In a matter of just a few hours, three elderly persons in Costa Rica were crudely abandoned in the capital city of San Jose on December 18th. A report by Lady Rojas of online news daily CRHoy.com indicates that an elderly and disoriented gentleman arrived at the Caribbean bus terminal with nothing more than a handwritten missive bearing the following sinister message:

 

“We can’t stand him anymore, we don’t want him, somebody needs to see what to do with this guy.”

 

At this time, all that is known about this older gentleman, who is 80 years old, is that he was put on a bus that departed from the city of Guapiles, in the Caribbean province of Limon. Security personnel at the bus terminal immediately called the Red Cross as well as officials from the National Council on the Elderly (Spanish acronym: CONAPAM). This gentleman arrived with fever and a varicella infection, and thus he was rushed to the Geriatric Hospital in San Jose; social workers have already secured a place at public assisted living facility.

 

This is certainly an infuriating story to report during the holiday season, and it gets worse: CONAPAM president Zulema Villalta was able to reach a man reported to be the son of the abandoned gentleman; this contact was made thanks to a telephone number scribbled on a paper found in a wallet that the victim was carrying. It turned out to be a terrible call; Ms. Villalta was yelled at and rudely insulted, and the alleged son disowned his father over the telephone.

 

As the story was reported in various news outlets, comments on social media reflected indignation from residents of Costa Rica, who were further outraged when reports came to light about two other copycat abandonments at the entrance of the Presidential Office in Zapote. This happened three hours after the initial abandonment at the Caribbean bus terminal, and Ms. Villalta rushed to the scene. She found two elderly people who explained they had been crudely dropped off by relatives; one of the abandoned is a woman who asked to be transferred to a place with no steps to climb because she can hardly walk anymore.

 

Ms. Villalta also found signs of neglect in the two cases at the Presidential Office. After placing them in a shelter, she told the press that she has already contacted law enforcement to investigate and call the attention of prosecutors. In Costa Rica, the elderly are called Ciudadanos de Oro (golden citizens), and they enjoy certain protections; however, stories such as the ones above are unfortunately increasing.

 

As previously reported by The Costa Rica Star; there seems to be greater support for the prevention of animal abuse than for the prevention of elder abuse in our country. Thankfully, the CONAPAM works with a number of organizations dedicated to the welfare of our golden citizens. To find out more about CONAPAM’s work and how you can support protection for the elderly in Costa Rica, please visit this link.