Lankan elders treated like cattle, microfinance workshop for the elderly told in Colombo
“Mas kadeta dakkana harakunta wageeda apata salakanne (Are you treating us like the cattle herded to the butchery?)”
This statement sums up the plight of the elder people – those over 60 years – in Sri Lanka.
Gamini T. Pandithakorala, a retired bank manager, stated this while participating in the discussion that followed a workshop on “Enabling Dialogue” – Focusing Microfinance for Senior Citizens” held in Colombo this week organised by Helpage Sri Lanka (HASL) in collaboration with the Sri Lanka Microfinance Practitioners Association (SLMPA).
Mr. Pandithakorala said that while he was in service as a bank executive, an elderly man came to him to negotiate a loan and was told that the bank has no provisions to grant him a loan. The customer was furious and angrily voiced the frustrations and the negative attitude towards elders in the country.
Mr. Pandithakorala said that he himself was now an old person in retirement but still capable of doing development work more professionally and is able to contribute to the development and to the economy of the country and it is a pity that their services are not availed of.
Ms. Kumari Chandrika, Institute for Development in Community Strengths (INDECOS), Matara joining the discussion said that they too are involved in micro financing but when it comes to people over the age of 60 they are constrained to help as they are mandated only to offer their financial assistance only up to the age of 58. She said that with a guarantee of another family member they have offered loans up to Rs. 25,000 to a few.
She said that they would find it difficult to discard their members at the age of 60 and sought the assistance of HASL and SLMPA and said that there are many other such organisations facing the same crisis.
The workshop opened the lid on the devastating plight of the old people in Sri Lanka where they are discarded by the country throwing out the vast knowledge and experience that would have been contributed to the economic prosperity of the country. But with no help, they die disheartened.
Dulan De Silva, Chairman, Berendina involved in micro finance, said that in many countries there is no retiring age as these countries have realised that elders are as useful as others in the country and suggested that the government should do away with the retirement age and this change should also be followed by the private sector.
Dayal Perera, Programme Director, HPSL said that in Sri Lanka’s population of 20.2 million, 12.4 per cent or more than 2.4 million people are aged over 60, and when compared to other countries, it is a very high figure. He said that the Sri Lankan figures are higher than in the South Asian countries and some other countries while the female population of 60 years plus is increasing. He said that if the country does not use the talents, the knowledge and experience of these people, then they become dependent. Thus when they seek family assistance they are considered a burden to society and the world.
By 2040, the number aged 60 and over would reach 25 per cent of the population reflecting the urgency by which productive need to be utilized before it is too late.
Though developed countries like European countries, USA and Japan are ahead of Sri Lanka, they have reached these figures (over 60 years’ population representing 25 per cent of the total population) over a period of time, but in Sri Lanka it is expected to happen within about 20 years, he said.
In developed countries old age came in with industrialisation and economic development and it is not a burden for them unlike in Sri Lanka, he said.
This unproductive population of 12.2 per cent of the population would contribute to the increase in the poverty level, Mr. Perera cautioned.
Therefore, he pointed that the best option is to utilize these people for productive purposes to reduce the poverty level in the country. Though it is an accepted principle that there should not be any discrimination because of age, what is happening in Sri Lanka is very different, he said. He said, “In banks old age is a disqualification for a loan”. He said that all of them should work together and make a concerted effort and help to save the senior citizens from dying from despair and involve then in mainstream economic activities, using their talent, experience and knowledge.
Dr. S P Premaratne, Senior Lecturer, Department of Economics, University of Colombo speaking on “Micro Finance Model for Senior Citizens” conceded that there has been no research carried out in Sri Lanka to find the number of people above 60 years who have benefited by micro finance or any sort of lending scheme. He said that most of these senior citizens die of despair due to heart attacks and other such diseases because they feel no security of their future and there is no guarantee of continuing their income.
The outcome of the deliberations indicated that in Sri Lanka this segment of society has been ignored and distanced.
The magnitude of this unfair treatment was amplified in the words of Samantha Liyanawaduge, Executive Director, HASL when he responded to a query by the Business Times on the sidelines of the workshop. Asked whether there are any regulations to involve senior citizens in the country’s economic activity, he said, “As far back as 2000, the Elders Protection Act No.9 of 2000 was passed and made clear that age cannot be used to discriminate. But what is the reality in Sri Lanka?”