Good Afternoon – Dear Friends, and Organizers of this wonderful poetry festival. It’s an honor for me to be a part of “Poetic Heart: Connecting Humanity”.
The topic of emphasis chosen for this event is:
Mother. I have attempted to showcase – "Mother” in two contrasting poems of mine. The caption of my first poem is
Me – The Mother. The caption of my second poem is –
Mama.
Honorable members of society – you may, or, may not be surprised to learn that Abuse of Older Adults by their own children is a common occurrence in our civilized society!
In 2002, the work of the World Health Organization brought international attention to “Senior Abuse”. Professional groups internationally have specified elder abuse as a social problem.
In 2006, the International Network for Prevention of Elder Abuse, designated June 15 as World Elder Abuse Awareness Day.
“Senior Abuse”, “Abuse of Older Adults”, “Abuse in Later Life”, are definitions adopted by the World Health Organization, and within these definitions an increasing number of cases of parental abuse are being reported, worldwide.
While physical and emotional abuse is connected with hitting, punching, blaming parents – financial abuse may occur through financial exploitation, deception, mis-representation and coercion.
Generally, parents do not want to come out in the open to complain. Obviously, if it threatens their safety – they will not report to anyone.
Giving one-more-chance to an errant child – this is the natural instinct of any parent! Besides, there’s no end of pain washing dirty linen in public.
My poem:
Me – The Mother delves into the present lives of mothers who are weighed down by the constant demands and unreasonable behavior of their grown-up-children.
The formless chaos allotted to these mothers gives me ability to investigate my personal environment.
As a responsible citizen,
Me – The Mother directs my special views to society. This gives me renewed courage to “evolve”… evolve as a mother.
Thank you for your time.
Geeta Chhabra (poet)
Participant at Poetic Heart Event-Dubai
