cabar.asia
In Tajikistan, the number of elderly people in nursing homes is growing
In recent years there has been a rising trend in Tajikistan of adult children relinquishing custody of their elderly parents.
photo: www.pixabay.com
photo: www.pixabay.com
According to the Statistical agency under the President of the Republic of Tajikistan, there are seven institutions for the elderly and people with disabilities in the country. Officially, 1,204 people were admitted there in 2021, 1,095 of them are elderly people. Of those, 632 are men and 466 are women.
Traditionally, caring for elderly parents is a child's responsibility, and children who refuse to take care of their parents are judged by society. But statistics in recent years show that the trend of relinquishing custody of parents is increasing, which causes concern among professionals and state agency workers.
The Bitter Fate of the Elderly in Tajik Nursing Homes
Saodat Usmonova, an 80-year-old woman from Konibodom, Sughd Region, now lives in a nursing home in Dushanbe. For a while, she had no idea that her children had left her in a home for the elderly. She was told that she was being treated in the hospital. Saodat has two daughters, one of whom sold her house and moved abroad.
"I raised them by giving up all my needs. I didn't eat enough myself, I didn't dress nicely, thinking that in my old age, they would be my support. I willed both my daughters to take care of my funeral, but what will happen to me next.... All in Allah's will", Usmonova said sorrowfully.
Usmonova said her husband left her when her children were little. She struggled to raise her daughters on her own. She has only one brother left, who lives in Konibodom.
"I don't understand how I survived till this day? Besides my brother, I have many other relatives, but there is little love between us. My granddaughter took me to her house, I lived with her for a while. But she was at work from morning till night, so she brought me here and visits me from time to time," Usmonova said.
The nursing home staff said they called her children to talk to her and tried to persuade them to take her home and look after her themselves, but her daughters were adamant and even volunteered to sign a receipt stating that they no longer want their mother.
Now Saodat Usmonova suffers from a neurological disorder caused by stress and is being treated at a medical center.
There are many people like her in the country's institutions who have found themselves lonely and worthless in their old age.
"I raised them by giving up all my needs. I didn't eat enough myself, I didn't dress nicely, thinking that in my old age, they would be my support. I willed both my daughters to take care of my funeral, but what will happen to me next.... All in Allah's will", Usmonova said sorrowfully.
Usmonova said her husband left her when her children were little. She struggled to raise her daughters on her own. She has only one brother left, who lives in Konibodom.
"I don't understand how I survived till this day? Besides my brother, I have many other relatives, but there is little love between us. My granddaughter took me to her house, I lived with her for a while. But she was at work from morning till night, so she brought me here and visits me from time to time," Usmonova said.
The nursing home staff said they called her children to talk to her and tried to persuade them to take her home and look after her themselves, but her daughters were adamant and even volunteered to sign a receipt stating that they no longer want their mother.
Now Saodat Usmonova suffers from a neurological disorder caused by stress and is being treated at a medical center.
There are many people like her in the country's institutions who have found themselves lonely and worthless in their old age.
Jumakhon Dzhalolov, a 70-year-old man, has six children, but he lives in a nursing home. Now neither his children nor his relatives even visit him. He says that for many years he has been supporting his family and raising his children, but none of them even remembers him now.
According to him, he used to own several houses and cars. He gave it all away to his children, but today they don't even respond to his phone calls.
"My youngest son asked me to register the house in his name, I did not refuse. I also gave him the car. But now he doesn't want to know me. He won't even answer the phone. I was in the hospital for over a month, and during that time he checked on me only once, and he didn't even pay for my treatment. Now I'm left without anyone. When I was discharged from the hospital, I had nowhere to go and no one to take care of me, a sick person. I was forced to come here, and no one here is concerned about my condition," Dzhalolov said.
photo: www.pixabay.com
According to him, he used to own several houses and cars. He gave it all away to his children, but today they don't even respond to his phone calls.
"My youngest son asked me to register the house in his name, I did not refuse. I also gave him the car. But now he doesn't want to know me. He won't even answer the phone. I was in the hospital for over a month, and during that time he checked on me only once, and he didn't even pay for my treatment. Now I'm left without anyone. When I was discharged from the hospital, I had nowhere to go and no one to take care of me, a sick person. I was forced to come here, and no one here is concerned about my condition," Dzhalolov said.
photo: www.pixabay.com
Khait Ojilov also lives in a home for the elderly and people with disabilities in Dushanbe. According to him, he used to be very rich and had a store in the largest market, Korvon, in Dushanbe. In 2014, there was a fire in the market, and half of his goods were burned. He was also engaged in the automobile business. But fate suddenly took away all his wealth, and he survived four strokes.
"In 2014, my mother-in-law and wife went to the bank without my permission and took out a loan, mortgaging all my assets. They couldn't repay that loan. And the bank took all my assets. After that, I had a stroke and was treated for several years, but I never recovered," he said.
Ojilov said that previously when he was healthy and rich, he helped all his relatives, but now, when he himself needed it, no one even asked about his condition. And wherever he goes, he is greeted coldly.
"My younger sister, in the years when I was rich, divorced her husband and had nowhere to go with the baby. I registered my father's house in her name, and now when I asked her to give me at least one room in that house so I could live there, she kicked me out. I have a daughter and a son. My daughter got married, and my son is not well and is currently in the care of my mother-in-law," says Khait Ojilov.
