OPINION ELDERLY AND ABANDONED



ELDERLY AND ABANDONED
It was disheartening to watch and listen to the feature aired on one of the local stations about the elderly over the weekend who have been abandoned in homes for the elderly.
It brought to me anger at the lack of moral responsibility in people. It brought so many questions in mind: How does one get to the point that they no longer care for their parents or grandparents.Do these people have relatives? What issues can make one neglect their parents in a home and never call or visit?
At every question I felt pity at how this society looks at the elderly. How one can think of them as being less human than them, their only fault being that they have lived long. There was one particular man who was so shaky, he could not even eat on his own and this brought tears to my eyes. I wish I had the resources needed to alleviate the pain and anguish they feel at heart at being abandoned by their very own children.
There was a time that we all believed that we are in one given village and that your problems are mine and vice versa. I just wonder at the decadence of the society that is now filled with lust for money and riches. A society that sees the old as a burden and a bad image to its perfect life. A society that is never satisfied, that one man is a millionaire while another is a pauper and what he can afford is a meager piece, not able to satisfy even an angry cow. A famous philosopher once said, ‘Never ignore a person who loves and cares for you, because one day you may realize that you’ve lost the moon while counting the stars.”I just hope that they never get to that point of no return that of sheer guilt.
One’s life is more important than material things. Those who have chosen to neglect their parents or relatives should know the same fate awaits them that judgment is always in a circle. If it does not happen to you, the curse of it will come to pass in one of your descendants either your child or your grandchild. I wouldn’t want to mention Karma but that is the truth of the matter so act up now and do that which is moral tend to the old. A famous adage states ‘a clever person changes his mind with reason, a fool insists and regrets when it’s too late. It’s never late to correct a situation.
My parting shot to all those who have acted selfishly and have neglected their parents and relatives is shame on you. I don’t care what reasons you must have to abandon someone. No sin is too big in this earth to be forgiven and you are not God to judge and pronounce harsh judgement to someone who has lived and is awaiting to go home to the one above.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

SPECIAL DEDICATION TO DAD

               I must confess growing up was tough under the umbrella of my dad. We called him Dad, but he was referred to as Mzee Nyakenyanya, the tough man. He is a disciplinarian by nature so you can imagine what paraphernalia he had for discipline. A bamboo stick hidden behind his bedroom door. My elder sister was brave and could try to wrestle when the lashes came down, but not me. I hated being caned and preferred to be the humble obedient girl. Sometimes I look back to how he shaped us and smile because without his strong principals we will not have made it to who we are.           He has four girls ...that meant molding each one of us to become unique and responsible at the same time. He had no worries about my big brother and the last born for after all they were men and were required to be strong and protective of their sisters. We loved to play, but we had to do it focused on the time. You see, time was what...
Read more

THE BED

Image
The bed was tiny at the end of the ward. A little blue slab firmly printed above the bed. It read No 4 and she wondered if it should have meant something. She was warm in that tiny bed. Two white sheets, a brown duvet and Maasai bed sheets with the hospital name printed on top. She loved  windows, but could not open this particular one. She could not withstand the cold air. She particularly missed the sun, it was three days indoors. Once in a while the curtain opened slightly and a familiar face peeped in. She smiled slightly amidst the pain and engaged in pep talk to while away the minutes. The nurses were a nosy bunch, always talking about something. They gossiped on everything. They talked of a man whose wife had AIDS, of the Somali woman whose labor was prolonged. They noisily cluttered to their stations once in a while, to fill syringes and write in charts. They would appear at her bedside with blood pressure kit and thermometer in hand. They would disappear several hours ...
Read more

Lifestyle Diseases in Teenagers

Image
   By Rosyline Gechemba N. It is ridiculous how teenagers are succumbing to lifestyle diseases in their hay years. Teenagers are supposed to be energetic, passionate, rowdy, intelligent and all those good qualities. However, some are just bored, sullen, tired and fed up with life that all they can do is watch TV all day. It is pretty sad to look at the statistics, to know that a teenager is going to die because he was too exhausted to exercise or live a healthy life. Causes of Lifestyle Diseases Type 2 diabetes,  cancer, heart diseases and obesity are some of the common lifestyle diseases that have emerged in recent years. These diseases are brought about by the lack of exercise, poor diet, lack of sleep and behavioral factors such as unsafe environment and stress and poor living conditions at home. Lifestyle diseases are preventable diseases and should not be the cause of worry in many countries. One would think that with the advancement in technology ...
Read more