I grew up in St. Vincent and the Grenadines from the age of five to sixteen, after moving from Canada. What struck me most then was the respect shown to elderly people. Our senior citizens were honored, protected, and treated with dignity.More than twenty-five years later, St. Vincent and the Grenadines is a country that has strayed far from those values.
Today, our senior citizens are routinely disrespected, particularly in public transportation. Elderly men and women, some barely able to walk and relying on canes, are pushed to the back of minibuses while being subjected to deafening, vulgar music. This does not reflect culture or progress; it reflects a breakdown in respect. Recently, Minister Hon. Phillip Jackson indicated that there will be enforcement of the existing laws prohibiting the playing of loud, vulgar, and excessively loud music. We fully support this position and will be holding the government accountable to ensure that these laws are consistently and effectively enforced.
Recently, a senior citizen was reportedly assaulted by a minibus conductor. That incident should have shocked the nation. Instead, it seems to be part of a troubling pattern where elders are treated as inconveniences rather than citizens who built this country.
The legal profession has not been exempt from criticism. There are growing allegations of lawyers exploiting senior citizens, taking money without performing services, mishandling property matters, and in some cases, stealing land, owing people money and engaging in many unethical practices. One must ask: are these practices known to the Bar Association of St. Vincent and the Grenadines and the OECS Bar? If so, what action is being taken?
Equally alarming is how senior citizens are treated within our healthcare system. I personally witnessed elderly patients ignored in emergency rooms, bleeding, frightened, and unattended, while staff carried on casual conversations. No society that claims decency can justify such neglect.
Senior citizens deserve better. There should be priority service lines for elders in hospitals and public offices. Stores should observe clearly advertised Senior Citizens’ Days, as is common in the United States and Canada. Preventative medical and dental care for seniors should be publicly funded. These are not luxuries; they are basic standards of care.
Our senior citizens are our parents and grandparents. Their labor, sacrifices, and guidance laid the foundation for modern St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Respecting them is not optional, it is a moral obligation.
This is a call to those in authority: where many of them are senior citizens- enforce the laws. Investigate misconduct. Hold abusers accountable, whether they are transport operators, healthcare workers, or legal professionals. Silence and inaction only deepen the injustice.
The measure of a nation is how it treats its most vulnerable. It is time for St. Vincent and the Grenadines to once again be a country that honors its elders.
Nailah John
President of Rise Hairouna/LOVNSVG
Non profit organization
www.risehairouna.org
1 Comment
ABSOLUTELY MARVELOUS article. Let recapture HONOURING OUR SENIORS AS A NATIONAL VALUE! Scriptures almost cryptically reminds us about rising up before the hoary head. After a long experience of living and working in SVG, I readily confirm all your observations about the status of the treatment of our Senior Citizens, or ELDERS, nation-wide. Thanks for highlighting this serious area of lowering standards. Come on, VINCIES. We CAN DO MUCH BETTER! Steve Lougheed Huggins.