Unwanted parents, unwanted children
Friday, May 18, 2007
AVID readers of The Brunei Times would recall several heartbreaking stories connected to our modern life over the past several months. One was about the recent drive by the government of Japan to reduce the rate of suicide by 20 per cent from the annual 30,000 cases, while another was about the ageing parents being abandoned in senior care facilities.
In fact, there have been media reports about a new problem concerning Japan's ageing population, namely abuse of the elderly. In 2005, Kyodo News cited a nationwide poll taken by the Institute for Health Economies and Policy that found that 11 per cent of those reporting abuse have been in a life-threatening situation. Sons were responsible for the abuse in 32 per cent of the cases, followed by daughters-in-law and spouses, each at 20 per cent. About 64 per cent of the cases involved mental abuse, including yelling or wilful neglect, 52 per cent involved denying meals or other forms of care and 50 per cent included beating people or tying them to their bed.
The average age of the victims was 81.6, with women accounting for 76 per cent of the total. The survey covered 1,991 abused seniors as reported by licensed care managers, including doctors, nurses and other health-care professionals.
The saddest story by far, however, was the new invention in Japan called "baby hatch" where unwanted children can be simply dumped at the facility by parents who did not have to have any reason for the abandonment.
Only this Tuesday, AFP reported from Tokyo that the first unwanted child had been dropped off at the anonymous "baby hatch", outraging the government of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who was said to be an advocate of "family values" and strong opponent of the facility but found no legal grounds to stop it from opening last Wednesday.
The site at the Roman Catholic hospital in the city of Kumamoto received a child on the same day it opened, police said. News reports said the child was a boy of about three or four years old whose father had simply left him there.
The prime minister's closest aide, top government spokesman Yasuhisa Shiozaki, voiced outrage over the boy's abandonment. "This must not happen," Shiozaki told reporters on Tuesday. "Parents have an obligation to raise their children. This is very regrettable."
The hospital said it set up the anonymous drop-off to help children and troubled women who would otherwise resort to abortion or even infanticide to cope with unwanted babies. The hatch, modelled on a similar idea in Germany, looks like a mailbox with pictures of storks. When the door is opened, a nurse is alerted by an alarm. There is an intercom next to the door to encourage parents to contact hospital staff.
Much analysis has been launched about why Japan — that some decades ago used to be held up as the paragon of filial loyalty — is now buckling under such problems, very often blamed on the stress of living in one of the most industrialised and competitive society. The so-called "family values" being advocated are unravelling so much that people are often driven to suicide, or abuse of the weaker members of society, or abandonment of responsibilities.
While we are concerned, however, we should not lose sight that most countries are outracing one another in emulating Japan or other developed countries. We want to be as "advanced" technologically, economically and socially as they are. We are, therefore, facing the same threat that the values we hold dear today — such as the sanctity of family — would unravel in such rapidity that we are not even aware we are losing them.
In fact, there have been media reports about a new problem concerning Japan's ageing population, namely abuse of the elderly. In 2005, Kyodo News cited a nationwide poll taken by the Institute for Health Economies and Policy that found that 11 per cent of those reporting abuse have been in a life-threatening situation. Sons were responsible for the abuse in 32 per cent of the cases, followed by daughters-in-law and spouses, each at 20 per cent. About 64 per cent of the cases involved mental abuse, including yelling or wilful neglect, 52 per cent involved denying meals or other forms of care and 50 per cent included beating people or tying them to their bed.
The average age of the victims was 81.6, with women accounting for 76 per cent of the total. The survey covered 1,991 abused seniors as reported by licensed care managers, including doctors, nurses and other health-care professionals.
The saddest story by far, however, was the new invention in Japan called "baby hatch" where unwanted children can be simply dumped at the facility by parents who did not have to have any reason for the abandonment.
Only this Tuesday, AFP reported from Tokyo that the first unwanted child had been dropped off at the anonymous "baby hatch", outraging the government of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who was said to be an advocate of "family values" and strong opponent of the facility but found no legal grounds to stop it from opening last Wednesday.
The site at the Roman Catholic hospital in the city of Kumamoto received a child on the same day it opened, police said. News reports said the child was a boy of about three or four years old whose father had simply left him there.
The prime minister's closest aide, top government spokesman Yasuhisa Shiozaki, voiced outrage over the boy's abandonment. "This must not happen," Shiozaki told reporters on Tuesday. "Parents have an obligation to raise their children. This is very regrettable."
The hospital said it set up the anonymous drop-off to help children and troubled women who would otherwise resort to abortion or even infanticide to cope with unwanted babies. The hatch, modelled on a similar idea in Germany, looks like a mailbox with pictures of storks. When the door is opened, a nurse is alerted by an alarm. There is an intercom next to the door to encourage parents to contact hospital staff.
Much analysis has been launched about why Japan — that some decades ago used to be held up as the paragon of filial loyalty — is now buckling under such problems, very often blamed on the stress of living in one of the most industrialised and competitive society. The so-called "family values" being advocated are unravelling so much that people are often driven to suicide, or abuse of the weaker members of society, or abandonment of responsibilities.
While we are concerned, however, we should not lose sight that most countries are outracing one another in emulating Japan or other developed countries. We want to be as "advanced" technologically, economically and socially as they are. We are, therefore, facing the same threat that the values we hold dear today — such as the sanctity of family — would unravel in such rapidity that we are not even aware we are losing them.
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