Editorial

Nascer para morrer

Os seres humanos nascem para morrer. Muitos pensam que são imortais, mas ocasionalmente os nossos corpos e mentes lembram-nos que somos meros mortais neste mundo, vivendo de forma temporária.

Nas sociedades europeias esperava-se que as pessoas cuidassem dos mais velhos, portanto, nas famílias com pessoas de idade avançada, os idosos permaneciam em casa e eram cuidados por outros membros da família.
Esta forma de cuidar ainda permanece em muitas partes do mundo, particularmente nas sociedades asiáticas onde os mais velhos são tratados com reverência. As sociedades desenvolveram-se e tornaram-se mais sofisticadas e os seniores parecem ter-se tornado um fardo para as famílias que, em muitos casos, não podem cuidar deles.

Com o avanço da medicina, as pessoas vivem uma vida mais longa e a sua colocação em instalações de acolhimento para idosos é agora uma norma cada vez mais comum.

A construção de novas instalações para idosos continua a um ritmo frenético para todos os níveis de acessibilidade económica, mas principalmente com vista à obtenção de lucro, o que, em muitos casos, apaga a possibilidade de muitos idosos conseguirem passar a viver nessas casas. Os lares das instituições sem fins lucrativos são poucos e a construção de novos é muito dificultada, porque não é fácil arranjar financiamento.

Vidas de ritmo acelerado deixam cada vez menos tempo para as famílias passarem tempo juntas, o que resulta em idosos, demasiado tempo, sozinhos. Muitos Lares são mal administrados e carecem de meios para proporcionar aos idosos que os frequentam um ambiente sociocultural que seja próximo daquele em que cresceram e de que sentem falta, incluindo até do tipo de alimentação a que sempre se habituaram.

Hoje a vida é difícil para os idosos e temos que nos esforçar mais para respeitar aqueles que nos trouxeram até aqui. É fácil ignorá-los, mas devemos lembrar que também nós seremos velhos um dia e precisaremos de alguém que cuide de nós. Isso lembra-me a letra de uma das minhas músicas favoritas, que vou reproduzir aqui. Porque penso que, afinal, representa como a maioria de nós vive.

Cat’s in the Cradle by Harry Chapin:

My child arrived just the other day
He came to the world in the usual way
But there were planes to catch, and bills to pay
He learned to walk while I was away
And he was talking ‘fore I knew it, and as he grew
He’d say “I’m gonna be like you, dad”
“You know I’m gonna be like you”

And the cat’s in the cradle and the silver spoon
Little boy blue and the man in the moon
“When you coming home, dad?” “I don’t know when”
But we’ll get together then
You know we’ll have a good time then

My son turned ten just the other day
He said, thanks for the ball, dad, come on let’s play
Can you teach me to throw, I said, not today
I got a lot to do, he said, that’s okay
And he walked away, but his smile never dimmed
It said, I’m gonna be like him, yeah
You know I’m gonna be like him

And the cat’s in the cradle and the silver spoon
Little boy blue and the man in the moon
“When you coming home, dad?” “I don’t know when”
But we’ll get together then
You know we’ll have a good time then

Well, he came from college just the other day
So much like a man I just had to say
Son, I’m proud of you, can you sit for a while?
He shook his head, and he said with a smile
What I’d really like, dad, is to borrow the car keys
See you later, can I have them please?

And the cat’s in the cradle and the silver spoon
Little boy blue and the man in the moon
“When you coming home, son?” “I don’t know when”
But we’ll get together then, dad
You know we’ll have a good time then

I’ve long since retired and my son’s moved away
I called him up just the other day
I said, I’d like to see you if you don’t mind
He said, I’d love to, dad, if I could find the time
You see, my new job’s a hassle, and the kids have the flu
But it’s sure nice talking to you, dad
It’s been sure nice talking to you
And as I hung up the phone, it occurred to me
He’d grown up just like me
My boy was just like me

And the cat’s in the cradle and the silver spoon
Little boy blue and the man in the moon
“When you coming home, son?” “I don’t know when”
But we’ll get together then, dad
We’re gonna have a good time then.

Songwriters: Sandy Chapin / Harry F. Chapin
Cat’s in the Cradle lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.

 

Human beings are born to die. Many think they are immortal but eventually our bodies and minds remind us that we are mere mortals on this earth living on a temporary basis.

In European societies, people were expected to take care of their elders. Therefore, as families aged, seniors remained at home and were taken care of by other family members.

This method of care still prevails in many parts of the world, particularly in Asian societies where the aged are revered. As societies advance and become more sophisticated, seniors appear to have become a burden to families who, in many cases, cannot take care of them. Because of advances in medicine, people are living much longer, and placement of seniors in third party facilities is now the norm, not the unusual. Construction of new facilities for seniors continues at a frantic pace for all levels of economic affordability but mostly for profit wich, in many cases, erases the possibility of many seniors being able to move into these facilities. Not-for-profit facilities are almost never built because of the difficulty in financing construction.

Fast paced lives leave less and less time for families to spend time together, which results in seniors spending extended amounts of time alone. Many facilities are poorly run and lack cultural conditions to comfort seniors who miss the food they enjoy and participation in the cultural aspects they grew up with. Today, life is difficult for seniors and we have to make more of an effort to respect those who brought us here. It’s easy to ignore our seniors but we should remember that we are going to be old one day and we will need to be taken care of. This reminds me of the lyrics of one of my favorite songs, which I will reproduce here. It represents how most of us live.

Manuel DaCosta

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