The most rapidly ageing society on earth, more than a quarter of Japan's population is above 60 years of age
BANGKOK (AlertNet) - Homeless, bereaved and often bereft of any family support, Japan's elderly have been hit particularly hard by the earthquake and tsunami that ravaged the country's northeast coast more than a week ago.
The most rapidly ageing society on earth, more than a quarter of Japan's population is above 60 years of age. Reports of very elderly people being pulled from shattered homes by their sons or daughters, who are grandparents themselves, have played widely on local media.
"They’ve gone through a traumatic catastrophe -- the earthquake and then the tsunami ... Basically the general population, especially the elderly, is really traumatised," Felipe Ribeiro, general director of medical aid agency Medecins Sans Frontieres-France (MSF-France) told AlertNet.
Many of the elderly who escaped the wall of water that swept away homes, possessions and in many cases, their relatives, have made it to evacuation shelters where they huddle under blankets trying to keep warm in the biting cold.
The few kerosene heaters on hand make little difference to the sub-zero temperatures, said Patrick Fuller of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), who has visited some of the hardest-hit areas.
Although numbers are hard to come by, aid workers told AlertNet the elderly account for the majority of people living in many evacuation centres in the worst-affected areas.
At night they sleep on mattresses on the floor in schools, sports centres and other public buildings sheltering survivors of the worst crisis to face Japan since the end of World War Two.
“(The elderly) are vulnerable to the effects of a disaster like this and losing family members, homes and possessions has made them even more vulnerable as they are now far more dependent on outside help for their welfare," Fuller told AlertNet.
"With less resilience and weakened immune systems, the elderly are at a much higher risk than others to falling ill," he added.
Japanese Red Cross medical teams have been treating the elderly for hypothermia and infectious diseases such as influenza, Fuller said.
Many of them lost medication for chronic diseases such as hypertension and diabetes while fleeing the double disaster.
STATE OF SHOCK
“One elderly couple I spoke to were clearly in a state of shock as they seemed to have lost their entire family, children and grandchildren. They were both in their 70s and it’s hard to conceive how they will come through this disaster without receiving a lot of support,” Fuller said.
"Perhaps most distressing were the number of elderly patients being seen at the Red Cross clinics. Most should have either been hospitalised or in a warm bed recovering from the trauma they have been through.”
Those remaining in their homes do not find it much easier. Faced with no electricity, shortages of fuel and kerosene, they are struggling to run heaters and cook hot meals.
The snow is compounding the hardship.
“Many local people are dependent on the local authorities for food supplies but, for the elderly, reaching the distribution points in council offices is not easy unless they have help,” Fuller said.
"In addition, if they are housebound, the elderly may not have access to information about the support that is available to them.”
Meanwhile, stories abound of medical teams finding elderly survivors who have not received treatment because they are housebound or unable to travel far.
MSF said its team met a 70-year-old man suffering chronic renal failure, whose condition was deteriorating because he was unable to reach a clinic with the necessary dialysis machines.
PSYCHOLOGICAL IMPACT
Aid workers are also worried about the psychological impact the disasters is having on the elderly, whose hopes of a peaceful retirement were so suddenly shattered.
The long-term future may prove bleak for many elderly lacking the strength and vigour to rebuild their lives and start all over again.
Future living conditions will dictate how well and how soon the survivors recover from the trauma, said Godfred Paul, emergency co-ordinator at HelpAge International's regional office in northern Thailand.
"It is important that older people are brought back to the environment that they have lived in and see the familiar faces that they are used to," he told AlertNet.
“....the rehabilitation of older people is going to be an issue, especially the older old – there are many 80-plus, 90-plus and even centurions in Japan. The difficulty will be to rehabilitate them in an environment where they feel safe. The feeling of safety and security will be the most important thing for them after an event like this," he added.
(Editing by Katie Nguyen)
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