Three years ago, the National Council on Ageing launched its major policy document. Today it held a session to see how it was going at the implementation level; that is, how's life for Belize's senior citizens? Has it gotten any better?
Today Lindy Jeffery told us that making life better for older persons is not an overnight experience and she looked to one older man, 75 year old Francisco Rash to back her up.
Jules Vasquez,
From a philosophical perspective, in a Western Society obsessed with youth where aging is a crime and a curse, how do we give older persons a valid and meaningful place in such a society?
Lindy Jeffrey, National Council on Ageing
"Well that's why we are meeting today, to look at how we can deal with those issues. There needs to be more public awareness of older persons and their concerns, and that's one of the things we are doing at the moment. But we have a long way to go. Right now there's a session going on about inter-generational work, how we work by bringing young and old together so that there is greater respect in the community; how older persons learn to respect young persons, and what their fights are, what they want: their clothes, their music. And also with young persons actually understanding the concerns of older persons and their own aging system as well; that you start aging from the day you were born."
Jules Vasquez,
If you could offer young people any advice, what would you tell them?
Francisco Rash, Senior Citizen
"Well I try to tell them to live peaceful and respect each and everyone so that they might be always joyful and happy with their life in this world."
Jules Vasquez,
When you were young, did you used to listen to advice from older people?
Francisco Rash,
"Well the same thing used to happen: older people always used to give me advice when I was young and sometimes I listened and sometimes I forgot because when a person is young it looks like a straw is broken in his ear."
Francisco Rash, who lives in the Cayo District, was one of the presenters at today's session.
