Job vs. Life

I wonder if the media is missing the boat on the tragic suicide of Jacintha Saldhana, the nurse who transferred the prank call by two Australia DJ's claiming to be Queen Elizabeth and Prince Charles to Kate Middleton's private nurse.

This is a foreign born woman who, according to the Washington Post, commuted 140 miles to work and often worked double shifts so that she could spend more time with her family.

And England is a country that continues to slash its budget despite the fact that austerity has resulted in less economic growth rather than more.  It is a country whose royal family holds unimaginable wealth while its working class struggles.  And this royal family continues to thrive due to the idolatry of its citizens.

I wonder if an Indian woman working at a job for a government that has as its priorities budget slashing may be feeling a bit paranoid about her job security.  And of course, at the crux of her insecurities in the days of the Duchess's hospitalization would be her service to the Queen.

The two idiot DJ's who carried out the prank did no more or less than mock the royal family.  Most of us, here in the 21st century, enjoy mocking anyone who carries on as though they are royalty, including royalty.  In their defense, the call was not rude or offensive, and they were probably as surprised as anyone to be getting information on Middleton's condition from her private nurse.  Even the Royal Family appears to have taken the gag in stride, which they surely have had to learn to do over the years.

What we do have, though, is a woman who worked very hard and took her job very seriously.  The fear of condemnation for her mistake, the fear of losing her job, and the humiliation all that entails, may have been what put this good woman over the edge, to suicide.

In 2012, I'm afraid too many workers can identify with those fears.