Why has the Barbadian society seemingly lost its reverence for senior members of our community? It is startling, given that those over the age of 65 represent a significant portion of the island’s population.
What should be more disconcerting to our leaders and ordinary citizens is the fact that the general disregard is not limited to the way our seniors are treated, it extends to long-held observance of principles, traditions, and institutions such as school and church.
Too many senior folk are complaining that their wishes are being ignored by family members and sometimes even their own children.
On radio call-in programmes, older Barbadians are lamenting the poor service and belittling attitudes they receive at financial institutions and other businesses, that are not making accommodation for their special needs.
They are decrying the practice of being asked to stand in lines for long hours. They see it as a form of punishment for not using the automated banking machines or online services like the majority of younger folk do.
Though it would likely be more convenient and useful for our seniors to become more comfortable using ATM or online banking services, we must ask the question – how many of our banks or credit unions have held free seminars or special sessions targeted at the elderly to encourage them to switch?
In all the marketing and public engagement budgets, cannot our financial institutions find a small portion to devote to education sessions for their many elderly clients?
We must compliment president of the Barbados Association of Retired Persons (BARP) Marilyn Rice-Bowen, who has been a long-time advocate for continuous engagement by seniors.
Her advice has always been for the elderly to keep in the know, and not be intimidated by new technology or computers. Such knowledge is strength in the battle against those who prey on their vulnerabilities.
The number of cases that have come to light in the media of elderly being placed in state-run homes, abandoned at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital and even the Harrison Point Facility following COVID-19 infection, should cause us to pause as a country and reflect on what we have become.
The announcement this week that a group of legal minds had drafted recommendations for changes to elderly abuse laws is a welcome development. The proposed laws seek to impose stiffer punishment for perpetrators.
The 53-page document released by attorney-at-law Corey Beckles seeks to tackle various forms of abuse including sexual abuse, threats of physical violence, economic abuse by depriving an elderly person of his or her finances, and psychological abuse through degrading or humiliating conduct such as name calling and insults.
The proposed punishment for such offences, if approved by Parliament, can reach a maximum of ten years in prison or a fine of $25,000, or both. This should act as a meaningful deterrent for such deplorable behaviour.
“The purpose really, or what we would like to happen, is that there will be a harmonisation of all the different laws and policies concerning the elderly . . . and we will have the legislation basically at the centre of it all. We have to minimise the risk. Yes, we are aware that you may not be able to prevent certain things from happening all the time, but you can minimise your risks,” Beckles outlined.
We agree that tougher legislation is an important tool in the state’s arsenal to attack such a blot on the Barbadian society. However, we also believe that it will take much more than stiffer laws to effect the kind of change the elderly in our society desire and deserve.
Practices such as respect, deference, kindness, honesty are behaviours that need to be taught and inculcated from early and it has to start in our homes. The desired behaviours at home must then be reinforced in our schools and other institutions.
If an entire generation is unleashed with no regard or respect for those who paved the way for their successes and privileges, then we will begin to witness a deterioration in many other areas of society, as is occurring today.
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