As Condolences Pour in, Jacintha's Husband, Children Speak of Tragic Loss
Daijiworld Media Network
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London, Dec 9: The suspected suicide of nurse Jacintha Saldanha, who hailed from Mangalore, India, has left her husband and children devastated.
Jacintha, who worked at King Edward VII hospital, was found dead on December 7, two days after she transferred a hoax call from Australian radio presenters who were pretending to be the Queen and Prince Charles, which led to leaking of sensitive information about duchess Kate Middleton's health.
The Daily Mail reported that Ben Barboza from Shirva in Udupi, India said he was 'devastated with the tragic loss of my beloved wife Jacintha in tragic circumstances.’
In a poignant message to Daijiworld on the report of the tragic death of Archbishop Ambrose Madtha in Ivory Coast, Benedict Barboza said: "Struggling to come to terms with my Wife Jacintha's tragic loss, this is another shock. No more strength to bear this loss. Dear Bijja, no words to express my grief at your brother's tragic loss, with your continuous prayers you were my strength, now I offer your my prayers. May Almighty grant you and the entire Madtha family strength and courage to bear this sorrow - Benna."
Jacintha's 14-year-old daughter Lisha expressed her sorrow on Facebook with 'I miss you, I loveeee you.'
The news report in the Daily Mail also quoted some of Jacintha's friends who said that she had been popular, quiet and 'profoundly caring'. Though she was not reprimanded by the hospital, her friends revealed that she was feeling guilty and confused about it.
The family's Bristol home is being flocked by close friends who are trying to console Benedict and the children.
Earlier speaking to Daijiworld, Benedict's mother Carmine, amidst tears of sorrow said that they had no idea that such a tragedy would befall them. Though they called home often, the couple did not disclose anything about the royal prank call to their family back in Shirva.
"We came to know about it (suicide) only through media and news channels on TV. Our mother (Carmine Barboza, 82,) is inconsolable. It is hard to believe Jacintha could do it as she was not type who would take life like that," said Benedict's sister D'Souza to IANS.
"We didn't even know that Jacintha got unwittingly involved in the hoax call though we read something about it in newspapers last week that there was a prank call to the hospital from a radio station in Australia, whose jockeys tried to know about the princess' (Kate Middleton) health by imitating the voice of the queen (Elizabeth) and prince (Charles)," IANS quoted Jacintha's nephew, who did not want to be named.
"Benedict wants to bring Jacintha's body to India for burial at Shirva. We are waiting to know when he would be able to come so that all other family members could join us for prayers and last rites," a grieving Irene said.
Benedict Barboza's four sisters Irene, Janet, Severine and Mary reside at Shirva and Mangalore.
The Daily Mail quoted Carmine as stating that the body would not be handed over until Monday due to legal formalities.
Condolences and 'miss you' messages for Jacintha have been pouring in both at the hospital where she worked and at their Bristol home, and also back home in Shirva. Her colleagues have placed flowers near the hospital with a message that read:‘Dear Jacintha, Our thoughts are with you and your family. From all your fellow nurses, we bless your soul. RIP xxx’
Interestingly, Jacintha had in an online testimonial described herself as 'a very nervous person', the Daily Mail reported.
The Scotland Yard is said to be investigating her death.
Online memorial for Jacintha
(DHNS)
People from across the globe have posted messages on social networking sites expressing varied views on the controversial death of Jacintha Saldanha, a nurse of Dakshina Kannada-origin who was serving at King Edward VII Hospital in London.
In addition to Rest in Peace (RIP) messages, posts expressing sympathy to the bereaved family and those criticising the two RJs who made a prank call have flooded the social networking sites, mainly Facebook.
‘Prank call’ was made to King Edward VII Hospital where Duchesss Kate Middleton was undergoing treatment. Jacintha is said to have picked the call and transferred it to the ward. This act of hers had apparently landed her in trouble.
People from England, the USA, New Zealand and India are using Facebook pages, created to condole the death of Jacintha, as a platform to express their views about the incident.
Expressing grief over the death, Cheryl Scullion, a nurse from Cambridge, on a Facebook page dedicated to Jacintha says, “I can't help but feel outraged by all of this.
Being a nurse myself, I completely understand the stresses that we go through daily in order to give our patients great care.
I honestly think that as soon as the radio DJs got through and were talking to nursing staff, they should have been honest and stopped the prank because they were no longer pulling a prank on the royals but instead they were mocking innocent staff.”
On the other, Stephen Coleman from USA thinks, the DJs were not responsible for the death. As he puts it, “Until this unfortunate ending, nobody expressed anger at the prank... half the people who heard it laughed and the rest just carried on with their lives not giving it a second thought. I find it very hard to believe that she killed herself over a prank call.”
A furious Ashley Joseph from New South Wales questions, "Do media stunts should be at the expense of innocent? Please stop playing with others’ lives."
However, Zephyr Estee from Himachal Pradesh feels that the incident only reflects the lapse in the security given to the England’s Royal family. The Facebook post says, “Nurse had far too much information and exposed huge security holes for the Royals.
This was far more than just embarrassing the Royals. Murdering Jacintha Saldanha is both a message to those attempting to interfere with the Royals, as well as a cruel method to guard sensitive security and private information.”
An online memorial too has been created to pay tribute to Jacintha on http://www.memmento.com/Memorial-at-Memmento/3557/Jacintha-Saldanha/