Tribute to our aged by Patricia De Lille
2003-07-09. I want to thank you for this opportunity to address you again today as a patron of Age in Action. It is always a privilege being able to address the elderly in South Africa as I really feel that you represent an important sector of South African society that is presently not given enough respect. I have also begun to notice the appearance of grey hairs on my head so I fear that I’m fast joining your ranks. I think it is just parliament making me old before my time though. The elderly in South Africa are too often marginalised in our society and your contribution to our new democracy is not being appropriately recognised.
Our society is presently structured in such a way that people are only
seen as giving a valuable and productive contribution up until the
retirement age of 65. I believe that this approach is both wrong and an
injustice to those individuals who still have a great deal to offer our
South African society. Your value, insights and irreplaceable
experience should not be wasted and we as a society should be finding
ways to utilise this valuable resource far more than we presently are.
The challenges that we face in South Africa are numerous and require
everyone to play a part in building a new non-racial society that we
can all be proud of. In this respect, we really need the elderly to
guide our new leaders and to continually remind us of the history of
where we come from.
I have unfortunately noticed that the youth in our present society are starting to disengage with the political challenges that face us as a new democracy. A new material culture has taken root in South Africa where most young people seem more concerned with acquiring assets and living the good life than helping to build their communities. The African spirit of ubuntu that believes I am only someone because of others is under attack in this country. Unfortunately this attack is being led by our leaders who are setting the trend by getting into public office and trying to acquire all the trappings like Mercedes, houses etc. that it offers through both legal and illegal means. We need to arrest this dangerous tendency and make sure that our society represents the values that we all hold dear. In this respect I believe that the elderly have an important part to play in reminding us of the sacrifices that have been made by all our past heroes to get us to this point of a non-racial democracy. The struggle against apartheid was a long and hard one, where we were all forced to make sacrifices for the common good of our society. This is a principle which we should not lose sight of in our new challenge at building a democracy that gives tangible meaning to the constitutional rights of all South Africans including the elderly.
I believe that the health of a society can in many ways be judged by the way in which it treats its elderly. Unfortunately, by this standard, we are living in a very unhealthy society. We have lost the respect for our elderly that shows itself in the way that the young leaders are
very quick to disregard your opinions and needs. This has come through in the fact that increases in old age pensions are not keeping up with inflation and the elderly are being forced to get by on less each year. My heart breaks every time I read newspaper reports that talk about pensioners being forced to eat dog food because they can’t afford anything else. This is not the kind of respect that society should be showing towards our elderly. We need a more caring society, one that protects and takes into account the needs of those who have given so much to build this great country. I for one will make sure that my new political party will listen to your needs and that your input will be given as much weight as any other sector in South Africa.
The one issue which seems to unite all sectors in this country is unfortunately HIV/AIDS. It seems that our president is once again disregarding the voices of the elderly in not taking the advice of Desmond Tutu and Nelson Mandela on this issue, to the detriment of us all. HIV/AIDS is an issue that affects all of us in different ways, and for the elderly it is manifesting itself in your children and grandchildren dying before their time. This truly is a tragic pandemic and every sector of society needs to make its voice heard on this issue. We should be encouraging our churches to speak out on this issue far more, as I’m sure they can do a better job of it than our current crop of politicians.
In conclusion, I just want to leave you with the fact that you need to recognize your worth in this society and do not let anyone disregard your opinions and insights. We all rely on your wisdom and value system to direct us in facing our new challenges as a young democracy. I also encourage you to get involved in the political debates that are taking place in our country and make sure that you throw your weight behind politicians that really will take your issues and concerns forward. I also challenge you to use your years in retirement as an opportunity to get involved in activities that will build this country and in the process bring you joy as a productive South African citizen. In this regard, Age in Action will be launching a competition, sponsored by Shoprite Checkers, where the elderly will be encouraged to make a soft toy, an article of clothing or a blanket for an underprivileged child which we hope to hand out before Christmas this year. I therefore challenge all of you to use whatever you have at your disposal to enter.
Thank you for listening.
I have unfortunately noticed that the youth in our present society are starting to disengage with the political challenges that face us as a new democracy. A new material culture has taken root in South Africa where most young people seem more concerned with acquiring assets and living the good life than helping to build their communities. The African spirit of ubuntu that believes I am only someone because of others is under attack in this country. Unfortunately this attack is being led by our leaders who are setting the trend by getting into public office and trying to acquire all the trappings like Mercedes, houses etc. that it offers through both legal and illegal means. We need to arrest this dangerous tendency and make sure that our society represents the values that we all hold dear. In this respect I believe that the elderly have an important part to play in reminding us of the sacrifices that have been made by all our past heroes to get us to this point of a non-racial democracy. The struggle against apartheid was a long and hard one, where we were all forced to make sacrifices for the common good of our society. This is a principle which we should not lose sight of in our new challenge at building a democracy that gives tangible meaning to the constitutional rights of all South Africans including the elderly.
I believe that the health of a society can in many ways be judged by the way in which it treats its elderly. Unfortunately, by this standard, we are living in a very unhealthy society. We have lost the respect for our elderly that shows itself in the way that the young leaders are
very quick to disregard your opinions and needs. This has come through in the fact that increases in old age pensions are not keeping up with inflation and the elderly are being forced to get by on less each year. My heart breaks every time I read newspaper reports that talk about pensioners being forced to eat dog food because they can’t afford anything else. This is not the kind of respect that society should be showing towards our elderly. We need a more caring society, one that protects and takes into account the needs of those who have given so much to build this great country. I for one will make sure that my new political party will listen to your needs and that your input will be given as much weight as any other sector in South Africa.
The one issue which seems to unite all sectors in this country is unfortunately HIV/AIDS. It seems that our president is once again disregarding the voices of the elderly in not taking the advice of Desmond Tutu and Nelson Mandela on this issue, to the detriment of us all. HIV/AIDS is an issue that affects all of us in different ways, and for the elderly it is manifesting itself in your children and grandchildren dying before their time. This truly is a tragic pandemic and every sector of society needs to make its voice heard on this issue. We should be encouraging our churches to speak out on this issue far more, as I’m sure they can do a better job of it than our current crop of politicians.
In conclusion, I just want to leave you with the fact that you need to recognize your worth in this society and do not let anyone disregard your opinions and insights. We all rely on your wisdom and value system to direct us in facing our new challenges as a young democracy. I also encourage you to get involved in the political debates that are taking place in our country and make sure that you throw your weight behind politicians that really will take your issues and concerns forward. I also challenge you to use your years in retirement as an opportunity to get involved in activities that will build this country and in the process bring you joy as a productive South African citizen. In this regard, Age in Action will be launching a competition, sponsored by Shoprite Checkers, where the elderly will be encouraged to make a soft toy, an article of clothing or a blanket for an underprivileged child which we hope to hand out before Christmas this year. I therefore challenge all of you to use whatever you have at your disposal to enter.
Thank you for listening.
