The UN Commission for Social Development 49th Session: Older Persons’ Poverty and Human Rights by Nuri Han

The UN Commission for Social Development 49th session explored the current needs to protect older persons from poverty. On February 10, a Chinese research expert spoke on poverty eradication in rural areas. According to the expert, the Chinese government pays a monthly minimum living allowance, 80% of medical payments and retirement insurance to poor people in rural areas. Almost half of rural seniors over 65 years were in poverty in the 1990s but the rate recently decreased by 35% thanks to helpful programs. At a NGO Side Event on February 12, several international NGO leaders addressed a Convention for Older Persons at the UN. Also, the Counsellor, for the Permanent Mission of Malaysia to the UN, shared important advice on how to attract support for the convention from Member States.

Still, it seems there is more work to do for older persons’ human rights at the UN. In other committee meetings, issues of older persons are barely addressed. To successfully initiate a Convention for Older Persons and address older persons’ rights at the UN, more international civic leaders must work cooperatively to win many Member States’ support.

Awareness of Elder Abuse, a Growing but Hidden in Asian Communities

Elder abuse can happen by family members
Elder Abuse occurs when someone 60 or older is mistreated. Elder abuse includes emotional, mental and physical abuse, financial exploitation, neglect, and abandonment. Abusers of older people are both women and men and may be family members, friends, or ‘trusted people.’ Family elder abuse affects as many as 2 million seniors in the United States, as well as up to 5 million seniors who are subjected to financial exploitation, according to the National Center on Elder Abuse (NCEA), a program of the U.S. Administration on Aging.

To investigate the elder abuse situation of Asian communities in New York City, GAA Research Associate Nuri Han met with Peter Cheng, Executive Director of Indochina Sino-American Community Center (ISACC). Located in Manhattan’s Chinatown, ISACC has assisted Chinese, Vietnamese, Cambodian, Laotian, Burmese, Philipino, and Malaysian immigrants and refugees integrate into mainstream society by providing programs, services and activities since 1990.

Only one elder abuse program
Two years ago, Cheng recognized elder abuse when one elder client asked the organization’s staff to help him fill out an application for government housing. Cheng knew that the elderly man had purchased a co-op apartment. Cheng, curious why he needed government housing, asked. The elderly man said that he worked hard and purchased the co-op apartment in his son’s name. However, his son did not want to live with him so he was evicted.
Cheng surveyed other clients and found that this man’s situation was not unique. In response, Cheng launched the Chinese Americans Restoring Elders (CARE) Project, the first and only elder abuse prevention program in New York City’s Chinese community. The CARE Project raises awareness of elder abuse and assists older people in need by providing linguistically and culturally appropriate education materials. Unfortunately, due to the lack of funding, only one case worker can be solely devoted to this project.

Growing but hidden
Reflecting the rapid growth of Chinese elders in New York City, the population of Chinese seniors 60 or older is 93,000 persons and will more than double in 10 years. This will be the fastest growth rate among all ethnic groups in New York, according to the City Council. However, nobody knows how many elder abuse cases there are in New York’s Asian community. Even in the majority community, the picture of senior abuse is vague. According to NCEA, the most recent studies show that only one out of six such cases is reported to authorities. For Asian American families, the strong influence of traditional culture brings additional challenges to prevention and protection. Generally Asians believe that respecting older persons is important in Asian culture and thinks that the tradition is well maintained. The concept of elder abuse is easily ignored or unknown. Many Asian American elderly victims tend to hide the abuse or even protect the family member abuser because of shame and fear. A New York State ongoing study finds elder abuse is underreported, only 1 out of 24 cases. According to Cheng, many Asian older people hold an immigration status sponsored by their adult children. They do not speak much English and have few other relatives or friends they can consult. This makes them more vulnerable than seniors in the majority community.

How to solve?
Cheng believes that educating the community to be aware of elder abuse issue is significant to prevent elder abuse and protect older people. Cheng suggested three ways:
Community outreach to educate and raise awareness about elder abuse
Psychological counseling
Legal enforcement and political assistance
Advocacy to government

Elder Justice Act
A little known part of the health care reform law enacted in 2010 is the Elder Justice Act and the Patient Safety and Abuse Prevention Act. For the first time, the law will provide funds to coordinate national research and other efforts to combat elder abuse and exploitation by improving data collection and dissemination and distributing information about best practices to local authorities.
For more information, visit these websites: National Center on Elder Abuse, and the Elder Justice Coalition.

Whole Life for Human Rights: Interview with Choonwhe Cho

Choonwhe Cho is an activist who has a strong passion for human rights. Choonwhe was born and raised in South Korea. She and her family immigrated to the US seeking freedom from political oppression. She has been a never-give-up activist in Korea during the chaotic periods, 1930s to 1970s, and in the US since she immigrated. Choonwhe is in her 80s. She lives in Flushing where many Korean immigrants live.

Awareness of nation’s independence and women

When Choonwhe was born, Japan colonized Korea. She received her education in Japanese. She observed Koreans’ difficulties and resentment. From childhood, she advocated for the nation’s independence and rights of colonial people. In addition, Choonwhe observed the social stigma on women. She was aware of the need of women’s advanced education. She supported women’s rights to receive the equal treatment.

Protest against military dictators

In the 1970s when Choonwhe was in her 40s, South Korea was ruled by a military dictator government. Human rights abuses were widespread. She protested against the dictator government with a passion for democratization. She supported many college student activists against the government. She sent photography to Amnesty International to demonstrate the severe human rights abuses in Korea. The retaliating government oppressed Choonwhe’s family. Her family could not sustain their lives in Korea, so they decided to migrate. The United States seemed the only country that would accept them, so her family immigrated to the US.

