Last week, for a story on Covid orphans, I tried to convince bereaved families to talk to me on the phone. A father who lost his 35-yr-old daughter & now is in charge of her 4-yr-old son. Young adults who lost parents. Mom who left her teen alone at home as she was in ICU. 1/n

I tried to be polite, not force anyone & nudge them gently. But unlike a face to face interaction that allows for nuance, expressions of condolence & non-verbal cues, a text message is crude, an unwelcome intrusion into quiet grief. 2/n

But I have never felt more ashamed of my stupid article deadline, my need for a poignant illustrative case study, the journalistic need to verify age & dates with a girl whose dad & mom died 8 days ago. 3/n

Child rights activists & authorities were frustrating, not sharing names & numbers, but I thank them for their diligent protection of vulnerable children from reporters like me. More power to your heart & priorities. 4/n

I did the story. Most interviews didn't work out, thankfully. The ones that did lasted no more than 5 mins, coz I couldn't ask a dazed, trusting kid what she "felt". In 16 yrs of painful interviews & field trips, this one, done alone from my home, on the phone, has been the worst

The story https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/south-asia/as-parents-succumb-to-covid-19-in-india-children-are-in-distress