Jakartans get older by the day

Jakartans get older by the day

Siblings used to fight each other for the honor of taking care of
their beloved parents; but now seniors fear dependence and
rejection. Government officials stress homes for the elderly must
be the last option for those who are too poor to take care of
their elderly parents or for old people without children or
relatives. The United Nations have declared 1995 Year of the
Elderly and hopefully Indonesians will become more aware of
senior citizens needs, who will number 19 million by the year
2000. Already we have the world's fourth largest graying
population. The Jakarta Post asked senior citizens, managers of
nursing homes and other sources to comment on the situation.

JAKARTA (JP): One day an old woman died of stroke and her
friends were elated.

"What a wonderful death," they assured. There was little
grief, just admiration of how someone could go so easily. No
lengthy, helpless stay in a hospital with tubes sticking in and
out of your body.

"What my friends and I fear most, is being sick for a long
time," said Mrs. Ratmini Soedjatmoko. "It poses a financial and
an emotional burden on our children," explained the widow of the
late intellectual Soedjatmoko.

"When I'm no longer active I think I'll live in a nursing
home. It will be nice," she said.

Mrs. Soedjatmoko is one of the last people you would expect to
have such feelings. The elegant lady, blessed with three
daughters, lives in a lovely old house and few know she is 69.
When she is not busy with the Soedjatmoko Foundation, she works
on her paintings.

Imagining her in a special home is hard. Existing homes for
the elderly in Jakarta are usually for the less fortunate.

Saliman, in his 70s, is one of the less fortunate. He was
picked up by a city security team while begging. He had to beg
because his only skill was construction and no one would hire him
because of his age. He landed in a home for the elderly, where he
resents the lack of privacy.

Even at the other end of the city's economic strata people are
finding that old age and retirement is not always rosy. Last May,
the former National Police Chief, Awaloeddin Djamin, strongly
urged that the official pension age be extended.

"It's the government's loss if it forces high ranking military
officers to retire at 55, when they are at the peak of their
wisdom," Awaloeddin asserted.

Although the old have experience, managers say they cannot
continue to employ the elderly because they must have room to
promote younger employees. The government is also concerned about
finding work for restless youngsters.

Army Chief of Staff Gen. Wismoyo Arismunandar recently had to
brave retirement, but many old people continue to play a central
role in running Indonesia. At 73, President Soeharto is the
ultimate example.

Awaloeddin and Mrs. Soedjatmoko are concerned that as life
expectancy lengthens due to better social and economic
conditions, support for the elderly will deteriorate.

Declining health is met with escalating medical costs. With a
state pension of Rp 400,000 (US$180.26) a month, for instance, a
professor must pay Rp 75,000 ($33.80) a night for proper
treatment in a hospital.

Only a tiny portion of the population, the four million civil
servants, are covered by the state company in charge of pension
funds, PT Taspen. Private insurance is still too expensive for
most people in Indonesia.

Reluctance

Mrs. Soedjatmoko believes that the tradition of parents
living with their children will continue as long as housemaids
are available. "Its cheaper than sending your parents to a home,"
she said.

Today, however, a growing number of children are reluctant to
take care of their parents within their homes. Tiny homes and
working couples provide a perfect excuse, but live-in
grandparents are still regarded as essential if they watch over
the children.

The lack of material support and respect for the elderly make
even people with adequate savings fear old age. State Minister of
Population Haryono Suyono has stated that this fear can be
overcome if Indonesians stick to traditional values and take care
of their parents at home.

Homes for the elderly should only be for those who really do
not have anyone to take care of them, but many seniors have come
to feel they should respect their children's privacy.

A few solutions have been thought up or copied from other
countries. Some non-government organizations have encouraged
members of the community to care for seniors living in their
areas. Others believe that more government support of seniors is
needed.

The community programs, called Pusaka (Care in the Family),
not only provide free food and other items, but also aim to help
the family so that the grandparent is not sent to a home. The
parents are given a little capital, which they mostly use for
trade, and the children become the "foster children" of Pusaka
volunteers.

The volunteers pay for the children's daily needs, including
schooling. Currently there are 40 sites of Pusaka in mostly poor
areas.

Prepare

Another senior citizen warned that we must not wait for public
support. Pending more intensive campaigns, everyone should plan
for their own future.

"You can't understand what it is like to become old," says
Bahrawi Wongsokusumo, a public health expert who is "65-plus".
"You must prepare a second career, prepare mentally and stash
away enough savings. It's important to look good to retain your
pride."

Wongsokusumo belongs to the Committee on the Elderly which is
under the Coordinating Minister of Social Welfare. It was set up
in 1993 to recommend ideas for policies to benefit senior
citizens.

The Committee Chairman, Fahmi Saifuddin, earlier said all
government agencies need to come up with an integrated system to
implement plans for the elderly as stated in the 1993 State
Guidelines.

This includes housing, social security, health and work.

Awareness has heightened about the plight of senior citizens
since the mid 1980s, thanks to the Association for the Elderly
People and other groups. Life-long identity cards for Jakartans
over 60 relieve them of the burden of going back and forth every
three years for the simple, but sometimes frustrating and
expensive procedure. This has encouraged government and
individuals to come up with their own forms of attention to the
elderly. Last March the South Kalimantan office of the Ministry
of Social Affairs launched a pilot project to provide savings of
Rp 547,000 each for 50 senior citizens. Airlines like Garuda
Indonesia and Sempati provide discounts on airplanes. In Depok,
West Java, one traffic sign futilely urges people to drive slowly
for the sake of the elderly.

"We would just appreciate a seat on a bus," assures
Wongsokusumo.

His simple wish sums up what the elderly need: recognition of
their existence, acceptance of their condition and loving care to
help make being old easier for them.

Since much of this is hard to find in Jakarta, it is no wonder
that many wish to leave this life in peace. (als/anr/jsk/raw)