Ignored elderly crave for love, care

Warangal: International Senior Citizens Day (Which falls on October 1) is an opportunity to acknowledge the long-term contribution and dedication of the senior citizens and to celebrate their wisdom and achievements, as well as to advocate their rights.

But it is sad that today’s youth are not giving due respect and care to the elderly people. Many of the elderly people admit that they are being abused by both their daughters-in-law and sons. This is because old-age homes are emerging at an alarming rate in various places, especially in towns and cities for giving shelter for elderly people.

Health Official of Urban Health Centre Dr Nagaraju organised a health camp to elderly people at an old-age home at Yelugandula of Fort Warangal. He said, “Most of today’s youth are crossing borders in the name of jobs, leaving their old parents behind.

Parents also do not oppose their children’s decision as they want their children to get settled in life with a good job, putting aside their wish to live with their children. It could be well said that parents are living gods, who sacrifice everything in their lives for their children. The city life may be fast, but the sons and daughters should try to spend some time with their parents”.

T Ramesh, Director of an NGO lamented that the today’s generation’s attitude towards elderly people is not at all good. They think their old parents as a burden and relieving their burden by sending them to old-age homes. The youth are forgetting the days when their parents struggled to feed, educate and get them married.

They must remember all the things their parents have done to them and change their mindset towards their parents. In fact, the elderly people can contribute to the society with their knowledge and experience, he observed.

An English lecturer, N Srinivas, said in olden days parents used to stay with their sons. He felt that the present generation is adapting cultures of other countries and abandoning their parents.

“Today, every person is career-oriented. This making most of the people in the society to become selfish, greedy and not follow any ethics. Everyone wants to get rich and famous than others. But they don’t realise one thing that those, who betray their parents can never become rich. They will have to face the same fate as their parents when they grow old, quoting ‘As you sow, so shall you reap’,” Srinivas said.

Lakshminarayana, who runs an old-age home at Rangashaipet of Warangal said, several old people cannot cope up with the feeling that their wards left them in the homes. They say that they are ready to stay in their sons’ houses despite abuse, not for economic dependence but for the love on their grand-children.

T Laxman, an advocate advised today’s youth to always try every possible way to give their parents comfort, happiness and courage. They should never forget that it is because of the parents only that they are able to get a place in the world. Laxman felt that the law should ban the act of leaving parents in old-age home. It should be considered as crime.