<特集・足立明教授追悼> スリランカ・シンハラ社会のヴァディヒティ・ニヴァーサ (高齢者の家)における死と看取りに関する一考察

Abstract

This article is about dying, death and care-giving in an old people's home in Sri Lanka. While the majority of older Sri Lankans still live with their adult children, roughly 200 old people's homes provide social safety nets for those who lack familial support. Ageing and especially dying in an old people's home without emotional or physical support of one's kith and kin seemed to be not only exceptional but also a tragic experience for both residents and staff. Through a case study of an old people's home on the south-western coast of Sri Lanka, this study explores how the staff strove to define their relation with dying residents and how they made sense of their care-giving activity in an ethical way. While caring for dying residents, staff sometimes expressed their sense of 'kalakirima, ' or despair with life. Their narratives showed that they were deeply involved in the suffering of residents, not through empathy ("If I were you"), but because they themselves were subject to similar kinds of suffering: suffering due to dying, and suffering due to the contingency of life. Staff tried to give good care to residents because they would wish to be treated in the same way if they were to spend their final years in such an institution. In examining such narratives, this article seeks to find common ground between their (staff members') ethics and ours, reflecting on several earlier works on care ethics in Japan.