the media and individual cases of abandonment are brought to our notice but the problem should be seen as taking on crisis proportions now with no less a person than the Social Services Minister making it plain that the rate of abandonment of elders is ‘two to three’ such persons per day.

Sri Lanka has always prided itself on its strong ethical consciousness. This is believed to be particularly reflected in the average Lankan’s commitment to family values. Caring for ones kith and kin, therefore, has been seen as being inseparable from the local cultural ethos. The callous abandonment of persons who are probably parents and guardians on the high streets ought to be seen as a solemn and saddening indication that our traditional value structure is in a state of disintegration.

We do not wish to be judgmental on these matters. The iron laws of economics are of such obduracy that even the most assiduously inculcated values could not, very often, hold fast against them. The so-called Elders’ Home which was considered to be typical of Western culture is no longer an alien presence in our midst. Faced with grave financial difficulties, and a shrinking ability to keep the home fires burning, some children are compelled to hand over the care of their parents and elders to these Homes. A sense of inhumanity may not be at the bottom of many such decisions but growing economic impoverishment.

However, the abandoning of elders or of leaving them to their own devices when they could hardly fend for themselves is a matter for collective shame among Lankans. It is a sure indication that the voice of morality and religion is no longer heeded by many among the local public.

The Social Services Minister has outlined some of the new measures undertaken by the state to meet this sad situation but these are matters for no less our clergy, religious organizations and educational institutions than the state. If traditional ethical values are fast fleeing from some consciences, it is clear proof that ethics and the principle of Reverence for Life no longer have a hold on many Sri Lankans. This in turn indicates that morality in its truest sense is no longer taken seriously by some. Accordingly, a moral crisis is upon us and it is not being viewed with the necessary seriousness.

However, the state cannot leave things to chance in this context. The social institutions that could meet the crisis need to be steadily built and strengthened by the state, while our numberless religious bodies and organizations do what is needed to rejuvenate and strengthen the moral consciences of those who need to be aided in this respect.

Social Services Senior Minister Dew Gunasekera was quoted as saying yesterday that government will not only aim at increasing the country’s national revenue but will be aiming at distributing such wealth more evenly among the less well off. This proves that that there is an awareness among governing circles that re-distributive justice is not as strong as it should be. We call on the state to address this issue squarely and ensure that economic justice is meted out to a greater degree among the vulnerable in our midst, such as our elders and the derelict.