ON July 17 two years ago, someone shot down Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 with a Russian-made BUK surface-to-air missile as it was flying over a conflict zone in eastern Ukraine, killing all 298 on board.
No one has owned up to the shooting. Ukrainian government troops and pro-Russian separatists have blamed each other.
Someone fired the missile and brought the plane down.
And that person or party has to live with the fact that 298 people — someone’s father, mother, son or daughter — were killed.
Since the plane was downed in war-torn Ukraine, it was not easy for the search-and-rescue team to access the area.
Permission had to be sought from the fighting forces to enter the area. Bodies, debris and plane parts were taken to Amsterdam, the Netherlands, for investigation.
The forensic teams in Amsterdam had a difficult time identifying and determining the nationalities of the bodies.
The families of the passengers and crew had to wait up to four weeks before the victims’ remains were brought home.
Coming to terms with death and loss is never easy.
Some people grieve for months and years, while others never get over it.
The ceremonial rites of death, either cremation or burial, help loved ones obtain closure.
On the second anniversary of the tragedy, the families want justice for their loved ones.
Who shot down MH17? Why was it shot down?
Without knowing the answers to these questions, there will be no closure to the tragedy.
The persons or party responsible must be brought to book and made to pay for the pain and loss they caused to the next of kin of the victims.
However, that seems difficult now, looking at the way the investigations have dragged on for more than two years.
No one is going to own up and no one is going to make the guilty party own up.
As difficult and painful as it is, the next of kin have to let go and carry on with their lives, and pray that God will give them peace and justice for their loss.
SAMUEL YESUIAH , Seremban, Negri Sembilan