A voice to hear elders

By Our Staff Reporter

CHENNAI, JAN. 26. An old lady was deserted at an airport in Frankfurt. She was 85 years old and could speak only Sindhi.

On a London highway, a speeding car stopped to let down a passenger and then sped away as the stranded passenger stood on the highway, yet to get her bearings.

In Mumbai, a couple approached an organisation involved in care of the elderly for help to leave the country. The woman, who was about 65 years, had been raped by her son and his friends.

In Chennai, an Ambassador car stopped on the busy Poonamallee High Road, a sack was thrown out into the bushes. Trussed up inside was an old woman.

Unbelievable as they may seem, the above incidents have happened to real people in real time. The seminar organised on `Elder Abuse' in the city on Friday by Dignity Foundation became an opportunity for persons working with senior citizens to bring to light some of the more gruesome cases of ill-treatment. Elder abuse takes physical, sexual, psychological and financial forms, according to Dr.Sheilu Srinivasan, president, Dignity Foundation.

Elaborating on the work of the Foundation in Mumbai and other areas, Dr. Srinivasan added that the factors that were responsible for abuse included a style of interaction, unresolved family conflicts, dependency, influence of alcohol and West- inspired societal attitudes.

The Foundation, which is to start its Chennai chapter on January 29 had already set in motion a help line for senior citizens in the city.

The helpline is a telephone service which will attend to calls from senior citizens from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. from Monday through Friday. The calls to the number (647 3165) will be handled by a senior social worker who will register the complaints of neglect, abuse, torture and harassment.

Justice Sreekrishna of the Bombay High Court, said he had come across several cases of elder abuse and neglect in his experience and that the law of the land was not sufficiently developed to tackle the specific programme. He expressed the hope that the people of Chennai would respond positively to the appeals of Dignity Foundation.

Father Joseph Xavier, principal, Loyola College said a study conducted by the college's department of social work among the aged homes in the city indicated that there was a dearth of facilities and personnel.

Offering support for the activities of the Foundation, he said the students of social work in the city could be taken in as volunteers for the movement.

Dignity Companionship and the Dignity Helpline will be formally inaugurated on January 29.

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Section  : Southern States
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