The border conditions between Mexico and the United States have led to American seniors being abandoned in nursing homes in Mexican territory, even in the middle of the Christmas season.
These join the Mexicans, who in the cold and extensive hallways of a nursing home in Ciudad Juárez, listen to the echoes of children’s laughter and family reunions that now appear a distant memory.
This phenomenon is explained due to the high cost of housing the elderly in the United States, compared to establishments in Mexico, where the majority are from the city of El Paso, in Texas, in the south of the United States.
They resent isolation and abandonment due to parties
At this time of year, when family is usually the center of celebrations, many of these older adults face a reality of isolation and abandonment, added to the distance from their native country.
Meanwhile, the loneliness that surrounds them is accentuated with the arrival of the December holidays such as Christmas or New Year, where feelings of sadness, nostalgia and resignation are intertwined.
“It’s difficult to be there because my son only comes every 15 days with my grandson. I don’t see my niece and granddaughter,” confessed Guadalupe Gómez, who resides in the Senecú nursing home, in Ciudad Juárez, in the northern state of Chihuahua.
“I would like them to take me away so I’m not here, I have my house in Juárez,” he added.
Abandoned for various reasons
Stories like Gómez’s are repeated and the common denominator is family disconnection, aggravated by economic difficulties and the accelerated pace of life that characterizes border urban areas.
With different reasons behind it, several organizations have identified that this phenomenon is due to situations ranging from economic precariousness to the lack of family infrastructure to care for them.
However, they also emphasize the importance of fostering a culture of respect and care for the elderly.
“Many are abandoned by their families, others have no family and the neighbors themselves bring them. They visit them but not very often, but they do have that visit from the brother, from the son who brought them, those who have,” says Julia Ávila Rodríguez, missionary from María Dolorosa.
For these reasons, older adults in Ciudad Juárez sent a clear message: time and presence are the most valuable gifts they can receive at this time of year.
“My most beautiful gift would be for my sister to come see me or one of my relatives, since I have several. I have four brothers and four sisters,” commented Fabiola Álvarez.
Meanwhile, nursing home staff and volunteers continue to do their best to bring some joy to the hearts of those who, despite abandonment, still hold out hope for a reunion.
Óscar Aguayo, head of nurses at the asylum, expressed that resilience is an elementary factor for their adaptation in the midst of these factors, while he estimated an average of one month for these people to accept the change.
“They visit them, yes, but little. They do suffer from loneliness,” said Julia Ávila, a missionary at the asylum.
The help of the volunteers agrees that the emotional response of the elderly when receiving visitors is immediate and moving, which gives them a ray of hope, especially at this time.
“We have been blessed, (relatives) come and, above all, more so on these dates, they bring them their ‘presentito (gift)’ and they are happy, they are all very happy,” Aguayo added.
With information from EFE.
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