Editorial: Documentary (PROFESSIONAL) - HONORABLE MENTION
Last Resort
Photo © Andrea Falcon
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Nepalese Mina Gurung lost her husband that died on the job. Soon after his death, she was not able to pay the rent of the apartment in Kathmandu. In the meantime, her son graduated, sold all the family’s property and went to live abroad. He estranged his mother and left her on the street with no money.
The story of Mina Guring is not an isolated one in Nepal, where the elderly population is one of the most neglected social groups. Acute economic pressures and disintegration of joint family system have eroded the relative importance of traditional values and religious norms supportive to the elderly population. Moreover, institutional arrangements catering the needs of the elderly have been far fewer. The causes of concern for the elderly citizens are due to the fact that the family is the only supporting institution in Nepal and with the change in preference of modern society to live in a nuclear family, the plight of senior citizens is becoming more and more worrisome.
At the age of 70, Mina Gurung started to live on the streets of Kathmandu, a city with a population of over a million, only in the city proper, where it is easy to be alone. She slept in an outside toilet of a private school yard in Sohrakhute area, where school principal gave her permission to stay for a while. Until NGO Saar Nepal became aware of her case and tried to reunite her with her son. After the attemp failed, she was given the opportunity to go and stay in an old age home. It took two weeks to convince her that this last resort was the best solution for her.
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Nepalese Mina Gurung lost her husband that died on the job. Soon after his death, she was not able to pay the rent of the apartment in Kathmandu. In the meantime, her son graduated, sold all the family’s property and went to live abroad. He estranged his mother and left her on the street with no money.
The story of Mina Guring is not an isolated one in Nepal, where the elderly population is one of the most neglected social groups. Acute economic pressures and disintegration of joint family system have eroded the relative importance of traditional values and religious norms supportive to the elderly population. Moreover, institutional arrangements catering the needs of the elderly have been far fewer. The causes of concern for the elderly citizens are due to the fact that the family is the only supporting institution in Nepal and with the change in preference of modern society to live in a nuclear family, the plight of senior citizens is becoming more and more worrisome.
At the age of 70, Mina Gurung started to live on the streets of Kathmandu, a city with a population of over a million, only in the city proper, where it is easy to be alone. She slept in an outside toilet of a private school yard in Sohrakhute area, where school principal gave her permission to stay for a while. Until NGO Saar Nepal became aware of her case and tried to reunite her with her son. After the attemp failed, she was given the opportunity to go and stay in an old age home. It took two weeks to convince her that this last resort was the best solution for her.
BACK TO GALLERY
