Page 16 - Pakistan Link - November 24, 2023

P16 - PAKISTAN LINK - NOVEMBER 24, 2023 COMMENTARY
n By Dr Syed Amir that social isolation is “associated with
Bethesda, MD Loneliness, the Modern Curse a reduction in lifespan similar to that
caused by smoking 15 cigarettes a day.”
n one of his early poems, Ek The article cites findings that isolation
Arzoo, (Bang-e-Dara), Allama the problem of loneliness among grow- significantly increases the risk of both
IIqbal had sought and longed for ing elderly population. heart disease and stroke. Besides its ill-
a state of absolute solitude where he In China, the problem is especially effect on physical health, social isola-
could be by himself, acute because of the nearly four-de- tion also has adverse effect on memory,
surrounded by raw cade-old one-child policy rigorously cognitive and analytical faculties. It
natural beauty, flow- enforced by the Chinese government may predispose us to dementia and Al-
ing streams, and cool in the past, but recently rescinded. Tra- zheimer’s disease.
mountains. It rep- ditionally, for millennia elderly parents How can the problem of loneliness
resented to him the and grandparents were taken care of by be addressed? It is not feasible today
highest state of con- their children. The Government policy to return to the joint family system
tentment. However, in modern times, led to a drastic reduction in the family or old-fashioned societal structures
involuntary loneliness has become size, creating nuclear families and up- of yore. Nevertheless, some solutions
a curse, afflicting millions of people ending the traditional family structure. have been tried with varying levels of
around the world. Of course, Allama In many cases, nobody is left to care for success. In Britain, housing has been
Iqbal was dreaming of a different kind the aging parents. made intergenerational in which re-
of solitude, peaceful and blissful, that While China has received much The Independent tired people and young working cou-
would take him away from the trials attention, the issue is not exclusive to ples are housed together, providing a
and tribulations of everyday life. that country. If anything, the situation percent of the population, are often or They are so expensive that few can af- milieu conducive to frequent interac-
Stories of sad, lonely people bereft is worse in Japan where the elderly always feel lonely.” The problem has be- ford them. However, while providing tions. Although the concept is unfamil-
of family and friends abound in the population is growing at the world’s come so severe that the government of adequate care and comfort, they don’t iar in Pakistan, in some countries new
media these days. In an issue of the fastest rate. According to statistics cited Prime Minister Teresa May earlier this necessarily provide an escape from a housing developments are designed for
Washington Post, writer Emily Rau- by Anna Fifield in a Washington Post year appointed a dedicated minister to feeling of isolation and loneliness. In retired people only that offer a variety
hala narrated the case of an 85-year- article, a quarter of Japan’s population address the menace of loneliness. some respects, their situation is no bet- of opportunities for social interactions
old Chinese man, Han Zicheng, who, is over 45, which is likely to climb to 40 In South Asia, in rural areas, the ter than those living at home. Accord- among people with common interests
living by himself, was extremely lone- percent by the year 2050. In some cas- large family structures have remained ing to a report in the New York Times, and problems.
some. In desperation, he took out an es, the death of elderly persons living mostly intact. Yet, the situation is dif- one-third of Americans older than 65 The question of why social interac-
advertisement in a national newspaper alone in Japanese cities currently goes ferent in large metropolises, where it and half of those older than 85 live tions are so vital for our happiness and
seeking a family willing to adopt him. unnoticed for months. Eventually, the is not uncommon for old people to alone, in many cases having no one to wellbeing has intrigued social anthro-
He described himself as a “lonely old putrid smell of the rotting body alerts be living by themselves. The children connect to or talk to, leading to anxiety, pologists for a long time. It is likely
man in his eighties, strong-bodied, neighbors that something is amiss. move away to the Gulf countries, Eu- depression and even suicide. that the need for these interactions is
who can shop, cook and take care of As a sad byproduct, businesses spe- rope or North America, in pursuit Social isolation is not only emotion- rooted in prehistoric times, when our
myself.” He had children, but they were cializing in picking up decaying bodies of better career opportunities. They ally hard, it has serious health implica- early human ancestors lived in caves,
all away in far off places and ostensibly and cleaning up the detritus are flourish- visit aging parents only infrequently. tions as well. In a study cited by the roamed the plains in search of food
not too interested in him. His greatest ing. It is estimated that about 30,000 Jap- The problems become urgent when New York Times and conducted by the and fuel and needed help from other
fear was dying in bed, alone, forlorn anese die alone, often unmourned and they no longer are able to take care of University of California, that followed humans for survival, protection from
and forsaken, his body ultimately to be undiscovered for months. In common themselves and need medical or nurs- more than 1,600 people who were on predatory creatures and violent natural
discovered and identified through his with the Chinese, the root of the prob- ing care. High-quality nursing homes the average 71-years-old, found that forces. We still need help from our fel-
decaying bones. Zicheng’s worst fears, lems resides in the breakdown of age-old in Pakistan are a rarity, as it is taboo more than 23 percent who were lonely low beings, even though our adversar-
however, were not realized, as he died family traditions and societal structures. to transfer close relations to a nursing died within six years, as compared to ies may be different.
peacefully in a hospital bed, attended Europeans are not immune to so- home, even though, in most cases, they only 14 percent who were not lonely. (Dr Syed Amir is a former As-
by the medical personnel. cial isolation problems. In Britain, ac- can provide much better medical and The Time Magazine quoted the former sistant Professor, Harvard Medi-
The story of the lonely Chinese man cording to a 2017 report published by nursing care than is possible at home. US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, cal School, and a health science
was so surreal that it went viral, spark- Jo Cox Commission, “More than nine In America, the problem is not the characterizing loneliness as a “grow- administrator, US National Insti-
ing world-wide interest. It spotlighted million people in the country, about 14 lack of nursing homes, it is the cost. ing health epidemic” and emphasizing tutes of Health)

