When someone we love takes a turn for the worse, life abroad can suddenly become very stressful – and bring on a host of complex emotions and decisions. This week Expat Nest is delighted to welcome intercultural trainer, consultant and author Elizabeth Vennekens-Kelly as she discusses some strategies for dealing with this common expat challenge. Find more info on Elizabeth’s work at www.crossculture-training.be.
Career opportunities take individuals and their families away from their home country. Their focus is on the new job and adjusting to life in another country. In most cases parents have encouraged their child to take advantage of the unique opportunity to work and live in a foreign land. Expats quickly learn that life in another country is exciting but also more complicated. They have a new life to build and challenges to handle, so less thought is given to their relatives back home. It isn’t that they don’t care; it is simply a matter of human nature that if someone or something is absent, it is overlooked.
Today most pensioners are leading active lives so we don’t have to worry about them. However, a relative’s health status can change suddenly and dramatically. When we live on the other side of the world we feel helpless. Caring for your loved ones from a distance is a multi-faceted issue and there isn’t one right answer. Expats dealing with a frail or ill loved one from a distance often comment that they are managing, although each describes unexpected challenges, frustrations and a desire to have known more in advance. The families are juggling multiple issues including guilt, resentment by other family members, time differences, added costs, cultural traditions, legal issues, and misunderstandings.
Here are five suggestions to consider:
- Use technologyto stay in touch with your loved ones, your family and those involved with the care. Technology gives you the opportunity to have an active role in the ongoing activities and decision process.
- Create an emergency plan including a special fund. Put resources in place, such as childcare, so that you can react quickly. The emergency fund will help to reduce the financial burden of unexpected family expenses.
- Whenever possible have open, honest conversationswith your siblings and ageing loved ones so that everyone has the same expectations; this will minimize misunderstandings.
- Look for creative waysto stay in touch and involved with the family. This can help lessen your feelings of guilt for being so far away.
- Honour cultural differencesincluding how people want to be cared for and how you can best honour them when they pass away.
Being prepared, having information, making a plan and opening dialogue with relatives will mean less scrambling when your loved ones need assistance. Being prepared for the ‘what if’ related to our ageing relatives can give us peace of mind.
Are you abroad and concerned about an elderly or ill relative at home? How do you and your family deal with this? We’d love to hear more tips! Feel free to share them in the comments section below. (http://www.expatnest.com/caring-ageing-loved-ones-distance/)
Caring for your ageing loved ones from a distance by Vivian Chiona
Career opportunities take individuals and their families away from their home country. Their focus is on the new job and adjusting to life in another country. In most cases parents have encouraged their child to take advantage of the unique opportunity to work and live in a foreign land. Expats quickly learn that life in another country is exciting but also more complicated. They have a new life to build and challenges to handle, so less thought is given to their relatives back home. It isn’t that they don’t care; it is simply a matter of human nature that if someone or something is absent, it is overlooked.
Today most pensioners are leading active lives so we don’t have to worry about them. However, a relative’s health status can change suddenly and dramatically. When we live on the other side of the world we feel helpless. Caring for your loved ones from a distance is a multi-faceted issue and there isn’t one right answer. Expats dealing with a frail or ill loved one from a distance often comment that they are managing, although each describes unexpected challenges, frustrations and a desire to have known more in advance. The families are juggling multiple issues including guilt, resentment by other family members, time differences, added costs, cultural traditions, legal issues, and misunderstandings.
Here are five suggestions to consider:
Being prepared, having information, making a plan and opening dialogue with relatives will mean less scrambling when your loved ones need assistance. Being prepared for the ‘what if’ related to our ageing relatives can give us peace of mind.
Are you abroad and concerned about an elderly or ill relative at home? How do you and your family deal with this? We’d love to hear more tips! Feel free to share them in the comments section below. (http://www.expatnest.com/caring-ageing-loved-ones-distance/)
GUINEA – Unrest, Foreign nationals advised to keep low profile.
