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.