Fiji is facing a quiet but growing crisis—the neglect and abandonment of its elderly population.
Minister for Women, Children and Social Protection, Sashi Kiran, has called for urgent national attention, urging both institutions and the media to address what she describes as a deeply concerning societal issue.
“There is a huge problem of abuse of elderly people throughout the country now and we often don’t hear about it because most of them will not talk about the abuse they face from their children.”
“It’s something we don’t see highlighted and I’m asking the media to take a look at the abuse of the elderly, dig into it and what you find will a thread that we haven’t been paying attention to.”
Kiran was speaking at the UN Human Rights workshop for journalists on Human Rights, Gender and Social Cohesion in Fiji held at the Pearl Resort in Pacific Harbour.
The Minister said recent cases have been of a few elderly people being abandoned by family that have migrated.
“Alot of older persons are left behind by people migrating. And I can give you dozens of names of people who are looking after them. Alot of Indian people are left behind and people looking after them are iTaukei.”
“There is a case of a mentally challenged man who was being looked after by an iTaukei family, yet he had his own family in Fiji. There is an indo Fijian woman being looked after by an iTaukei family for 9 years now. There is so much happening around us as a society such as these that needs to be highlighted.”
Kiran acknowledged families and people who have continued to care and love for the marginalized in society.
“These are people who care, and there are multiple cases of neighbors reaching out in pure humanity.”
