Even in Finland, people should be seen as people even after they can no longer handle everything alone, writes journalist Maija Aalto in her column.
in Tokyo it is said that nowadays there are also restaurants where people are happy that they can't order anything. That is, because all waiters have memory problems.
The pop-up restaurants and cafes of waiters with dementia were originally created to raise awareness of dementia in a rapidly aging country.
Then it was realized that the activity matters for the sake of the memory sufferers themselves. All people have a need to feel that they belong somewhere and that they are doing meaningful things.
In Finland it is called participation. That is, in speeches.
Outside of them, a person who is partially able to function is the object of the activity. Always in the wrong place, problem.
Memory disease scares me especially for hereditary reasons, but I am now thinking about everything else that erodes the ability to function. So I don't mean old age, steely centenarians doing their own snow work are not relevant here.
In the celebratory speeches for all those who partially manage, they talk about rehabilitation, prevention, keeping life meaningful.
In real Finland, the first thing to save is what would prevent a bigger damage or keep you going in life.
Let's postpone that hip surgery until the ability to walk has time to decay once and for all while waiting. We invent smart-sounding but vague new word pairs such as “community living”. These are then good excuses to save from the elderly.
There really are communities. So is humanity, good care and nurturing. Finland is full of senior discos and dances for the gray panthers, little reasons to live and be happy.
We just take them delicately first.
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Different age groups should not live in their own compartments.
In the massive savings program of Western Uusimaa for this year, for example, such a king idea was presented that the daily activities of the elderly can be completely transferred online.
Politicians canceled the proposal at the last minute. I was left thinking about the price tag: 1.6 million. Less than a prom for the area's operating expenses.
Cheap compared to the price of a nursing home per day. Cheap compared to the suffering that occurs when a person can no longer cope with support at home, but there is nothing else to offer but dumping or being stored for days in the emergency department.
I don't think that people with dementia would no longer be obliged to work. Human worth is not determined by a person's usefulness.
But there would be something to learn from the Japanese. Different age groups and differently abled people shouldn't live like this, each in their own compartments.
The author is the editorial secretary of HS's urban editorial.
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