"My younger sister, in the years when I was rich, divorced her husband and had nowhere to go with the baby. I registered my father's house in her name, and now when I asked her to give me at least one room in that house so I could live there, she kicked me out. I have a daughter and a son. My daughter got married, and my son is not well and is currently in the care of my mother-in-law," says Khait Ojilov.
photo: cityreporter.ru
Conditions in state boarding houses for the elderly and disabled are good
In general, those who live in the Regional Social Service Center for Pensioners and People with Disabilities in Dushanbe are satisfied with the conditions in this institution.
They speak with gratitude to the management and staff for their kind and responsive attitude towards them. They say they are provided with three hot meals a day, they are fully fed, and their diet always includes fruits and vegetables.
Muhabbat Zaripova, director of the institution, told CABAR.asia that they organize cultural events for their wards so that they would not feel lonely.
"Men have a place to play dominoes, chess, checkers, and other board games. For the women, we have a florists' club where they grow flowers in their free time. We have an embroidery room where women can go whenever they want," Zaripova said.
With the support of the Dushanbe city government and the Japanese Embassy in Tajikistan, two confectionary and welding shops were built in the basement of the Center's main building, where boarding house residents can work.
They speak with gratitude to the management and staff for their kind and responsive attitude towards them. They say they are provided with three hot meals a day, they are fully fed, and their diet always includes fruits and vegetables.
Muhabbat Zaripova, director of the institution, told CABAR.asia that they organize cultural events for their wards so that they would not feel lonely.
"Men have a place to play dominoes, chess, checkers, and other board games. For the women, we have a florists' club where they grow flowers in their free time. We have an embroidery room where women can go whenever they want," Zaripova said.
With the support of the Dushanbe city government and the Japanese Embassy in Tajikistan, two confectionary and welding shops were built in the basement of the Center's main building, where boarding house residents can work.
There are many such people in the country's institutions who found themselves alone and worthless in their old age.
photo: zen.yandex.ru
photo: zen.yandex.ru
Children who abandon their parents should be penalized
Traditionally in Tajikistan, it is customary for children to take care of their parents. But according to the authorities, in recent years nursing homes have been overcrowded with women and men whose children have refused to take care of them.
Muhabbat Zaripova says most elderly people complain about their children.
Muhabbat Zaripova says most elderly people complain about their children.
"More than 100 elderly and disabled people live in our institution. Most of them have children. They complain that they raised them, gave them an education, gave them homes, but in their old age the children abandoned them and do not recognize them," she said.
Most of the older people who used to live here were lonely, the center's staff noted. But now most of them have children and other relatives.
In 2017, Tajikistan's parliament passed amendments to the Criminal Code that toughened criminal liability for such children. A second paragraph was added to Article 178 of the Criminal Code, "Children's Malicious Evasion from disabled Parents Support." According to it, if the court ordered the custody of disabled parents, the intentional, repeated refusal without good cause is punishable by imprisonment for three years.
In 2017, Tajikistan's parliament passed amendments to the Criminal Code that toughened criminal liability for such children. A second paragraph was added to Article 178 of the Criminal Code, "Children's Malicious Evasion from disabled Parents Support." According to it, if the court ordered the custody of disabled parents, the intentional, repeated refusal without good cause is punishable by imprisonment for three years.
Previously, the punishment was up to two years of forced labor or probation.
The harsher penalties in the Criminal Code were introduced after a new article was added to the Tajik Constitution in 2016 that obliged "adult and able-bodied children to financially support their parents. Even so, the number of cases of parental custody waivers is on the rise. Officials say that most are not even aware of the existence of such legal provisions.
What are the reasons and how can this be solved?
Help Age International, which tracks the situation of pensioners around the world, notes that traditions of respect and care for elderly parents in Tajikistan are gradually disappearing. The researchers see labor migration as the main reason for this process.
According to the organization, Tajik migrant workers stay in the host country for many years, leaving their families in the care of elderly parents. The authors of this study write that cases, when migrants start new families and forget about their parents, have increased.
Experts attribute the increase in such cases to the improper upbringing of children in families and educational institutions. According to Muhabbat Zaripova, the Ministry of Education and Science and other educational institutions should work on this issue.
"It is necessary to introduce such disciplines and subjects in all educational institutions of the country so that teachers would work with young people every day so that they get a good education," she said.
photo: www.istockphoto.com
According to the organization, Tajik migrant workers stay in the host country for many years, leaving their families in the care of elderly parents. The authors of this study write that cases, when migrants start new families and forget about their parents, have increased.
Experts attribute the increase in such cases to the improper upbringing of children in families and educational institutions. According to Muhabbat Zaripova, the Ministry of Education and Science and other educational institutions should work on this issue.
"It is necessary to introduce such disciplines and subjects in all educational institutions of the country so that teachers would work with young people every day so that they get a good education," she said.
photo: www.istockphoto.com
This material was prepared within the framework of the IWPR project "Amplify, Verify, Engage: Information for Democratisation and Good Governance in Eurasia", funded by the Norwegian Foreign Ministry, and the mentoring program of the "Development of New Media and Digital Journalism in Central Asia" project, implemented by the Institute for War Reporting and Peace (IWPR) with the support of the UK Government. The content of this publication does not reflect the official views of IWPR, the Norwegian Foreign Office, or the UK Government.
