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Parsiana coming of age is in step with the community that has also come of age, but with a disproportionate number of seniors. While congratulations are in order for Parsiana, it is a thumbs’ down for the community becoming a statistic. It is believed that "a society is measured by how it treats its elderly citizens,” implying that an ethical, moral society provides its elderly the dignity they deserve. In the natural course we human beings stand on the shoulders of preceding generations, ascending the ladder of progress one rung at a time. The elderly have much to give to the young in terms of wisdom, knowledge and life experiences. The elderly deserve to be treated with due respect.

Earlier, in joint families the elderly received comfort and care while in turn enriching the young with their knowledge and wisdom. In the modern era, with the disappearance of joint families, the elderly, and in some cases not well endowed, become casualties. They suffer from isolation and at times destitution. While in the West there are safety nets built into the system to provide for the needy elderly, in India, they are left to fend for themselves. Others who are well off manage their affairs but isolation and loneliness may still haunt them.

 Photo: Sarosh Daruwalla

We have two classes of seniors deserving our attention — those that are well endowed and those that are not.

Being a charitable community our instinct is to immediately attract donors and fund senior citizens’ homes. This certainly is one solution, but there may also be other hybrid entrepreneurial solutions. An enterprising businessman may find investors to house seniors with the more endowed residents paying more, the less endowed less. Income may be enhanced by offering the service in India to seniors from abroad as well.

With the World Zarathushti Chamber of Commerce (WZCC) we can assist independent persons to take on the challenge. The WZCC may model one or two projects to demonstrate the feasibility and pave the way for other entrepreneurs.

In India, and particularly in Bombay, we hear of agiaries lying neglected and unused. These may be repurposed by creative architects, preserving the Atash Gah (kebla) and providing residences, thus serving both seniors and ensuring the presence of devotees.

In North America, to build and operate senior homes an entrepreneur acquires the rights to a plot of vacant land and then proceeds to solicit customers to reserve units promising a totally refundable entrance fee which in reality is an advance used to build the senior home. Once the entrepreneur has sufficient subscriptions, the property is built, the subscribers move in, paying a monthly fee to cover regular expenses. Notice the entrepreneur has not invested a penny. When a resident moves out or dies, the resident’s heirs receive the entrance fee, provided — and here is the catch — the entrepreneur is able to find a replacement. In effect, the replacement pays for the resident moving out. 

If each one of us were to contribute a small affordable amount, collectively we can move mountains. There are imperatives in our scriptures to give to the anjuman, but that aside, our mindsets have to change, and particularly our young have to be taught to give to the community; after all, to do anything requires money. Once we master the ethic of collective giving for our community’s needs, there will be no looking back. We must stop looking at our charitable trusts as our sole support.

Senior homes are an essential part of the modern way of life, much like childcare centers. They offer human contact and companionship, freedom from regular household chores like cleaning and cooking, health and wellness. There are specialists providing necessary care. For the weaker section of our community it could mean saving them from an uncertain future.

With our declining demographics, walking into the sunset appears to be a fatalist approach. "If it is to be, it will be,” seems to be the approach. Instead, it should be "If it is to be, it is up to me!”

This is not impossible. For example, consider the statistics for Iran. In the 1850s Count de Gobineau, the French ambassador to Iran wrote: "Only 7,000 of them (Zoroastrians) are left and only a miracle may save them from extinction. They teach a lesson that glory is not everlasting, because these are the descendants of the people who once ruled the world.” This was quoted in the Federation of Zoroastrians Associations of North America (FEZANA) publication Legacy of Zarathushtra edited by Roshan Rivetna. In an article by Mobed Mehraban Firouzgary (FEZANA Journal of October/Fall 2013) he has mentioned that the population in Iran in 1986, as per census data, was 32,589, a substantial increase in numbers.

Rohinton Rivetna spearheaded the formation of the Zoroastrian Association of Chicago in 1976, was prime architect of the Federation of Zoroastrian Associations of North America in 2000 and initiated the founding of the World Zarathushti Chamber of Commerce, serving as founder president of both these organizations.