A Society for All Ages

By : Judy Lerner
Women’s news, May 2002

On April 4th, with a display of United Nations flags announcing the arrival of governmental officials from almost every country in the world, the Second World Assembly on Aging officially opened. This year’s host city was Madrid, Spain. The event lasted until April 12th.

The two-part conference began with the NGO Forum (non-governmental organizations) and was called a “Society for All Ages.” About 3,000 delegates from around the world came in hopes that they would alert their governments to the problems of the aging, as well as their successes, and their dreams for a better life.

The delegates represented the developed as well as the developing world. The costumes, languages and music attested to the diversity and the commitment of all who came. There were many workshops, panels and round tables, and also informal “hallway” discussions. Sharing, informing, and learning from one another was a given. Exchanging cards, addresses, reaching out to others in other countries was a must for many. How to connect, to e-mail, to keep in touch.

I came as a representative of Peace Action, the NGO International representative with Michele Peppers, the NGO rep for Ribbon International, and Sister Nancy Finneran of the Sisters of Lorretto. The three of us gave a workshop called “Promoting a Culture of Peace As the World Grows Older.” Our concerns were specifically the inflated military budgets and how they divert resources needed for the elderly. The need for housing, better health care, drugs, elder care, nursing care, are all diminished by this bloat; it deprives those more vulnerable in our society of the resources they need.

There were other workshops, many dealing with health care, some with the rise in elder abuse, inadequate housing, psychological problems, depression, and more. But some dealt with the value of our older person in our societies. Kofi A. Annan, the United Nations Secretary-General, in his opening remarks got it right when he said, “In Africa, it is said that when an old man dies, a library disappears. The proverb may vary among continents, but its meaning is equally true in any culture. Older persons are intermediaries between the past, and the present and the future. Their wisdom and experience form a veritable lifeline in society.”

It was apparent to all assembled in Madrid that the 20th century revolution in longevity had changed the world and that all nations had to take notice of that change. The demographics are startling. Since 1950, average life expectancy at birth has increased by 20 years, to 66 years, and is expected to extend a further 10 years by 2050. The fastest growth of population in the first half of the 21st century, the number of persons over 60, will increase from about 600 million in 2000 to almost 2,000 million in 2050. The greatest increase will be in the 80 year olds.

These increases will be greatest and most rapid in the developing countries who are the least able to handle these changes. The proportion of older persons is expected to rise and that of children will fall. By the year 2050, the world as a whole will contain more people aged 60. There will be more elderly people than young people. The developed countries got there first. Now the developing countries are facing this revolution and they are poorer and less prepared to cope with these changes.

Sociologists call this the graying of the globe. Science and medicine make it possible for people to live longer. Still poverty in many parts of the globe present problems of providing food, clean air and water, adequate housing and health care for their population.

Can we deal with the inequities between the rich and the poor nations? Will the numbers of those living longer create more problems for the developing countries? What is clear, however, is that we can no longer afford to see the older person as a burden. We should regard them as a resource whose experience and knowledge can be tapped for the benefit of society.

The workshops were as varied as the participants. From rural Indian women, to those from Ghana, Kenya, Singapore, China, and Bangladesh, they came to share, to listen, to tell of their successes, their frustrations and their lack of support from local governments.

I stumbled into a workshop given by some women from Iran. I was taken by their presentation, the command of their material, as well as their command of English. The United States trauma since 9/11 compelled me to stay and hear what these Muslim women from a Iran—a country, right or wrong, that has been demonized by the U.S. government— were doing with regard to the aging and the vulnerable in their society.

The group called The Ladies Charitable Society (LCS) first got started in 1972 when a doctor, and director of a hospital in a deprived district south of Tehran, became concerned for the mounting poor and disabled in his district. He agonized over their terrible conditions and decided to do something about it. He sought the help of a wealthy religious woman. “Not with money,” he said, but with her physical presence as a volunteer to help with these indigent people. She brought others with her and soon a cadre of volunteers became part of an ongoing project.

From a group of 20 residents in 1973, the project grew. They were able to buy a large shelter and now, in 2002, the LCS has 1,140 elderly persons, 911 paid personnel, and 2,000 volunteers (1700 women, 300 men). The institution is run by the same woman, Mrs. Ghandehari, but the doctor who conceived of this plan has since died. The women have kept this project going. Today the residents participate in production workshops, in educational programs and in occupational therapy workshops designed for rehabilitation. They learn trades, they engage in recreational activities as well as religious studies.

In addition to all of this, the LCS was granted a special consultative status with the United Nations. They were able to communicate with all UN agencies inside and outside of Iran, as well as with overseas branches. They visit other sites outside of their country and participate in as many international meetings as possible. They organized the First International Aging Conference in Iran in October 1999. Finally, they are in the process of forming a center of Aging Research and Studies with the cooperation of an Iranian Scientific Community. What a success story!

The women I met from LCS were intelligent, committed and very eager to share and talk with me. This reinforced my belief that only through openness and communication can we overcome hostility and hate. Perhaps it is fear of the unknown. These women opened up for me a society that I was taught to distrust. Politics took over where knowledge and understanding should have prevailed.

If I have learned one thing from the Aging Conference in Madrid, it is that we must find a way to reach out and talk with those we know little about. Perhaps the elderly in our society will show us the way.