The senior citizens in the community

In the wake of the ginormous disaster and loss of lives and geographic catastrophe, particularly in the Iwate, Miyagi, and Fukushima prefectures in Japan, the demographic impact on Japanese senior citizens for one, is one traumatic phenomenon.

 From some 14.5% or so constituting the 65 up age bracket of the total Japanese population some few years back, the more recent survey reveals that the old-age bracket is somewhere at 22.7%. Many of them are spread in laid-back areas around urban centers, especially in still agricultural or less urbanized sectors, enjoying their retirement, and/or doing at leisure some agricultural cultivation.

 With the giant earthquake that triggered the disastrous tsunami, and the destruction of a nuclear facility as triple threats, resulted in overhauling the geographic features of the hard-hit prefectures. And these among others, greatly affected the elders’ retirement lifestyle since entire communities vanished and the abandonment of once agriculture lands by many elderly farmers.

 It’s very refreshing that true to the Japanese character of resilience, patience, fortitude, industriousness, and “stick-to-itiveness” to rise from their fall, the whole nation can be reborn, and more. And the positive results can now be seen in rising infrastructures in areas razed to the ground in apocalyptic proportions of Japan’s devastation.

 The Nippon government has traditionally been solicitous and altruistic toward the welfare of their elderly, as ever. The Japanese people’s reverence to their leader, say, Emperor Hirohito of WW II vintage, followed by Prince Akihito, and their family elders since time immemorial is a national Japanese heritage, and is engrained in their extended family culture.

 Switching to the Filipino culture, and demographic picture… Like the Japanese senior citizens comprising almost 25% of the total population, perhaps the Filipinos from 65 years old up, also come within that percentage. It’s of recent evolvement that senior citizens have been given such privileges as 20% discount of purchases, yearly allowances though minuscule, providing senior citizens organizations to guide them, participation in government administration, and such similar gestures of respect and concern in the community.

  However, for institutionalized care of the elderly of both sexes, say, home or haven for the aged, like, the Hospicio de San Jose in Barili, Cebu, it appears that the national and local governments’ efforts are nebulous. Or, for that matter, some direct concern and guidance for the still active elderly to engage in agriculture among the rural folk, as they used to enjoy when still young seem wanting as yet.

 It’s in the urban centers and suburban communities where the elderly may have no opportunities to do something or putter about actively and usefully, especially with the family elders living in “ghettos” or squatter areas, and no decent homes. The state of living conditions doesn’t bode well for the old-age members of Filipino extended family patterns where nothing serves even as a passing hobby for them.

 Demographic-wise, perhaps both the old-age bracket and the youth age range up to 25 could be counter-balancing each other in number or population percentage. Being so, it’s for government leadership to formulate policies and practices that promote the welfare of both the youth and the elderly, instead of competing with each other in the community for attention. 

So far though, the present solicitude for the elderly by the State hardly appears satisfactory, save some afore-mentioned aspects that still need some refinements.