Drama Reenactment Reveals Elder Neglect and Caregiver Abuse in Jamaican Household

A dramatic presentation billed as a reenactment of actual events has put elder abuse and caregiver neglect in sharp focus. Organisers said names were changed to protect the identities of those involved.

The story opens with a young woman who, after a promising first date, moves quickly toward marriage plans. She brings a woman named Susette to meet her elderly father, whom others call Mask D. The daughter thanks Susette for agreeing to move in and look after her father, stressing that he needs proper care.

What follows depicts a household where the elderly man's basic needs go largely unmet. Breakfast is reduced to thin macaroni and plain rice. Though he is frail and exhausted, he is pressed to get up, put on water for his bed, and manage tasks beyond his strength. When he asks Susette for help with personal care, including changing his clothes, she responds with reluctance and irritation.

The reenactment also points to poor standards in the home. Complaints surface about meals, including inadequate saltfish, and tension builds around Susette's conduct. At one stage, dialogue suggests pressure for the young woman to sign control of the father's affairs over to the caregiver, alongside references to infection and coercive bargaining.

The turning point comes when the daughter visits and finds her father ravenous, eating as though he has gone without food all day. As she helps him, she discovers bed sores on his body and questions how such injuries could develop while a live-in caregiver remains in the house.

The father pleads with his daughter not to leave, asking her to stay and help him reach the living room. The segment closes on his anguish as he cries out in despair, repeating that this is what his life has come to and calling for his mother.

Taken together, the portrayal is framed as a warning about how elder abuse can unfold behind closed doors — through neglect, emotional pressure, and possible financial exploitation — even when a family believes help is already in place.