Breaking is the normal trend for any structure. But it is not good to see the broken family relationship. At this time, Most of the People possess two homes/families; those are in city and village. Sometimes you heard the other name of village home is grandparent’s home. With the hearing of this name you can observe the plinth behind that. Because most of the people are living in the city leave their parents in the village.

That can be occurred because of our modification of socio-economic status and work place diversification. Or you can easily indicate the adulteration of western culture. We are moving from our joint family to nuclear family. By this process, we are moving towards the abuse or negligence of our elder citizen; it can include your parents also.

Abuse of older people is the sign of act occurring within a Relationship which reflect something odd & causes harms to an older person. Now we have to define that who is the older one. The Commonwealth Government uses population estimates for the general population aged 70 years. But I want to describe my thinking as “The aged one who passed more than 50 years of his lifetime & unfit, physically or mentally is called Old.”

All older people have the right to live in a safe environment, where they are valued members of society and treated with respect. Tragically, many older people currently experience some form of abuse by people whom they trust with their care and wellbeing.

Country like Bangladesh or in any developing country may face old abuse or negligence because of various causes. It may be unavoidable sometimes. We can indicates some factors working behind this situation are • poverty • the breakdown of community kinship systems • society attitudes • economic insolvency •unemployment • learning from past abuse• destructive coping behaviors and •drug addictions.

Abuse can be of different types like Financial, Physical, Sexual, Psychological and Social.

Financial abuse:
This can show us the illegal, improper use or mismanagement of a person’s money, property or financial resources by a person with whom they have a relationship. We can include those things under this:
• Forcing an older person into handing over an asset, for example, signing paperwork of property.
• Controlling the finances of an older person without permission
• Taking responsibility of ‘good care’ in exchange for transferring property or money.

Physical Torture:

In our country especially in village, we can see the scenario of physical torture. We can include some performances as physical torture:
• Sometimes you may see slapping, kicking, punching • ties with rope, belt • locking the person in a room.

Negligence or Abandonment:

Aged people sometimes get no basic needs such as adequate food, shelter, clothing, medical as well as the refusal to access others to provide appropriate care known as abandonment. Negligence may be exposure to unsafe, unhealthy, unsanitary conditions.

Psychological or emotional abuse:

Mental stress which actions and threats that cause fear of violence, isolation, deprivation and feelings of powerlessness. These behaviors – both verbal and non-verbal – are designed to intimidate, are characterized by repeated patterns of behavior over time, and are intended to maintain a hold of fear over a person. Acts that are psychologically or emotionally abusive include:

• Verbally abusing an older person• preventing an older person from speaking • repeatedly telling an older person that they are aged.• Hindrance to access to grandchildren.• putting an older person into an old home

Social abuse:
Forced the older people to hide abuse from outside restricting social contact with others, including joining at social activities.

Causes behind the Situation:

We may easily identify some factors working behind the abuse.

Economy:
Our economical condition may be a big hindrance. If I want to talk about a garment worker than it would be clear. Where a garment worker earns TK5000 per month, how he could be able to bear the expenses of his 5-6 family members.

Wealth:
Parents’ assets may indicate whether they will get care or not. Sometimes parents devolve their assets among the offspring’s. After that they just don’t get care.

Lack of Communication:
It may see in the family which is involved in communication gap. It is the process which runs the family as well as the society in a big trouble.

Knowledge:
Children who are rearing in the city without their grand parents have no knowledge about how to deal with the parents at their old age. Even they feel nothing to send their parents at old home.
 
People who have no proper knowledge about their religion & social culture are involving in the old abuse.

Allowance:
Government is providing just a poor amount of allowances which fails to meet the expenditure of the respective one.

What to do to solve:
Good family bondage is needed to solve the problem. We should follow our social norms toward our parents or aged people. Well organized financial structures can be a big trump card for the society to restrain the family relationship. I think communication is the power. So it is obligatory to maintain communication among the family members. In every religion, we can see the importance announced about the aged one or parents.

Bangladesh Government should provide appropriate amount of allowance to meet the expenses of the old and government should look after whether the allowance is allocated properly or not. I am eagerly requesting the government to increase the allowance with the price hike of the market.

Government should target this problem by engaging the community in a whole-of-government elder abuse prevention response. As part of Protecting Older people from Abuse, it is vital that service providers who work with human rights have not enough information and support they need to respond to elder abuse. Government guidelines will empower our workers to identify and respond to cases of suspected abuse. With practical advice and clear referral pathways, the guide will also inform a service provider training program that will be delivered in the community. Our older citizens deserve support and protection physical, psychological and financial abuse. They are not our burden; they are our knowledge, strength. We can utilize their knowledge in respective field to solve the problems in an efficient way.

Without this, you should keep it in mind that the day is coming when you will be the older one. You will lose mental & physical power to do anything. Wait, The day is coming soon.

Writer: Md. Riyajul karim (Reaj), Department of Management Studies, Jahangirnagar University.
Founder & President of Jahangirnagar Geetonat. Vice President of  JUSAN Attending DANMUN-2014.

BDST: 1048 HRS, DEC 08, 2014