World Elders Day fell on October 1:

'Let's not worry about ageing'

by Samangie WETTIMUNY

Dr.Subhangi Herath

When dealing with sociological perspectives of ageing it is necessary to take major definitions into consideration. In fact there are several definitions on ageing. One is according to the actual age. At a certain age you are considered as an old person. That definition takes several factors into account. One is the ability to work. But the ability to work is not a really objective concept because one's ability to work varies from person to person very often. But a common age of retirement is being set and that retirement age slightly changes from one country to the other. In certain countries it is 55, in some countries it is 60, or 65 etc. There are countries which even allow older people to work as long as they are comfortable to work.

As Dr. Subhangi Herath, Senior lecturer of Sociology and former Head of Department of Sociology of the University of Colombo says the actual objective definition of ageing should focus on biological ageing. "When physical ageing process starts, a person becomes unable to perform activities in the same way that they used to do before."

"But depending on the life expectancy of people in each country, the actual age of retirement too changes. In the early societies life expectancy was very low. When the life expectancy is low ageing starts very early because then people get married and have children very early in their life and start to grow old very quickly. On the other hand, when the life expectancy is longer, all the activities become delayed and their actual retirement age also get delayed and then they start ageing at a very later age. At the moment people of developed countries experience a long life expectancy, though Sri Lanka is yet a developing country we too have reached a life expectancy level which is very close to that of a developed country.

Gender

But the ageing process seems to differ based on gender. Usually women live longer than men. "But in early societies men used to live longer than women. The main reason was the high maternal mortality during child birth. Anyway there were other causes such as wars, accidents that made men too to die early."

Today though female life expectancy is higher than that of male in developed countries, it is not so in developing and under developed countries Anyway the situation in Sri Lanka is similar to that of developed countries. Here female life expectancy is high.

The ageing process is decided by life expectancy and the decision each government has made on the age of retirement. So as you reach the age of retirement whether you are capable of working in the same manner or not you will start to feel the ageing process psychologically. But if you take the present situation into account where people experience high life expectancy, it is evident that despite unfavourable food patterns and habits people live longer making full use of advanced medical facilities.

As Dr. Herath further noted " many people get older without encountering much trouble." They may suffer from ailments , but it normally does not make an impact on their active life. "We see that the majority of people who have reached retirement age have enough capacity and strength to work further. When you look at the ageing population, the ratio of older persons is higher today. As child-birth rate is low in Sri Lanka, the ageing population is comparatively high. By 2015 Sri Lanka will have 12 percent of population over 55. At the moment about 6 percent of the population are old. In 1911 over 60 population was 3 percent of the population.

Blessing

According to Dr.Herath 'ageing' population should never be taken as a problem. "People living longer is in fact a blessing to a country." Some countries tend to consider a large ageing population as a problem as they are normally supported by a younger population. But on the other hand as long as the older population is not incapacitated they can be very productively incorporated in to the production process. "As I believe if the country is facing an unemployment problem , it should not be solved by making 'an able' population retire and giving those jobs to the younger population.

There should be an alternative way to address the problem. There should be adequate employment opportunities created in the country to absorb the young unemployed population. But it seems that the young are of the view that older people should retire and offer those jobs to them. "But if they are still fit enough to work , I think a feasible retirement age should be worked out ."

In fact older people are a huge resource base. They have higher educational qualifications-higher amount of training, and long experience. Over the years they have gathered a vast amount of knowledge. Higher amount of training, experiences. So I think those people are a huge resource base. As long as they are not incapacitated (they are advanced in age, but still very capable) so those people can contribute to the economy of the country much longer in various ways.

"So they should not be given a pension, but deserves a salary!

"Most of the developed countries have extended the retirement age. As I mentioned before in certain countries you can retire when you feel that you are not fit enough. Many people work until they are 70. Even in Sri Lanka, many of the older population are fit enough to work until the age of 70. So these are the main things we have to rethink about without adopting the same conservative ideas about ageing process.

Job opportunities

Creating job opportunities to the younger population is a must. "Creating employment for younger people is a completely different issue. The ageing population is another issue."

"On the other hand the capable population who are made to retire can become actually sick by not being able to making contributions to the country as they used do. We see many people face health problems no sooner they retire. It affects their mental balance. In many countries the term senior citizen is being used when referring to the old in order to give them psychological support.

What is 'actual ageing'

Actual ageing should be physical ageing. Once they feel they are no longer capable of making the same contribution they should be allowed to retire and should be taken care of by the working population. Since they are no longer capable, it is our responsibility to take care of them.

Another major issue is " what happens to you once you actually become incapable". This is the kind of population that should be considered as the aged population and we should think of their future. In South Asia by 2030 Bangladesh will have 9 percent of old population (over 60). Nepal 7 percent, India 14 percent and Sri Lanka 21 percent.

When people become incapable we have to be worried about them. Who is going to take care of them - nuclear family or the extended family. On one hand, younger population is decreasing as the birth rate is very low. Another striking issue raised by Dr. Herath is whether the younger generation have adequate income to look after the old. "Even if they have adequate income how many people can afford to get a care-taker for older people.?" Can we entirely depend on the care-taker. How can we ensure that the care-taker will provide the required love and affection an aged person is in need of. So most of the older people will be very much isolated in their old age.

Isolation

In Sri Lanka there is a very high rate of migration-both internal and external. Many young people do migrate seeking better job opportunities leaving their old parents behind. As a result the ageing population also suffer from a high degree of isolation. "As long as an old couple live together they have at least some kind of solace because they have each other at least. But when a partner dies they will suffer from severe isolation. Many older women experience this, as men die younger and women live longer.

So it should be the responsibility of children to look after their old parents. But we should never overlook the problems of the young. So in a way there is a huge conflict between the aged and the young.

"Most of the time parents too are normally quite conservative, they also resist change. And are reluctant to leave their ancestral homes even though the children are ready to take them. Unlike in many foreign countries our older people are reluctant to adjust according to the situation." There are also situations where older females are exploited by their own children. At a feeble age they have to be the baby-sitters of their grandchildren.

It is indeed necessary to keep old people occupied, so that they never get the feeling that they are being neglected. But it is problematic when there is exploitation of labour.

I would like to note that there is also a huge gender issue about the matter. Though sometimes there is an exploitation to a certain extent, on the other hand being a baby-sitter makes them feel active until the very end of their lives unless they are too much exploited.But what happens to the older males is quite different. In the Sri Lankan context , males are usually taken care of by females. So if the wife dies early, the husband becomes totally isolated. Many of the older males are not able to actively contribute to the family unless they engage in a job. They become totally dependant on their children. They have to live a very difficult life. But in developed countries men are very much used to take care of themselves, not so much taken care of. "It is quite necessary to rethink about the ageing process. We have to rethink whether we want to make an able population retire. It is high time we changed our attitudes towards it. The way of thinking of the young too should be changed. There should be a community responsibility. It is not only of our parents that we have to think about, but of the entire ageing population.

"We all have benefited from their contributions to society." As Dr. Herath says larger elder homes where you feel institutionalized should not be encouraged.

The best thing should be day care centres or rather small houses. We should make them feel that they have a social life. Once they are in social centres they can engage in various activities. We the younger generation should be familiar with the problems and disorders associated with old age. For example dementia is on the rise in the adult population.It is necessary to listen to them and share our lives with them rather than isolating them and labelling them as old.