n By Dr Khalid Siddiqui moved twenty yards to the present lo-
Ohio Three Literary Figures of England Buried cation next to the monument of Daniel

hile most of the literary outside the Westminster Abbey Defoe. (See the photograph.)
Although the City of London
figures buried in London Corporation claims to maintain the
Ware in Westminster Abbey,
three are buried outside the abbey.
These three are John
Milton, William Blake,
and Daniel Defoe.

John Milton
He was one of the
best-educated Eng-
lish poets. He knew many languages
and had traveled throughout Europe. grave was struck by lightning which ground, the whole place is in ruins
At age 44 he became totally blind. broke the headstone. A children’s news-
Some of his best masterpieces like paper, Christian World, appealed for
Paradise Lost and Paradise Regained donations of sixpence by the children
were written around that time. In for the creation of a monument to De-
1674, he died of kidney failure at foe. £200.00 were raised. It was decided
the age of 66. He was buried in the 1665, a common burial ground was and William Blake (died 1827) were to erect a marble obelisk at the site.
Church of St Giles-without-Cripple- needed to bury the victims of plague. buried there. Between 1665 and 1854 At the time of laying down the
gate, north of the city of London. Bunhill Fields, located just north of approximately 123,000 burials were es- foundations in 1869, several skel-
There is no actual tomb to visit London, was a public garden. timated to have taken place there. It was etons were unearthed. There was a
but just a plaque over the site where The City of London decided to use closed as a burial ground in 1860. As mad rush by the onlookers to grab the
he was buried. In 1790, during the a part of this garden for this purpose. Burnhill Fields was not affiliated with bones as souvenirs. The police had
renovation of the church his body During that time another issue was the any church, it was poorly maintained. to be called in to restore order. The
was exhumed. Portions of his bones, burial of the nonconformists, i.e., the During WWII, anti-aircraft guns were unveiling ceremony of the obelisk on
hair and teeth were removed and ex- Protestant Christians who didn’t be- deployed at this site. It, therefore, was September 16, 1870, was attended by
amined. Some were taken away by long to the Church of England. They bombed heavily by the German planes three of Defoe’s great-granddaugh-
the examiners as souvenirs. couldn’t be buried in the cemeter- causing severe damage to the tombs. ters. (See the photographs.)
ies consecrated by either the Catho- Daniel Defoe, the author of Rob- William Blake was a poet and due to negligence. I saw weeds and
Daniel Defoe & William Blake lic church or the Church of England. inson Crusoe, died in 1731 and was painter. He died in August 1827. In the shrubs all over, even growing between
In the 17th century, the dead in Bunhill Fields, thus, became a logical buried there. Later his wife and their 1960s, Bunhill Fields was landscaped. the graves, and most of the headstones
England were either buried in the con- choice of interment of the Protestant daughter were also interred there. As Unfortunately, his tomb was located were broken or missing. Some of the
secrated grounds of the Church of Eng- nonconformists. Many literary figures Defoe died penniless, a simple head- in the area that needed to be cleared tombs were completely covered by
land or in their ancestral properties. In including Daniel Defoe (died 1731) stone marked his grave. In 1857/58, his of gravestones. So, his headstone was green moss.
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