Despite wanting to be a newspaper journalist, I find myself turning more and more to broadcast and online news sources. Upon hearing an interesting story and, as always, wanting to know more, I begin scouring the internet at the first available opportunity.
Therefore, on seeing the story of the Indian girl with two faces on the TV news a couple of weeks ago, I began my search of the internet the moment I turned on my computer on the following morning.
Using good ol’ trusty Google, I typed in the obvious – “girl with two faces” – and was presented with a list of direct links to peruse. My search wasn’t extensive; I was able to find the information I wanted and view the amazing pictures on a number of blogs and newspaper websites within a matter of minutes, with a few simple clicks of the mouse.
Each blog and online newspaper story was very much the same - short and simple, giving very brief details of the girl’s appearance, her family and home, the celebrations that have taken place in her village following her birth (with villagers believing her to be the reincarnation of the Hindu goddess, Ganesha), and what her doctors have said. Keeping the text to a minimum, the websites let the pictures tell the story.
A blog on the Environmental Graffiti website was a particularly touching piece, which slightly altered my thoughts on the baby’s ’situation’ – for want of a better word.
The blogger said: “If the baby had been born over here, she’d be considered a freak. However, what I think is incredible is that her difference has been celebrated and she will grow up feeling special rather than a freak of nature.”
I’m glad I read this particular page first, as it opened my mind to a different way of thinking about the baby’s current ’situation’ and her life in years to come. Although I, like many, feel extremely sorry for the poor girl and cannot imagine what her life will be like, I agree that it is a lovely thing that she is adored by her fellow villagers, rather than being ridiculed – something which hadn’t really crossed my mind until I read the Environmental Graffiti blog.
I then went on to read a story on the Guardian website. Offering a more serious angle, the Guardian’s brief story consists mainly of comments from the girl’s parents and doctors, and concentrates on the medical aspects of the story. The Guardian reports that doctors say separating the girl’s two joined skulls is out of the question, because chances of survival are not very bright. This, to me, is another good reason why it is important the girl is not made to feel like a “freak.”
The Telegraph’s online story focused much more on the similarly shocking story of Lakshmi Tatma – another little Indian girl who was born joined at the pelvis to her ”headless, undeveloped twin” and who was successfully separated from her twin during a long operation. Having previously seen Lakshmi’s story on TV, this particular article did not offer me any information that I didn’t already know and almost took the attention away from the story at hand – that of the baby with two faces.
Next I looked at the Daily Mail website and found that they too had compared the baby’s story with that of Lakshmi. However, this site was the only one to offer a name for the baby’s rare condition – “Craniofacial Duplication,” where a single head has two faces. A number of readers’ comments have also left on the Mail’s website.
The final site I visited, an America site called USA Today – On Deadline, was the only site to name the baby – Lali. Readers have again been leaving their comments on this site.
And it is these comments, along with the Environmental Graffiti blog, that have stuck with me during the last couple of weeks. How do I feel about this little girl and her future? Who do I agree with, that first blogger or the readers? Maybe both? Are the readers’ comments insensitive? Should readers really have the opportunity to share their sometimes narrow-minded and often ruthless opinions with the world? I just can’t make my mind up…. I feel another blog coming on….
India is a land of extreme superstitions. People go to any ridiculous extent to prove their point. Though some of the beliefs have scientific base, things like this are horrible. How can the baby possibily survive long, besides calling her God.
This is nothing new in Indian villages and nothing will change either..