Arrest of Muslim cleric incites unrest in Conakry The arrest of a Muslim cleric involved in the burial of a suspected Ebola victim sparked widespread unrest in Guinea’s capital, Conakry, on 9 February. Protesters took to the streets of an undisclosed area of the capital and blockaded roads with burning tyres and other debris. Several vehicles, including a bus owned by a local hotel, was attacked and vandalised in the unrest. At least 12 people were wounded in clashes which ensued between protesters and riot police deployed to disperse the unrest. The aforementioned incident highlights how small-scale protests can violently escalate with little to no warning in Guinea. Indeed, issues linked to the ongoing Ebola outbreak in the country, which has placed restrictions on burial practices, is particularly emotive and has often prompted outbreaks of violent unrest. Foreign nationals have often been targeted in such unrest amid local beliefs that the Ebola virus is a foreign disease which was brought to the country by Western nationals. Consequently, foreign nationals in Guinea are advised to maintain a low profile and should defer travel to areas affected by civil unrest, particularly if such agitation is linked to the Ebola outbreak.
SUDAN (Country risk rating: High); 28 January; Foreign nationals detained in South Kordufan
According to reports released on 28 January, six Bulgarian nationals were detained in Sudan‘s South Kordufan state by rebels from the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement in Sudan (SPLM-North) on 26 January. The incident occurred near the state capital of Kadugli. The Bulgarian nationals, who were operating flight services for the United Nations (UN)’s World Food Programme (WFP), were reportedly taken by SPLM-North rebels after their helicopter was forced to make an emergency landing. The victims are unharmed. Spokespersons from the SPLM-North have stated that the victims have not been kidnapped; rather, they will be released once it has been established that they indeed work for the UN and are not affiliated with or working for the Sudanese government. Discussions to secure their release are currently underway. The incident underscores the high-risk operating environment facing both local and foreign nationals operating in Sudan. The threat of kidnapping is elevated in South Kordufan, where the country’s armed forces are engaged in an ongoing conflict with rebels aligned with the SPLM-North, which maintains a strong operational presence in the state. Although this incident has not been identified as a kidnapping, the SPLM-North demonstrated its willingness to use kidnapping as a tactic when the group took 29 Chinese nationals hostage in January 2012; the victims were working on road construction in the state. Due to the ongoing conflict in the state, further such incidents are expected to persist. Due to the heightened threats of conflict, kidnapping and banditry, clients are advised against all travel to a number of regions in Sudan, including South Kordufan. Persons currently in or intending to travel to these regions are advised to ensure that all movements are coordinated in the presence of a security escort.
SOUTHERN AFRICA; 27 January; (Update) Flooding affects thousands in various countries
According to reports released on 27 January, as many as 200 people have been killed, and tens of thousands displaced, as a result of ongoing flooding in the Southern African countries of Malawi, Zimbabwe, Madagascar and Mozambique. In Malawi, flooding has affected an estimated 638,000 people; the country’s southern Nsanje, Chikwawa, Phalombe and Zomba districts are among the worst affected. In Mozambique, adverse weather conditions have left as many as 117 people dead and affected 144,330 others in the Zambezia, Nampula, Niassa and Cabo Delgado provinces. In Zimbabwe, the Manicaland, Mashonaland Central, Mashonaland East, Mashonaland West and Midlands provinces have reported widespread flooding. A combination of seasonal rains and tropical storm systems has brought heavy flooding to Madagascar, where 68 people have been killed and nearly 120,000 displaced across the island-nation. The Southern African rainy season typically extends from October to April, with most countries in the region experiencing up to 75 percent of their annual rainfall during this period. Poor infrastructure and limited prevention mechanisms routinely result in affected areas experiencing significant and widespread flood damage. Consequently, further heavy rainfall conducive to flooding should be expected in the coming weeks. Persons currently in the affected region are advised to avoid low-lying, flood-prone areas, such as rivers and canals, and should monitor local media for possible flood warnings and emergency broadcasts. Clients should anticipate disruptions to road travel and the provision of public utilities in flood-affected areas.