BY MELBA MERGULHÃO-CARVALHO ANTÃO

Will the recently notified Maintenance & Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act result in children giving parents the care and affection they deserve in their old age?

THE STATE government notified the Maintenance & Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act on October 1, 2009, on World Elders’ Day, provided relief for countless neglected and abandoned parents and senior citizens across Goa and enabled them to claim monetary support from their ungrateful children.

"It is indeed unfortunate that the state government had to intervene in the vexing issue of care of aged parents and senior citizens. It was an unwritten law that family members would care for each other, irrespective of age and gender like it used to be in the era gone by. Blood and emotional ties resulted in dedicated care, especially of the elders in the family. However, as we progress materially, it seems that these values have eroded slowly, but steadily. Truly, this phenomenon is beyond our understanding though there are more and more causes for parents who did their best to instil strong family values to their children to become victims of neglect at the hands of the same children when they become adults. The saddest part is that the families embroiled in this crisis are predominantly financially affluent," explains Fr. Francisco Caldeira, Centre for Social Communication Media, Bishop’s House, and wonders whether it could be that "Today’s children are under undue pressure to succeed in life at all costs and they blot out or numb their emotions and emotional ties from childhood itself. Could it be that they are guided by the world around them where family takes second place? If you watch popular serials on TV, the families depicted are broken families and families which progress in their ‘brokenness’.

He continues, "Could it be that indiscriminate expertise in technology results in a cold emotional upbringing." One must pay attention to these issues and "the time may have come for parents, educators and other policy makers to be realistic about surrounding children with love and understanding so that life unfolds in all its dimensions — physical, emotional, intellectual and religious." Fr. Caldeira is hoping that the Act ushers in a change of mind and heart of those who are encompassed in it.

MWPSCA PROCESS

THE state government notified the Maintenance & Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act (MWPSCA), which comes to the rescue of elderly parents abandoned by their children. The aggrieved parents will have to apply to the Maintenance Tribunal in a prescribed form which will be made available soon at the Deputy Collector’s level. The Deputy Collector will constitute a panel of persons from which a conciliation officer, with knowledge of social issues and law, will be appointed.

After verifying a complaint from aggrieved parents, notices will be issued to the persons named in the complaint form and the child/children will appear in person for a hearing. When an agreement is arrived at, the conciliation officer will work out a settlement acceptable to both sides within a time-frame. After a settlement, a memorandum of settlement will be signed by both parties. In case the conciliation officer fails to settle the dispute, the tribunal will give the parties an opportunity to provide evidence for or against their claims before passing the final order. Accordingly, the tribunal will take into consideration the amount needed by the applicant to meet his/her/their basic needs, especially food, clothing and accommodation and healthcare. It will also take into consideration the value of the property the children are enjoying from the applicant by inheritance. The tribunal may compel the defaulters to pay a maximum of Rs.10,000 per month. The Act stipulates that the amount will depend upon the salary of the opposite party divided by members of the family including the aggrieved parents. For appeal cases, the government has notified two appellate tribunals; in north Goa, it will be headed by the North Goa district collector and his counterpart will head it in south Goa.

INTRUSION?

A champion of social causes, Averthanus D’Souza, Dona Paula affirms, "The Act appears to be a progressive piece of legislation and seems favourable to the elderly but, from the long term point of view, it is very unfortunate." He vouches that it is not the job of the government to enforce virtues such as loyalty to parents or other similar virtues. "Filial devotion is demanded by the moral code of all religions. The failure to provide for the upkeep and comfort of parents in their old age is always looked upon unfavourably by any civilised society." What is at issue here, he clarifies, is not the ethical standard, but the right of a government to intrude into the domain of the family. "It is true that there are instances where elderly parents have been neglected by their children, even abandoned, but this does not give the government the right to enter into this domain and criminalise the actions of the children." He finds it intriguing and very confusing is that "On the one hand, the government is capitulating to the demands from some groups to decriminalise actions such as homosexual relationships or adultery, which are said to be between consenting adults and conducted in private, and, on the other hand, seeks to criminalise the ‘absence’ of care on the part of children."

He continues that, "No one in his/her right mind will condone the callousness of children who fail to take care of their parents, especially when they need such care the most - in the old age, but this is a moral and social problem which needs to be addressed by society through social and moral means. There is no justification, whatsoever, for the government to encroach into this domain even if it is to ostensibly take care of the elderly. What the government can and should do, instead, is to provide assistance, including finances, to those private initiatives which provide care for the aged, the handicapped, alcoholics and drug addicts, homes for the aged run by religious congregations, orphanages and special care homes for alcoholics and drug addicts run by voluntary organisations, etc." In D’Souza’s opinion, the recent legislation is an excessive intrusion by the government into a domain over which it has no business to enter.