Presenting issues to the world

After immigrating, Choonwhe worked for human rights in Asian countries. She traveled to 40 states to speak about the world’s human rights issues. In addition, she asked political and academic figures to write letters to the US government and New York Times to prohibit the Korean military government’s torture of Korean students. She received President Jimmy Carter’s promise to support human rights in Korea against the military government. Later, as a full-time volunteer activist, Choonwhe worked as the representative of Church Women United in its United Nations Office. She addressed the issue of Korean Women drafted for military sexual slavery by Japan during the World War II to the UN International Court of Justice. She demanded compensation for the women and urged the Japanese government to sentence the criminals who trafficked of women.

Understanding Korean seniors’ lives

Choonwhe is now interested in the human rights of the elderly. She believes physical and mental health are significant for the healthy lives of older people. Two years ago, when Korean seniors’ suicide issue became well known, Choonwhe went to Korea to understand Korean seniors’ lives. From several interviews, she found dysfunctional relationship between young children and elderly parents. From the visits to nursing homes in rural areas, she was surprised that seniors were locked in a room and received poor services. There were few family visits. Seniors were vulnerable to loneliness and hopelessness. She thought that social service organizations should treat senior clients like a human being, not just focus on meeting government regulations.

Suggestions

Choonwhe suggests that senior activity classes provided by service agencies are helpful for seniors. Older persons can participate in dancing, writing essay, learning social issues, debriefing life, going on picnics, traveling, eating nutritious food, and receiving transportation assistance. She believes that these activities will improve health and socialization, and eventually increase the quality of life. To make the world better for older persons, she believes that older persons should advocate for themselves. She also believes that older people should share and educate the next generation of older people to protest against injustice. In addition, she was aware of and noticed homeless older people in her community. For the last three years, she and her church have served dinners to homeless seniors and provided a place to stay a night in church.

Choonwhe Cho’s has lived her whole life as an activist with endless passion. Can we be like her?

A day with Chiquita Smith

An Activist for Nursing Home Seniors

GAA interns Nuri Han and Scott Kelly had the pleasure of speaking with a GAA supporter, Chiquita Smith. This Brooklyn activist defends the rights of nursing home residents. Every month Chiquita makes personal visits to several of the 26 nursing homes in her borough. After talking with any residents she knows and getting a sense of the place, she calls the Board of Health or the nursing home director to make sure her concerns about residents’ care are heard. This inspiring work is made even more impressive by the fact that Chiquita is 87 and blind.

“It’s personal”

Over the years Chiquita became interested in elder rights through visits to her family members and friends in nursing homes. “It is personal,” she says about her decision to check up on possible abuses by these institutions that housed her friends and family. Of a more general concern is what she calls the “shifting of seniors”—the trend to move seniors from their apartment or house to an institution, such as a nursing home. She wonders whether older persons living in nursing homes feel comfortable in such unfamiliar surroundings and whether they face abuse or neglect in the institutions.

Chiquita makes it a point to visit a nursing home if one of her friends or relatives has recently moved there. She’s even visited nursing homes as distant as Washington, DC, or Philadelphia.

“Are these people being treated like human beings?”

Whenever Chiquita visits a nursing home, one major question guides her; “Are these people treated like human beings?” To assure that they are, she first engages the residents, asking whether they are properly dressed, not wearing mismatched or dirty clothes. She touches the residents’ hands and talks with them. They always smile at her. They all have stories to tell and they enjoy speaking with other people. She also asks if weekly schedules for the dining hall and for recreational activities are posted. Some nursing homes might only let their residents go outside on rare occasions, left instead sitting and idle inside—a lonely, monotonous existence. Some nursing homes even allow outside businesses, such as a “dollar store,” to come in to offer a selection of items for the residents to buy.

Chiquita checks possible institutional abuses by the nursing home. She said that some nursing home residents with larger pensions are taken advantage of by family and nursing home administrators. Recently, she has focused on how the nursing home may ignore residents’ right to vote in elections. She asks whether they had easy access to a ballot; almost none did. Chiquita believes no one is too old to vote. She contends that the nursing home must facilitate the voting process for its residents. She also tries to talk with the nurses and, if possible, the administrators to make sure they know someone is watching. If the situation is bad, she will call the Board of Health, or make another surprise visit to check up. At her local church she shares her observations with her senior group called “The Golden Circle.” It’s essential for her to share her findings with as many people, through as many channels, as possible.

“Day of Visitation”

Chiquita wants everyone to know that even a little gesture, like a card or phone call, makes a difference for the residents, who may rarely hear from family or friends. She proposes a “Day of Visitation” for those who are interested in these issues. Simply go visit the residents, talk with them, and touch their hands—you’ll be surprised by how appreciative the residents will be! She advises visitors to send cards to the residents after you visit!

On the institutional level, she hopes every nursing home will create a specific “Friends and Family Day” to encourage monthly visits. She suggests people contact their elected officials so he or she will understand the process and politics better. Too often these officials are unaware of the situation at nursing homes.

“Go and visit!”

If you’re interested in learning more about nursing homes, Chiquita suggests calling the Board of Health to get the official list of nursing homes. Then, go visit! Ask for literature on the place and about its policies. Ask questions about how it works, talk with the residents. What are they doing? Where are they? How do they look? It’s not so much a matter of asking the right questions; it’s about letting the administration know that someone is watching so they become more aware and alert to these issues. And, of course, it’s about providing companionship to those who are often neglected. Lastly, Chiquita suggests publicizing what people observe or learn, through Global Action on Aging, your religious institution or any other means you may have.

Inform yourself, engage yourself! Be active like Chiquita! She has been at it for years now and has no plan to stop!