Bastille's Story: From the Frontlines to Midlife - Is 50 Harder Than War?

Filipino writer Marga Ortigas brought her new book, WTF?! Woman Turning Fifty, to the 2026 Hong Kong International Literary Festival (HKILF), where she engaged readers in a dialogue about growth, aging, and life. A former war correspondent, Marga, shared her feelings and experiences over the years on the battlefield in an interview with Bastille Post. In her eyes, many of our life's trivial annoyances are, in fact, enviable privileges to those trapped in the crossfire of war.

Marga Ortigas, Photo by Bastille Post

Amidst Disasters, Living is a Blessing

As a former reporter for CNN and Al Jazeera, Marga has covered numerous natural disasters and war zones, where the situation constantly shifts, and no one can predict what comes next. A school standing today can be reduced to rubble overnight by shelling. In the face of such relentless calamities, simply being alive becomes the greatest blessing. "That kind of environment makes you realize how insignificant we are," she reflected. "We're like tiny grains of sand on a shore, easily swept away by the waves." In that light, she added, all those worries and anxieties about gains and losses suddenly seem so trivial.

Marga reported the Zamboanga crisis in the Philippines in 2013. Photo source: Marga Ortigas's personal website

Marga reported the devastation caused by Typhoon Bopha in the Philippines in 2012. Photo source: Marga Ortigas's personal website

Marga loved words and stories from a young age. With her mother working as a literature teacher, their home was always filled with books of different genres and themes. Surrounded by stories, Marga grew up with a yearning: to build a fantasy world with words. As a child, she would capture story ideas on a tape recorder or in a notebook, and "grab" family members to be her captive audience. With a passion for storytelling, she became a journalist as she grew up.

Marga interviewed a massacre survivor on Corregidor Island in 2009. Photo source: Marga Ortigas's personal website

Marga reported the hit of Typhoon Parma in the Philippines in 2009. Photo source: Marga Ortigas's personal website

Her years reporting from war zones taught her a lasting lesson: face life with detachment and peace, for no problem is truly insurmountable. That wisdom now infuses her new book, WTF?! Woman Turning Fifty—a collection of essays drawn from daily observations and reflections, offering readers an invitation to embrace life's uncertainties with grace.

Group Therapy: Building Resonance in Words

50 is a turning point in life, marking the beginning of the second half, no longer youth. In WTF?! Woman Turning Fifty, she reflected on the questions that come with middle age: what it means to age, to mature, to lose, etc., turning the book into a collection of essays she hopes will resonate far beyond any single demographic.

Marga Ortigas's new book, "WTF?! Woman Turning Fifty", Photo source: Amara Communications

"It's not a feminist book," she said. "It's for people who are questioning their positions in the world and where they want to be next, or indeed how they got to where they are." The book's topics are everyday experiences we all encounter at different stages: from social media to LinkedIn, from the way we use language to the age crisis, etc. By weaving in diverse social factors, Marga creates a portrait of life that is both personal and universal.

Marga hopes to use her own life experiences, packaged in words, as a key to healing for readers, letting them know that we are just like each other, and that we would never be alone in facing life's challenges. Such an emotional resonance built through words is what Marga calls "group therapy"—a way for everyone to see themselves reflected in the words and draw motivation from the stories of others.

Moreover, Marga mentioned she hoped we could focus more on our own personal experiences and feelings, both in daily life and in story writing, rather than indulging in virtual content on our phones or social media.

Marga Ortigas, Photo source: Marga Ortigas's personal website

"Be present and be you." In Marga's view, writing down the daily shining moments of our own life is indeed creating a good story with narrative value. The first step on any creative journey, she believes, is simple but essential: write from the heart, and stay true to ourselves.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Thursday declined to intervene after a judge ordered an $800-a-day fine for a former Fox News reporter if she refuses to reveal her confidential source for stories about a Chinese American scientist who was investigated by the FBI but never charged.

The high court rebuffed an emergency appeal from Catherine Herridge. The veteran investigative reporter has been held in civil contempt as part of a lawsuit that scientist Yanping Chen filed against the government over the leak.

Chief Justice John Roberts previously put a short-term hold on the fine as the court considered the appeal. On Thursday, the court said it was denying Herridge's bid to stay the fine. Justice Brett Kavanaugh supported granting the application for a stay, the court said.

Herridge published a series for Fox News in 2017 that examined Chen’s ties to the Chinese military and raised questions about whether the scientist was using a professional school she founded in Virginia to help the Chinese government get information about American servicemembers.

Fox News Media expressed disappointment in the decision.

“Protecting the confidentiality of journalistic sourcing and the integrity of the newsgathering process is fundamental to a free and functioning democracy. While we are deeply disappointed by the Court’s decision, our commitment to defending these critical First Amendment principles remains unwavering and we will be reviewing our options to further fight this injustice," the network said in a statement.

Herridge’s attorneys did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment.

The stories relied on what Chen’s lawyers say were items leaked from the probe into statements she made on immigration forms related to work on a Chinese astronaut program.

Those include snippets of an FBI document summarizing an interview conducted during the investigation, personal photographs, and information taken from her immigration and naturalization forms and from an internal FBI PowerPoint presentation, according to court documents.

The six-year probe never resulted in charges against Chen, and in 2018 she sued the FBI and the Justice Department.

Her suit said that both her personal and professional life were upended amid a wave of negative media attention after the leak, leading to hate mail and death threats. She accused the government of violating the Privacy Act, which prohibits the public disclosure of private information about individuals without their consent.

A judge ordered Herridge to answer questions about her source or sources in a deposition with Chen’s lawyers. U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper in Washington ruled that Chen’s need to know for the sake of her lawsuit overcame Herridge’s right to shield her source.

Herridge was interviewed under oath but declined to answer questions about her sources. The judge eventually held her in contempt, and the fine was set to begin after the order was upheld by an appeals court panel.

The case has been closely watched by media advocates, who say forcing journalists to betray a promise of confidentiality could make sources think twice before providing information to reporters that could expose government wrongdoing.

“Journalists facing contempt should not have to muster large payments to the court while they seek to vindicate First Amendment rights," said Bruce Brown, president of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press. "And forcing them to betray source confidences always has a harmful impact on the free flow of information to the public.”

Chen’s lawyers say they have exhausted other ways to identify the leaker, and the identity is key to making their case that the Privacy Act was violated. Attorney Andrew Phillips said they hope Thursday's decision will help bring the matter to a close.

“Dr. Chen, like any other American citizen, is entitled to discover the identity of the federal official(s) who abused their access to an American’s private information and leaked it to cause her harm. That type of corrupt, unlawful conduct is exactly what the Privacy Act was designed to address," he said.

Herridge reported for Fox News and CBS News before recently becoming an independent journalist.

The Supreme Court is seen Tuesday, June 30, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)