Don’t abandon your parents: Rev Reuben

Children must not abandon their parents, no matter the hardship.

That is the message from Methodist Church in Fiji and Rotuma assistant general secretary, Reverend Anil Reuben during the 147th Girmit Commemoration at the Fiji Museum in Suva on Friday.

Reverend Reuben, who represented the Methodist Church alongside leaders from the Hindu, Islamic, Bahai, and Sikh faiths at the event, said the presence of elderly Girmit descendants at the commemoration was a reminder of what families owe their elders.

“The children must look after their parents – no matter what hardship they go through,” he said.

Reverend Reuben said he noticed many of the senior citizens at Friday’s event were brought by their grandchildren, not their children and questioned why.

“Maybe some children are ashamed to see their parents, how they look now,” he said.

He pointed to modernisation as a driving force behind the breakdown of traditional family values, saying younger generations were increasingly drawn to a lifestyle that pulled them away from their culture and faith.

“Now because of what is happening – media, advance – the world is advanced. They want to live a free life. They want to pull out from their culture,” he said.

Reverend Reuben called on families, faith communities, and the government to collectively care for the elderly.

“Don’t abandon them,” he said.