By Anush Garg:
A number of times, high profile families such as The British Royal family or other VIPs around the world can have a very deep impact on average professions such as those of a chauffeur, a nurse or a doctor working as a support staff. Princess Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge, who is three months pregnant, was recently hospitalised due to her irregular health. She was being taken care of, at the King Edward VII Hospital in London by a team of doctors.
Soon after her discharge, one fine morning, her nurse Jacintha Saldanha was found dead, hanging by her scarf in a room of the hospital. The local police authority reported that she left three suicide notes, blaming two DJs in Australia. It was the DJs who, while playing a radio program in Australia organized a prank where they telephoned King Edward VII Hospital in London, mimicking the voices of Queen Elizabeth and Prince Charles. The call was transferred to a senior nurse by Jacintha, where the details were shared with the ‘royalty’. Jacintha was merely doing her duty as an obeying citizen.
Was it a breach of security or mockery of the privacy of the Royal family? Before, I put forth my opinions on the aforementioned question; I would like to illustrate my stand with other similar examples.
In an instance, a doctor who was Jewish treated the mother of Adolf Hitler and mistakenly gave her an overdose of a certain medicine owing to which she died. It is rumoured that soon after the incident, Hitler generated a very harsh and ruthless hate against the Jewish community. It was then that the gas chambers were setup by the dictator for the mass destruction of the community.
Jacintha who was nursing the Princess might have felt that she was the victim of a cruel hoax. She was an extremely caring nurse due to her years of experience and was on her compassionate duty of caring for the patients. Princess Kate was one of the patients she was attending. Her fellow nurses had given a positive feedback to the police that she was wholly dedicated professional.
For the very same Royal family, another story comes to my mind — the controversy surrounding the death of Princess Diana. Due to her affair with Dodi Fayad it was rumoured that the royal family was somehow linked to her death that occurred in a car crash and was never explained entirely. Princess Diana was one of the most loved personalities and was noted for her grace and her kind and caring nature.
I believe, offering services to any high profile family or individual is an honour. But, when a mistake is committed, it is not pardonable and a high price is sometimes in the offing when it involves a VIP. In my opinion this episode was a breach of security and it certainly made a mockery of the security system in place. However, the price was sadly paid by an innocent nurse. It would therefore not be wrong to conclude that being a commoner is after all nothing but a curse.