THE deaths of individuals in these dangerous times have become so common that people seem no longer bothered, so long as these do not involve someone close. While an ordinary citizen cannot do much to stop the killings, their collective voices can have an impact on those tasked to keep our communities safe. If we keep silent, then we can be blamed as well for the escalating number of dead in our streets.
Death is inevitable. It makes the news when it is violent, suspicious or involves a prominent individual. But for the common tao who dies of disease, sickness or old age, it is the family, relatives and close friends that grieve. So, I grieve.
My aunt, Visayas Libre-Sevilla, 99 years old, died of old age the other day. A lawyer, she worked for her entire professional life in the Bureau of Internal Revenue in Manila and returned to Toledo City when she retired. She outlived all her siblings including my father who was much younger than she was. She was the last of the children of Angel Libre, Sr. and Hipolita Rafols-Libre to return to the Maker.
The generation of Tiya Saying or Mama Tit, as we fondly called her, experienced World War II, Liberation, the Marcos dictatorship and the return of democracy as a result of the 1986 People Power Revolution. Unlike my father, Angel Jr., who was cause-oriented, she was apolitical preferring to read novels than dabble on the issues of the day. She lived a full life, and now she must be having a grand family reunion with her parents and siblings.
It has been years since I last met her and at that time, she was alert and healthy. That she had a full-time helper that attended to her daily needs must have contributed to her longevity. She had a memory of an elephant until the very end. Please pray for her.
Do we ever think of growing old? Who will look after us when we become old and grey? Interestingly, I received a communication from a producer of TV documentary in New Zealand who sought help in getting a Filipino family to talk about multigenerational home living, that is, a care model for older people living under one roof with the rest of the family. While most elderly New Zealanders opt to live in retirement villages, the producer told me that there is a changing trend towards multigenerational home living which is a “positive solution for things like loneliness later in life.”
As the Philippines progresses, we have seen the growth of retirement villages as well as the operation of homes for the aged. Should we let our elderly live in these institutions? Or should we continue with multigenerational home living which people from more advanced countries are rediscovering? While she may not have experienced multigenerational home living, Mama Tit was near to it, with relatives around her as she aged. Lucky for her.