According to history, folklore, proverbs and the legends of the Narts the Circassians have been known since ancient times, who had the very good treatment and the great respect given by them to the elderly people. This behavior of the Circassian society has been preserved to this day, even though the Circassians are scattered all over the world and only about twenty percent of the Circassians live in their historical homeland in the Caucasus.
I will give two examples of this good attitude in the daily life of the Circassians of today. I was in the main places where the Circassian societies live such as the Middle East, Europe, Russia and in the Circassian homeland, and the first strong example I saw in all these Circassian societies that I did not see or hear about one elderly Circassian who was transferred to the old age home. There may be isolated cases, but it is very clear that the Circassian societies do not transfer their elders to the old age homes and so there are no old age homes built by the Circassians either in the diaspora or in the homeland.
The second example is that I did not see any elderly Circassian living alone at home. One family member and relatives are always by his side, day and night. Even adults who do not have family or relatives are not left alone. There will always be someone from the neighbors or the village who will stay with him all the time. And in general and especially in the Circassian homeland, the mere mention of the term old age home will be interpreted as an insult to human dignity.
The good attitude towards the elderly in Circassian society cannot be described as a tradition but as a way of life that has been rooted in society for hundreds and even thousands of years with a deep insight that the elderly should not be left alone and the relatives should always be near him all the time.
Comments
Post a Comment