A society on the verge of moral crisis

Jolimon, 75, passed away last Friday morning in his bed at the Dinajpur M. Abdul Rahim Medical College Hospital. She was found moaning in a jute sack dumped near the perimeter wall of her hospital about a month ago (December 4). Thanks to the kindness of her social worker, Afsana Aphroz of Dinajpur, this unfortunate woman received at least human treatment before she took her last breath. Otherwise, you could be found in even worse conditions, like a dead animal on the side of the road. Afsana Afroze runs her NGO named Dinajpur Samaj Kalyan Sangstha. According to reports, Afsana was informed of the woman’s whereabouts by a caller who identified himself as Hazrat Ali. I arranged. of the hospital.

But what’s special about Jourmon, who has been abandoned by her own people as well, is that the news of her death should have some significance, and that newspaper columns usually want to run articles about famous men or women during the New Year. or if they died in the past year, in what circumstances they spent their last days. Well, in our media-dominated culture, an important person is usually someone who has money and power, can tell big lies, or has a lot of followers, often for the wrong reasons. It is a person who has it. Jorumon did not have it. On the contrary, she was the most neglected person by her family and community. What a tragedy, as she put it,—but after much persuasion, the social worker who later took her to the hospital confirmed that her adult children had taken her to a nearby mango grove. I took it to, put it in a bag, and threw it away like trash.

Perhaps they were kind enough not to strangle the old woman before dumping her near the hospital. Isn’t that an example of extreme cruelty to an old man whose only sin was being too old to fend for himself? As it is, raised with the utmost care and love. She did everything as selflessly as the mother in her rural poverty-stricken family. Mothers who have been abandoned by their husbands and close relatives do hard labor as farmers, crush stones, cut soil, put them in baskets and put them on their heads at various work sites, and children. Door-to-door calls for help to feed the children are a common sight in cities and cities. village in Bangladesh. These women see children who have been orphaned or simply abandoned by their fathers being provided with food, clothing, medical care in case of illness and, if possible, shelter for the night. These mothers often spend the day half-fed or with no food to keep their children from starving. Jolimon hid it until the last moments of her life, so the actual story of her life is not yet known, but it is one of those single, poor, struggling mothers. Or maybe she would have been better off with a family, a house and land. says a lot about Clearly, she became such a burden on the family that her adult children had no qualms about treating her like an animal at the end of her life. , as a very senior member of the family, received such inhumane treatment when as a mother I was supposed to receive the utmost attention, respect and care. Parents who sacrificed everything for their children are not considered important figures. So-called celebrities often grab media headlines without doing anything comparable to what they have done for families like Jolimon. increase.

Ahsana Afroz, a Dinajpur social worker who rescued an abandoned Jolimon from unspeakable condition, highlighted laws such as the 2013 Parental Maintenance Act, making it a crime for income. A son who ignores his parents. Indeed, Jolimon’s sons or other close relatives responsible for the atrocities inflicted on her should get the justice they deserve as soon as possible. It must also be borne in mind that laws alone are not enough to handle. When society itself becomes unresponsive to the needs of older people, how much can mere laws do to protect them? If there is a shortage among younger generations, it becomes imperative for society as a whole to act, alongside the law. In fact, nothing less than a community movement inspired by a moral reawakening is needed to restore a sense of responsibility and duty towards older members of society.

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