Kamna Kumar 
More young people do not have the respect for their elders that they used to.
Margaret Bennion says the values that were once very important to both iTaukei and Indo-Fijian communities are disappearing quickly.
She says she has seen many times when older people are ignored or treated badly on buses, in supermarkets and in hospitals.
“I would like my grandparents to be treated the same way they were treated. Today I don’t have it in our country.”
Bennion, who works closely with elderly residents in settlements such as Muanikoso and Kalabu, Nasinu, says simple gestures of respect that once defined community living are now rare.
She claims the change in behavior is due to lost family values and growing foreign influences.
The Ministry of Women, Children, and Social Protection is addressing elderly negligence by hosting Elderly Recreational Days in Suva and Labasa, with plans to establish it as a monthly event.
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