AL AIN // Aisha Al Nuaimi is in her mid-80s and lives in Al Ain with her daughter, Salma.
Little more than a year ago, she moved to her daughter’s house because her son was finding it difficult to take care of her.
Her son and daughter-in-law are pursuing their careers and did not want to leave their mother alone with the maid and servants. Salma stepped forward.
But Aisha misses life at her former home.
“I am happy at my daughter’s place and enjoying life with her family. But I miss my son a lot,” she says.
Aisha is fondly referred to as Yaddu by her children and grandchildren. She has four daughters and two sons but only her third child, Salma, is not working and has the time to take care of her.
Meera, Aisha’s granddaughter, says: “We know no-one can take her son’s place, which she regards as her actual home. However, all of us need to deal with the situation as it is.
“Overall, she is a happy person and does not say much about her pain. But we know there are lots of things that she misses.”
Meera says her family would not consider sending her grandmother into care. That is not the Emirati way, she says.
“My mum and her siblings will never accept the idea of sending their mother to any elderly home, even to socialise,” she says.
“It is still a taboo thing and something that is still not acceptable in Emirati society.
“It’s a good thing that there are such places, which provide opportunities to mingle with people of their age group, but even then we, as family, have the prime responsibility,” says Meera.
akhaishgi@thenational.ae
