The citizens of the European Union constitute an increasingly aging population. In the year 2022, one in 5 people in the European Union will be aged 60 and over and one in 14 will be aged 65 and over. This silent revolution in the age pyramid in Europe has taken place largely without the knowledge of the general public and, until relatively recently, also of policy makers. Recently, in Belgium, 11 organizations called for respect for the human rights of residents in nursing homes.
The new nature of aging
Along with the aging of the population, we are witnessing a profound transformation, at the end of the twentieth century, in the experience and meaning of aging. As in the past, retirement no longer marks the immediate entry into the world of old age, and the use of the expression to designate the elderly is therefore increasingly anachronistic. With the increase in life expectancy, the elderly live longer and healthier and, consequently, the threshold of frailty is even further pushed back. These changes in age pyramid, health status and employment patterns are transforming the nature of aging.
Political issues
However, with this decrease in death rates among the elderly, in particular, there has been an increase in demand for health care and social benefits. The aging of the population is posing a challenge for policy makers in the Member States because retirement or old-age pensions already take up the largest share of budgetary allocations for social security. This is particularly the case in countries which have previously carried out far-reaching public pension reforms and which now face the dual financial implications of population aging and the acquisition of pension rights. What’s more, in times of economic recession, concerns about the financial stability of pensions and other broader social security benefits become more urgent. The main issue is to what extent the rapid changes taking place in the age pyramid can be managed in such a way as to maintain the relatively high level of solidarity between generations in the EU Member States and to ensure continuity social integration of the elderly and their families.
Real situation …
These analyzes of the European institutions on aging do not take into account the lack of respect in Europe for the elderly.
Recently, in Belgium, eleven organizations called for respect for the human rights of residents in nursing homes. Several organizations – including Amnesty International and the League of Human Rights – are launching a petition to ask the Belgian federated and federal authorities to take the necessary measures as quickly as possible to guarantee the respect and the realization of the human rights of the residents in the nursing homes and « nursing and care homes ».
Since the covid, the inadequacies of the rights of elderly people in retirement homes have been dramatically highlighted. These organization wrote : « “Before the crisis, the MR / MRS ( nursing homes sector ) did not already have the adequate means to ensure full respect for the human rights of residents. With the pandemic, these shortcomings were sharply highlighted and exacerbated, when the MR / MRS were are found in the blind spot of our authorities, whose adequate response came too late, with the tragic consequences that we know. The organizations particularly point to the insufficiency and lack of training of staff, the inadequacy of control procedures and, in general, the lack of consideration of the well-being, dignity and respect for the human rights of individuals. elderly. “Too often, older people are not seen as full rights holders and inappropriate decisions are taken without regard for their opinion, with deleterious consequences for respect for their fundamental rights and well-being. It is urgent that measures be taken to finally guarantee the respect and the realization of the human rights of the residents of the MR / MRS nursing homes sector.
Gerard Depardieu, the cult French actor talks about the fate of the elderly in Europe wrote a really moving texte in his rent book :
WE KILL OLD PEOPLE WITHOUT THEY DIE
« The fate that we have in store for our old people here, in the West, is frightening. In the 1950s, we still kept them with us. We did not even ask the question. They stayed with the children, with the grandchildren. Today, here, it’s over. We no longer take care of them. They are taken away from the family, from life. We put them in houses. “They will be better there,” they say. And we exile them in this space where, inevitably, they will lose their minds. Because, to be able to continue living in this kind of house, you have to lose your mind. To no longer see the walls. To no longer see this reality that we do to them. They have no choice but to become invisible. To forget themselves so much we want to forget them. It’s a way to kill them without them dying. To put them in the earth while still alive. This is what this company, here and now, is leading us to do. Without even thinking about it. Whether I am in Africa, in the Arab countries, in Russia, all these countries where there is still life, everywhere I see old people. In the midst of their family, again. From their traditions. Beautiful and alive ».
The situation is dramatic in Europe. Fortunately, more and more elderly people have learned to trust Chinese medicine and the idea is to face the addictions of old age beforehand. For the better-off among them, medical tourism projects in China should respond to the real need for comprehensive care for signs of old age in the context of “diseases of civilization” very common in Europe.
