Dear Editor,
Life is not easy for the elderly in Guyana. The minibus is reluctant to accept them as passengers, they meekly bear the primitive conditions offered as they wait their turn at post offices to claim their pension. In silence, the elderly accept the nation’s refusal to recognize their potential for playing important roles in national development, and thus articulate no policy designed to harness their collective experiences and skills for the nation’s good. But as bad as all these failures are, they pale in comparison with the threat that crime against the elderly poses to these vulnerable citizens.
Between April 2016 and mid-June 2017 the following is a sample of headlines appearing in the Kaieteur News chronicling criminal acts against the elderly: ‘Sisters charged in the killing of their father,’ ‘Alleged Montrose granny killer for high court,’ ‘Kildonan man charged with fiery death of father,’ ‘Man confesses to killing elderly Springlands resident for his pension’ and ‘Con artist disappears with pensioner’s car.’ It is important to note that in all these cases the victims were between 64 and 88 years old. Obviously, criminals have turned their attention to our elderly population and as a civilized society Guyana must respond and provide protection to our grandparents and parents from this barbarism.
The world over, mainly because of discoveries in medical science, life expectancy is being extended; simultaneously young people are committed to having smaller families. This combination has led to a rise in the percentage of the elderly in the general population of most nations. Here in the USA in 1990 citizens over the age of 65 constituted 4% of the nation’s population, while today this group accounts for 14% of the population and by 2060 is expected to represent 22% of all Americans. In 2015 Japan had an elderly population that accounted for about 15% of the population. It is projected that by 2050 that country’s elderly will comprise 40% of the population.
This rise in the elderly population is not unique to the developed world. In a Caricom report, it was noted that the situation is the same for most member countries. The report notes that in Guyana in 1990 the elderly made up 5.9 per cent of the population and in 2000 this figure rose to 6.2. A study done by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean in May 2004, offers this bleak comment: “We must be fully aware that while the developed countries became rich before they became old, the developing countries will become old before they become rich.” The challenges to which this unfamiliar environment gives rise will have devastating effects on the poor and poor countries.
Parents living longer will strain the resources of their adult children who will be expected to shoulder their parents’ medical bills which will likely increase the older parents become. In poor families forced to make meagre resources spread to cover expenses tied to care of their elderly members, some ‘good’ will have to be left unattended. Less will be available to guarantee children a quality education. When this happens, youngsters will be left unprepared for jobs in a technological workplace, and crime rates will increase as young people seek other means of satisfying their wants and needs. In fact, this might already be happening; recall the number of young men and women who, in recent times, have explained to magistrates and judges that they committed a crime to take care of their families.
Meanwhile at the national level, since the outward migration of young adults is high and the elderly are living longer, pressure will be placed on governments to provide social support for the elderly. This will have to be done even as the quantum of tax collected decreases because of this migration and high unemployment. The number of homes for the elderly will grow as demand for such facilities increases, and this will bring its own challenges. Here in the USA the incidence of white collar crime against the elderly is on the increase in the entire health care industry. Recently, I read that in Guyana the government has moved to establish greater oversight over homes for the elderly; perhaps this is in response to real/perceived crimes against residents.
It is also important to recognize that the number of elderly persons living alone or being left alone for a significant period each day has also been growing. According to a Caricom report, in 1990 in Guyana the percentage of the elderly population living alone was estimated at 11.71 per cent, and by 2000 this grew to 13.14. There seem to be three main reasons for this: (a) children migrating, (b) the death of a spouse and (c) elderly persons left alone as the other adults of the household leave for work and children for school. Living alone is not a comforting option for the elderly. They represent a soft target for criminals, and thus they are primarily the victims of the most violent criminal acts perpetrated against members of their group.
In my letter of May 7, 2017, I urged that the community policing model be embraced in Guyana’s response to crime. Crime against the elderly demands community involvement if it is to be eliminated. Communities must be educated on signs to look for that indicate an elderly resident might need assistance. For example, elderly folks living alone tend to adhere to a strict routine – locking their gates at a specific time in the evening, sitting on their porch during specific hours, tending their plants at specific times and sleeping with a light on in a specific part of the home. Any variations in these activities should be a cause for suspicion among neighbours. The community policing model is best situated for advising communities on how to protect the elderly in their midst, and for providing communities with the support needed for them to do so.
Next the National Commission on the Elderly must be made to pay more attention to this issue and busy itself with suggesting policies intended to provide additional layers of protection to the elderly. It is pressure placed on this commission by concerned individuals and groups that will get it to act. I do expect feminist groups to be enthusiastic and lead in this matter. This expectation is rooted in two facts: First our women have historically been more active than their male counterparts in fighting in the interest of vulnerable groups. Secondly, since women tend to live longer than their male spouses it is the elderly female who is mostly the victim of violent crime.
Yours faithfully,
Claudius Prince