CHARITY AT HOME

"WE associated ourselves with so many charity clubs and social institutions and claim to be socially responsible citizens. But when it comes to our personal life, we forget that charity begins at home and neglect our elders. We are obsessed with ourselves, careers, progress, our name and fame in society," Adv Swati Kerkar, former chairperson, Women’s Commission, points out. In the final analysis, parents are to be blamed for their children’s self-centred outlook because they goad them to be achievers to the exclusion of everything and everyone else. This attitude is carried over into adulthood and children bite the same hands that guided them to the top of the ladder. Young in-laws grumble, "The whole day s/he is watching TV and not doing any work in the house" who try to stay out of the way. And if the seniors try to help around, the rant is "Why are you interfering in our life, go read the Gita/Bible/Koran or move the mala beads in your room, for god’s sake!"

Young parents forget it’s their turn to earn and work hard while the seniors relax around the house and their grandchildren. Unfortunately, seniors and sick parents are assigned to a corner of the house or to one room or packed off to a home, ignored or forgotten by the younger members of the family. Nobody even wants to talk to them and benefit from the wealth of knowledge and wisdom. Such is the thoughtlessness of the younger generation! The government has notified this Act realising the trauma of neglect and desertion of duty by their children experienced by the elderly.

From Jesuit House, Panaji, Fr. Abraham, family counsellor avers, "Rules and laws cannot enkindle love. The law only compels you to support your aged parents, but love drives you to show love and compassion to the elderly naturally. A law can give you material things that are inanimate and heartless. But when there is love, there is concern, sensitivity and even tears for one’s parents especially in their winter days."

IMPLEMENTATION

"THE pertinent question is, ‘Are there children with soul so dead who don’t say any more that these are my beloved parents that gave birth to me and to whom I owe a lifetime debt that I must strive hard to repay?’ Possibly! Among us at least, such cases are few and far between. Nevertheless, let’s face facts: we are seeing - more than ever - an erosion of traditional family life. Sadly, young people are now less likely to take care of their elderly parents. Moreover, the transition to the market economy seems to have brought in its wake a materialistic society with family members missing on communication and shared love. The serene atmosphere of concern and close relationships within the family is becoming a thing of the past," Dr. Colaco remarks and gives praise to the Almighty for his caring and loving children.

"The Chief Minister seems to have earned a lot of media publicity and political mileage for the so-called "unveiling" of Goa Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Rules 2009, on the International Day for Senior Citizens. Most of us remember, however, that a well-spelt out Central Act (extending to the whole of India), with all its detailed clauses has already come into force across the country since 2007," remarks Dr. Francisco Colaco, Margao, and what the "Goa government has done now is only what it was expected to do much earlier to notify the rules for the state, constitute the maintenance tribunals and appoint officers." The doctor is amazed at the number of acts and rules that exist in the small state of Goa, "But the implementation is so poor that the plight of lonely parents and senior citizens continues to be pathetic. They are robbed, maimed in accidents and murdered in ways never seen before while the state and police seem helpless. Let’s hope things will improve henceforth."

UNAVAILABLE OR UNWILLING

DR. Uday Barad, Margao emphasises that the "Elderly parents require services such as home help and nursing and even paramedical day and night care and home meals. But, economic imperatives are also fundamental in the care of the aged. Institutional care being expensive there is an increasing reliance on friends and maids to provide the care and support for older people. Regrettably, the next alternative is to admit their aged parents to ‘free’ aged homes," since family members may not be available or willing to provide care. In many families, daughters are widely considered to be the appropriate people to care for elderly parents but, strangely, the same daughter, who is also someone’s daughter-in-law, is unwilling to care for her in-laws of either gender. "People accept that adult children have responsibilities and obligations for the well being of their elderly parents and understand the values people hold about family responsibilities for elder care and support," but the scenario is not always positive for the elderly that is why society believes, "Government must introduce a policy whereby children as well as family members are ‘forced’ to provide economical as well as other required services to elderly persons." In short, the new Act is a boon to the aged.

If the government does not intervene, the neglected elderly population - which is growing by the year - will be left to their own devices to die a slow death or be done in by their kith and kin and prowlers who are on the prowl to attack the weak and lonely for their material possessions; that is, if their children have not already pilfered them away.