Present octogenarians represent a heroic generation. No Maltese government has ever tried to show any tangible recognition for their service to the country. Their pensions hardly pay for their existence, let alone their living.
Octogenarians gave valuable service to the country. They contributed a working life of at least 50 years. Theirs was a labour force that influenced economic growth. They have been longest in paying direct and indirect taxes. The large families of two other successive generations produced ambitious youngsters and intelligent leaders.
Moral interventions reinforce the foundations of their young families when threatened by modern vices. Octogenarians advise in times of troubled behaviour. They strive to inculcate upright upbringing and good citizenship. Their leadership, not that of governments, is true mentorship.
Unfortunately direct involvement generates suffering, mental anguish and emotional disturbance in sleepless nights.
Octogenarians are the truly old and should not be refused entry intogovernment rest homes. Theyneed no political protégés andrecommendations. They were a resilient generation. They combated the poverty of the 1930s, withstood wartime contagious diseases, Nazi vandalism, colonial unemployment and post-war political insecurity.
Their generation survived on tight-fisted savings hidden under tiles. Thus they contributed to the physical strength and financial progress of the country.
Their successes established indelible qualities of stoic resistance and Spartan courage. These inherited characteristics imprinted in their progeny are of national pride.
Surviving octogenarians are still an asset to the country, the guardians of their own happiness and of life satisfaction. Directly or not they influence their progeny, instilling verbal discipline and offering guidance.
Able-bodied octogenarians are survivors, symbols of active ageing. Those who succumb to the whims of destiny deserve immediate attention, yet governments have let them down. Governments, in their short-sightedness, failed to invest their financial contributions but squandered them on other ‘priorities’.