Growing old with dignity: Why love and care should be made a basic right

The Colonel in Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s Spanish novella 'No One Writes to the Colonel' is an old soldier battered by penury, who visits the post office every Friday hoping to receive the pension that never comes. The war veteran hopes he will one day receive the pension promised 15 years ago. In a pivotal scene in the novella, the Colonel tells his lawyer about his colleagues who had died waiting for the pension.

Marquez’s celebrated novella held up a mirror to the complex political and social realities of Colombia at the time. Radhika Padmavathi, an advocate and mediator practising at the High Court of Kerala, explains.

A hard life
Poverty, illness and loneliness make life extremely difficult for people in their old age. Research data states that more than 40 per cent of the elderly people in India live in poverty and suffer social inequality. Millions of elderly people work hard, despite their advanced age and deteriorating health, to make ends meet. Poor health or loneliness do not compare to the hardships faced by an elderly person who lives in penury.

Changing trends
Changes in our traditional family system have severely affected the well-being of the elderly. Our ancestors who lived with their children and grandchildren enjoyed more emotional stability and financial security. However, depending on children for everything isn’t as practical today. Most young people believe children are not their parents’ insurance policy for old age. The Indian tradition of aged parents relying on their adult children for financial security isn’t common in foreign countries. 

In the West, people work hard and save money for themselves rather than building a fortune to pass on to the next generation. It is only after the parents’ death that their will is revealed to the children. Elderly people in Western countries enjoy more freedom and confidence because they know their savings and property belong only to them while they live. 

Savings matter
While the new generation wants privacy and freedom, the old generation craves emotional security and close family bonds. Our society too has started considering old age homes as a more practical and safe option to take care of their ageing parents. Although these institutions provide material comfort, older parents often feel lonely and believe they are unwanted. Compared with the West, the Indian system lacks effective government intervention and proper facilities to care for older people. In India, only a person with a pension, financial security and mental and physical health deserves to be happy in their old age. Those who lack these luxuries will have to endure a sad and pathetic life. 

Service is a right
In England, the elderly are considered citizens with social and financial rights. The government plays a key role in ensuring their overall well-being. Every British citizen is entitled to a state pension, after they turn 67 years, depending upon the share of money they had paid to the national insurance. Even those who receive a government or private pension are entitled to the state pension. In addition, the government provides pension credit to older people to help cover daily expenses and free medical treatment through the National Health Service. 

Older people who receive a state pension get free bus passes, which they can use to travel across England. Local councils assign caregivers to financially disadvantaged people with age-related health problems. Caregivers help the elderly eat, dress, and even take them out for walks. Besides, the council also provides free wheelchairs for people who struggle to walk. Usually, people in the West make sure to develop a hobby to keep them active and engaged in old age. 

Loneliness and old age
Although England provides many incentives and facilities for its elderly, that doesn’t mean they are always happy and content. Once I received a phone call from a 90-year-old man at my work; he said, “Would you mind visiting me at my home? It’s been years since I shared a cup of coffee with another person.” They may be financially secure, but they often don't receive emotional support from their children or loved ones. The bleak winter of loneliness often terrifies the elderly, no matter where they live. 

Old people want love and consideration from others, just like everyone else. The lives of the elderly will become more colourful and happier only if families and the system try to understand them better, even while providing them with everything.