One of my friend's father died a few days ago. Sadly my friend was in Germany, and he couldn't be there as his father went to rest for good. None of his children was there in his last moments; only his wife was there as he took his last breath.
A person generally passes five stages in their lifespan. Toddlerhood, Childhood, Adolescence, Adulthood, and old age are the stages. Toddlerhood and Old age are similar as these two stages of humans are vulnerable times. But the vulnerability of our toddlerhood has been taken care of by our parents. In return, don't help them with the exposure in their old age. This is not only our national but a global issue.
Let's see some numbers. In Bangladesh, most people over 60 live in rural areas, lacking job opportunities, health care, and financial freedom. Elderly situations are bleak, where more than 50 % are widowed or single. 63% are jobless, more than 14 % are involved in agricultural works and daily labor. Non-communicable diseases like cardiovascular diseases, including heart attack and stroke, chronic respiratory diseases, asthma, renal diseases like cancer as well as diabetes are most common in this age. 44 % of older adults live in poverty. To maintain daily expenses, we often see them begging in the street. More than 70 % of beggars are older adults.
I am at the end of the first phase of my adulthood, and I am wondering how my life will be as years will go on and I will too get married and have children too. I will work hard too like other responsible parents to get a better life, and I will guide my children towards a better future and save them from anything. I will start sacrificing and compromising for my kids and family like my parents have been doing for my brothers and me. But why do our parents have been making these sacrifices for us?!!
In 2016 more than 2 million parents left their job/careers to give better child care only in the USA. You can imagine the numbers here in Bangladesh by this. But can we imagine leaving our professional choices to provide better parent care ?!! No, we can't. We won't; at least the maximum number of us won't.
We will look for better opportunities for our careers, and some of us will go abroad to seek a better life and career. Even if the maximum number of us living here with our parents, what is going to happen after getting married and having kids ?!! We will drive more into this loop to make a better future for our kids and prioritize our concentration on kids rather than concentrating evenly on our parents.
I personally don't want to get married, as I don't know what am I going to do if I get in this situation where I have to choose. But, It is not a solution. Is it?
Let's discuss. What can be a potential solution to solve this problem?
Before this, I want to show a diagram of the root cause of the Vulnerability of elderly people.
[source] https://www.banglajol.info/index.php/BIOETHICS/article/view/29303/19624
What is the solution now??
Let's discuss this topic to find a solution. Let me start with my opinion.
From my point of view, this happens because of the career and goals we have and the society we have built around us, blaming the govt and job opportunities or economic freedom. You don't need to have a foreign degree to do well in your life. You don't really need much to leave a happy life if you are satisfied with more minor things.
This covid-19 lockdowns and shut-downs brought so many working opportunities from anywhere for anyone. Many employers are hiring employees to work remotely and home offices are getting good results as well. Along with this, there is a massive opportunity in the CRYPTO market too. One can work remotely in this market using their brain perfectly. Trading has become a skill to work on, and one can earn well from this. Let's hear it from you guys. What do you think of this issue?
First of all the issue you have highlighted here seems inevitable in our social ecosystem. Parents earn money to help his family and then get retired and become depend on their child. Recently I have seen a news about a father whose dead body was on the floor for a night without having proper treatment. His children preferred arguing on assets that he made in his lifetime over burying him in a proper way. This incident hurts everyone and force our mind to think again.
It’s important to take responsibility of family but we should not deny our needs too. So, being self sufficient in our old age is now a burning issue to work on it. We have to make plans and do whatever it needs to get a proper safe future where we don’t have to rely on others (child).
Such a nice writing bhai. Really appreciate your thoughts. ❤️