Wednesday, September 02, 2009

Invisible Immigrants, Old and Left With ‘Nobody to Talk To’

Many naturalized citizens bring their elderly parents to this country, but these people are often incredibly lonely and isolated. These Indian men meet in a mall and at least have someone to talk to. - - Donna Poisl

By PATRICIA LEIGH BROWN

FREMONT, Calif. — They gather five days a week at a mall called the Hub, sitting on concrete planters and sipping thermoses of chai. These elderly immigrants from India are members of an all-male group called The 100 Years Living Club. They talk about crime in nearby Oakland, the cheapest flights to Delhi and how to deal with recalcitrant daughters-in-law.

Together, they fend off the well of loneliness and isolation that so often accompany the move to this country late in life from distant places, some culturally light years away.

“If I don’t come here, I have sealed lips, nobody to talk to,” said Devendra Singh, a 79-year-old widower.
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