Elderly celebrate Idul Fitri with gratitude

Elderly celebrate Idul Fitri with gratitude

By Gedsiri Suhartono

JAKARTA (JP): While most people celebrated Idul Fitri
surrounded by their family, many senior citizens, deprived of
their relatives' company, have forgotten the close ties they once
had.

Karsono, who has lived at the Panti Wreda IV nursing home for
six years, admitted that he had never felt the urge to return
home.

He fell ill 10 years ago and since then has received only
humiliation, scorn and rejection from his neighbors.

"I fled home for better treatment. I have never wanted to
return, ever," Karsono asserted.

Leaving five orphan nieces and nephews in Kalibata, Karsono
tacitly longed for a gathering with them during the recent
festivities.

"It is the only occasion that haunts me," he said.

Unfortunately, this year Karsono has not heard a word from
them.

Complex social circumstances have compelled many residents of
nursing homes to celebrate the holiday amidst their friends, as
well as temporary foes, in their place of refuge.

Two nursing homes visited by The Jakarta Post over the
holidays, Panti Wreda IV in Kampung Gedong, in East Jakarta and
Panti Wreda II in Central Jakarta, shelter mostly abandoned
senior citizens.

"They are usually summoned to the Jakarta Social Affairs
Agency after being picked up either by the police or admitted by
their neighbors," Moedji Roestaji, a staff member at the Panti
Wreda IV nursing home, said.

From the Social Affairs Agency, these pensioners are allocated
to various nursing homes throughout the city.

Moedji further explained that the majority of women currently
residing at the nursing home in Kampung Gedong were once servants
who have lost contact with their village community and were
brought to the nursing homes by their former employers.

"Even if these people had relatives, most of these relatives
no longer care about our residents anymore," Tuti Kurniah, a
nurse at Panti Wreda II in Kebon Kosong said.

Residents of Panti Wreda II were predominantly elderly
homeless people who had been roaming the city's streets before
being picked up by the police or brought to the authority's
attention by people in the community, Tuti added.

Now elderly, and often senile, most residents of the homes
confessed that they had entrusted their fate to the nursing
home's coordinators and expected nothing of their relatives or
family.

Expectations and desires, if existent at all, are of small
importance.

Maimunah, for example, a resident of the nursing home in
Kampung Gedong, expected only prayer equipment and her favorite
snack food of fried peanuts and teri (small, sea fish) from her
younger sibling.

"They said that they will visit me this weekend," she
announced cheerfully.

The modest home in Kebon Kosong houses 25 senior citizens; 20
women and five men.

The house's garden, previously lusciously verdant with various
herb and spices, was wrecked by the flood earlier this month.

Located on the eastern outskirts of the city, the spacious and
umbrageous Panti Wreda IV is home to some 40 senior citizens, 25
women and 15 men. The building is rectangular to encapsulate a
garden with a fishpond, a view residents can enjoy from their
bedroom windows facing the garden or from the row of chairs lined
up outside their rooms.

A nursing home, a place conducive to satisfactory living with
most needs met, fills most residents with a certain degree of
serenity, which is reflected in their outlook on the world and
their place in it.

"I'm content to just be here. What's better than having a
place to live, being well fed, well taken care of and having
companions for the rest of my life?" Sarah, 70, a resident at
Panti Wreda II, said.

In their comfortable situation many of these senior citizens
seemed oblivious to the sadness and loneliness experienced by
many others during the Idul Fitri celebrations.

Residents of the Kebon Kosong nursing home celebrated Idul
Fitri by singing, sharing stories and playing--after all, each
other is all that they have.

Neighbors occasionally dropped by to visit; sparking a glimpse
of happiness in residents' eyes as these senior citizens felt
wanted, albeit only briefly.

"It's purely compassion and attention that the residents seek
from all of us," Tuti, who has been at the home for six years,
said.

This was clearly demonstrated as I turned to leave. "Thanks
for coming to visit us, please don't hesitate to call again," was
the way most residents said farewell.