Separating work & emotions

2008-08-07T03:10:00Z

Cynthia Low remembers Ganga and says journalists aren't as cynical as people might think.

THE death of former conjoined Nepalese twin Ganga Shrestha revived many journalistic memories for ST reporters.

So many of us in the newsroom could remember their arrival in Singapore in 2001, then later their nearly five long days in surgery. We waited then waited some more, anxious to hear that that the separation was finally over – and successful.

Clusters of reporters from every Singapore newsroom had stood, sat and walked the corridors of the Singapore General Hospital, waiting for updates, speaking now and then with the twins anxious parents and keeping the news of the little girls’ progress flowing to our readers and viewers.

First, we reported the good news, then the sad a year later. That's when we heard that Ganga, who had seemed the chirpiest and more outgoing of the two had been left with intellectual disabilities.

It seemed a blow.

But along with most Singaporeans many of whom had opened their hearts and their wallets to give the twins the chance of a better life it remained a good feeling for reporters that the operation itself had been a success.

Not long after in July 2003, we were reporting another separation of conjoined twins here in Singapore. This time two adults, Iranian twins Ladan and Laleh Bijani who after 29 years joined to each other had decided to accept the risks of separation surgery.
Their story did not have a happy ending.

Each day in the ST newsroom, reporters write about the good things and the not-so-good things in life. But last week when the news of Ganga’s death came from her mother Sandhya in a sobbing telephone call with ST Health Correspondent Salma Khalik, the newsroom paused.

Was it really seven years ago we sat, waited and wished for good news outside the operating theatre? Some of us didn't want to believe it.

As cynical as people sometimes expect journalists to be, it's stories like these that illustrate how hard it can be to to separate work from personal feelings.

Ganga & Jamuna who were separated seven years ago.
ST Photo: Alan Lim

The Straits Times Blogs - Cynthia Low

Separating work & emotions