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Many people sea the old age as the dark side of life. For them, there are left behind the freshness of the youth, the years, and the energies of youth and even the company of those who were together with them. Others, on the other hand, resist the time passing by; wait for tomorrow with optimism, strength and the wishes to live.
The truth is that Cuba is getting old and this reality could increase in the next years, because the group of elderly people who are 60 years old or more is growing compared to children and adolescents. Demographers point out to certain tendencies the country will not get rid of, although it is known that in our case, the reasons multiply between the low rates of mortality and fertility, and the advances in the spheres of education and health.
In 1985 the 11.3 percent of the population were 60 years old or more, in 2010 it grew to 17.8 percent and in 2012 was the 18.3 percent with 2, 041, 392 elderly people.
This issue was considered “very serious” by President Raul Castro Ruz in the meeting held with the Council of Ministers and it is included in the Guidelines of the Economic and Social Policy of the Communist Party and the Revolution, “of top priority, if we take into consideration what it means for the labor replacement.”
This way, the aging of the Cuban population not only claims for a different look but also for attention from all and each of the factors that affect this indicator. The media, motivated by the investigations carried out on this topic, constantly alert on a reality that is practically on the corner.
How should we face it? What should we do? How can we help to make more bearable the life of these elderly people? They are not comfortable answers and such questions have difficult obstacles to win, sometimes, due to the economic limitations of the country.
However, there is a lot to do to help these people everyday. For instance, in the case they have to go to the notary’s office, lawyer’s office or others giving a correct and quick answer not to have them go so many times to these places that sometimes are far away from where they live, and they have to take busses and stay long hours waiting without a place to sit down, in the sun, with architectural barriers.
The old age can be as beautiful as the childhood. You have to consider it as part of the life, where the family has its role. They need affection be heard and loved.
Society must value and assume them as treasures. There is so much wisdom in those years!
Studies carried out reveal that when they are taken into consideration, they voluntarily join different activities in the communities, in sports, culture or others, which improve their way of life.
We also have the experiences of the Elderly People Department, where so many of them graduate. Some of the subjects they are taught have to be with health and illnesses of their age and how to be better grandparents.
The Public Health, Education and the Labor and Social Security have to face a lot of challenges, because they are responsible to find out better alternatives for a healthy old age, happy and full, living together with the life of any other group of the population.
There are needs, but it must be clear, as it is said in graffiti on the street and in the social net works: “A man does not get old when his skin wrinkles, but when the dreams and hopes wrinkle.”
