What that was expected to last till late evening never happened and it was all over by 9pm.
We didn’t have many gifts to give anyway (100) but the turn-out of volunteers was surprisingly strong two days before Christmas – when people are busy doing last-minute shopping. It shows Singaporeans still have the heart when there is a call for help.
Twelve of us split into two teams with one heading to the Chinatown area which made sense actually as our elderly service staff will be congregating there to work as well.
The other team combed Marina Square and Raffles City and we are astonished that there are quite a lot of elderly working quietly as cleaners or retail staff in our modern gleaming shopping malls.
We saw the bulk of them working as cashiers (3) at Raffles City Cold Storage with one or two working as security personnel. They are nearing sixty years old and we couldn’t speak to most of them as they are busy handling customers. One retail auntie looks like she is in her 70s and look frail physically but strong in spirit.
However, we are wondering why so many of our elderly still needs to work even though its retail jobs that do not require too much physical strength unlike cleaners or food court aunties which still need the person to move around the work place.
It broke my heart whenever I lunch at Whitesand foodcourt whereby a hunched-up old woman ambled laboriously from one table to another table bringing plates and cups to the collection point. In fact, I saw some customers brought their own used plates and utensils for her to the point when they saw how frail and physically down she is.
At our Christmas gift distribution yesterday, its a pity we didn’t have much time to sit down with the elderly worker to find out more about the person’s family condition as it will open our eyes to the real reasons why they still have to work at such a old age.
I remembered my mum worked till 60 years old and we have to beg her to stay at home due to her mental condition. To her, working is part of her life style and she finds staying at home boring and useless. There is no money when you stay at home – she used to tell me.
Many of our elderly has failed to chalk up enough savings on their own due to their meagre earnings before to last them through their old age and working at low-end menial work is the only way they could fend for themselves.
One wonders what happen to them when their fragile bodies give way and they can’t work anymore – does the state then take over?
Gilbert Goh
* Gilbert is the founder of transitioning.org – a support site for the unemployed Singaporeans
Editor's Note: The only way we can stop this is to pressure the government into giving Singaporeans a proper pension system to retire. That does not mean that we have to tax everyone heavier. A real progressive tax system will be sufficient by taxing the rich much more than the poor.
What do you think?