I am with you every day", theme of the 1st World Day of Grandparents and Elderly PeopleElderly: Listening, patience and timeSpain is officially an aging country. According to the latest data published by the National Statistics Institute (INE), almost 20 % of the Spanish population is over 65 years of age, the figure at which we "officially" enter old age. Of these, more than 6% are over 80 years old. To give us an idea of where we are heading, in 2020 the average age of the population will be over 43, when in 1975 it was ten years younger. The aging of the Spanish population is growing, annually by an average of 0.2 points, following the natural course of life expectancy but which, significantly, is not compensated by a renewal of the population.
Beyond these data, it is not only the aging panorama in which we are already moving that is worrying, but also the rejection that the presence, and also the care of the elderly, generates in a large part of our society. A invisibilization This is reflected in political measures such as the approval of the euthanasia law or media indifference towards the elderly, except for certain morbid concessions generally framed in the chronicle of events.
Juan Ignacio VelaFranciscan Brother of the White Cross and president of Lares Federation - which brings together more than 1,000 care centers for the elderly, dependent, disabled and at risk of social exclusion - points out the seriousness of this discrimination against the elderly because of their age: the so-called "discrimination against the elderly".ageism". It is a postponement that entails, in the social, political or cultural field, "that everything related to the elderly plays at a disadvantage". A delicate way of describing the complete ignorance that, in many cases, presides over the measures and policies of public administrations with respect to the elderly, especially those who are in a situation of dependency. At this point, Vela points out that "neither the opinion of the elderly, nor that of third sector entities seem to have a place for the Administration in the development of measures that affect them directly".
"Our society suffers from "ageism": a procrastination that means that everything related to the elderly plays at a disadvantage."
Juan Vela
An example of this can be found in the conception that many administrations have of how to care for the elderly: "When we ask an elderly person where they want to spend the rest of their lives, more than 90% stress that they want to live at home or, if this is not possible, in an environment as close to their home as possible. On the other hand, public administrations are constantly setting standards that make nursing homes look more like hospitals than homes, from the architecture to the type of care they provide".
The president of Lares is aware that, when talking about the elderly, there is a huge difference in situations: from those people who are completely autonomous to others who need almost complete help due to illness or dependence; that is why he points out: "we must make an effort to ensure that citizens are listened to, that they are at the center of policies and not simply a mere consumer of these services. We would all like resources to be better adapted to people's needs. That implies a wide variety of these resources. A one-size-fits-all model, such as the one that is almost always promoted by the public administration, does not work.
Valuing caregivers
Currently, the care sector in Spain, both formal and informal, is one of the least valued socially. Low salaries, few training offers... constitute "elements that converge in the fragility of the sector," says Vela, who advocates a change of mentality that leads to "putting the care sector at the forefront of our society, especially when, in recent months, the pandemic has made us realize the importance of care and caregivers.
The Lares Federation has been denouncing for some time now that the care sector is not a priority for political administrations. A chilling fact: there are autonomous communities in which the expenditure budgeted by the administration for the care of an elderly person does not reach 50 euros or barely exceeds it: "more is paid for a day's parking in a parking lot than for the care of the elderly", denounces Juan Vela, who points out that "if it is really important to care for others, care professionals should be the most valued in our society".
The terrible hour of the pandemic
The pandemic has been a real "litmus test" for the care sector. The last few months have exposed many of the shortcomings suffered by those who dedicate their lives to caring for the elderly or dependents. Those who care for our elders have experienced the last few months with mixed feelings. "We have found ourselves with rules imposed by the Administration that, perhaps driven by panic, I do not doubt it, have forgotten the humane treatment. Health is not only not having the coronavirus, but living the last moments with your relatives. We cannot lose the humanizing treatment".
Older... and alone
More than two million people over the age of 65 live alone in our country, mostly women. A reality that, during the confinement gave rise to really dramatic situations. For Juan Vela, this data reflects "one of the great problems of our society and a form, also, of mistreatment". Unfortunately, says Vela, "individualism is gaining territory in the model of life we are proposing in our country. Our society, which has always been very communitarian, is now experiencing situations in which we do not know our neighbor at the door or do not ask how he or she is doing".
At this point, the president of Lares recalls that countries like Japan or the United Kingdom have had to take governmental measures against loneliness and stresses that the solutions require a change in the social paradigm: "We all have to get involved, be concerned about others, be aware of the situations our neighbors are going through. Create networks in neighborhoods, listening centers for people who feel lonely, be attentive to others, tell others that I care... We are people who live in a community context and our life has to go in a cluster".
Need for intergenerational connection
"I have many young friends and that makes me very excited. I love it when a granddaughter comes to have breakfast at my house or when a young man stops me in the street and tells me that he really liked this or that interview he has read about me". Those who express themselves in this way are Leopoldo Abadía, 87 years old. This Doctor of Industrial Engineering and ITP Harvard Business School, writer and lecturer is an example of the valuable contribution that older people make to our society, "if only because, with the age I am, the ability to be able to say what one thinks, practically without restrictions, is an attitude that attracts, especially the younger ones," he notes with some sarcasm.
"We have to know how to listen, young to old and old to young. We can all do that and we will be useful if we do not despise others."
Lepoldo Abadía
Abadía defends that "in a society we are all important. Everyone contributes what he or she can. We older people can fall into the temptation to look down on the young and this leads to nothing. We have to know how to listen, young to old and old to young. We can all do that and we will be useful if we do not despise others".
Juan Vela thinks similarly: "The problem is that we are sectorizing life by age: children only relate to children, young people to young people and the elderly only to the elderly in senior centers... it is a terribly impoverishing situation socially. We need intergenerational programs that enrich society and lead us to know and care for our neighbors."
