NRI dilemma – ’Lonely parents’

Why elderly parents of NRI suffer the most ?

Saying on video call or on Telephone to your parents back home ‘’I love you Mom & love you Dad” it sounds very good. But, did our responsibility towards parents finish here ? Parents of NRI are being left on their own back home in most of the cases. Elderly parents are facing ‘’Empty Nest Syndrome’’ despite best efforts of their NRI sons and daughters to look after them remotely.

Sacrifice by parents are ignored

Parents support and protect their children from childhood – to School -to college -to finding jobs -to getting them married , having family and settling down . But once the Son or Daughter leave their native home and become NRI, the life of the parents changes drastically. The same house where the whole family live together as a joint family full of hustle and bustle slowly become lifeless . The sacrifice made by parents of NRI are usually ignored

As the parents become older , the worries by their NRI Son and Daughter increases day by day about their health , safety , security and daily wellbeing. Since joint family system back home has failed , they are left with no other options except taking help from their relatives and friends as and when required. Usually a large house back home become barren in matter of years. Parents as they become older , they slowly get disconnected from local community and social life. The sunset years of such elderly parents are painful despite being financially sound as it badly affected by loneliness , fear , uncertainty and lack of emotional support.

Elderly parents are made to do menial job

There are another set of NRI who after settling down in the foreign countries , they take their elderly parents along with them. There are tough rules and regulations to sponsor the parents in foreign countries. Also it add to additional expensive to take care of them as it requires bigger house and regular medical care. Knowingly all the adults have to work to sustain in foreign countries, their parents end up take care of the house , doing baby sitting of the grand childern , cooking and  cleaning .

Many elderly parents who got disconnected from their ancestral home and culture , slowly start feeling like being jailed at new house in foreign land. They find difficulties to adapt to new surroundings. Few go to local park for a change. Their son & daughter who are occupied most of the time doing their jobs have no much time to take them around and entertain them. The elderly parents with no local social life start feeling like a servant at home and useless, this is happening despite best efforts by their NRI  sons and daughters to take care of them.

Who will take care of parents of NRI ?

How the NRI can take the best care of their elderly parents ? , there is no clear answer . There are so many untold stories bad to worst. There are few NRI who have abandoned their parents back home due to property disputes within the family . Few have forced their parents to do odd works even at foreign land to earn more money for survival. Those who are not able to do much have always carry the guilt of not taking proper care of their elderly parents. Sunset years of most of the NRI’s elderly parents are not that much ‘’Sunny’’ in reality.  In many instances elderly parents stand neglected despite the family have lot of Dollars .