Malaysia Airlines: Remembering the Flight MH17 Victims

Victims Shuba Jaya, 38; Paul Goes; Kaela, 1.
(credit: NY Times)

In the wake of a tragedy like Malaysia Airlines flight MH17, the public’s reaction wavers between points of grief and denial, depression and anger, and endless other frustrating couplets on the grieving spectrum. It was pretty horrific to read the names of the inspiring individuals who were lost on that flight: a beloved senator, many progressive diplomats, various HIV researchers — the list goes on.

It’s necessary to embrace the enormity of our grief. But after we look it in the face, we have to find the courage to fix our gaze on a more positive horizon. That means trying to understand and celebrate the lives of those lost; it means making sure a man or woman’s life story isn’t defined by the untimeliness of his or her death, but by the originality of his or her life.

The New York Times has done just that in their recent feature. Here are just a few of those remembered in the article:

Nick Norris
(credit: NY Times)

Shuba Jaya, 38; Paul Goes; Kaela, 1 (Malaysia)
Shubashini Jeyaratnam, a Malaysian actress who goes by her stage name Shuba Jaya, and her husband, Mr. Goes, a Dutch businessman, were returning home to Kuala Lumpur from the Netherlands, where they had introduced their daughter Kaela to Mr. Goes’ parents. Ms. Shuba celebrated her birthday two days before the flight.

Nick Norris, 68; Mo, 12; Evie, 10; Otis Maslin, 8 (Australia)
Nick Norris was aboard the flight with his grandchildren, three Australian siblings — Mo, Evie and Otis Maslin, reports in the Australian news media said. The children’s parents, Rin Norris and Anthony Maslin, had stayed behind to extend their vacation in Europe while the children had to return to school, the reports said. Ms. Norris’s sister Natalia Gemmell told the Australian news site PerthNow that the children were “beautiful, beautiful kids; just gentle, clever, beautiful kids.

Glenn Raymond Thomas
(credit: NY Times)

“…We have to find the courage to fix our gaze on a more positive horizon. That means making sure a man or woman’s life story isn’t defined by the untimeliness of their death, but the originality of their life.”

Glenn Raymond Thomas, 49 (Britain)

Mr. Thomas, a media officer for the World Health Organization, was traveling to an AIDS conference in Australia. Christopher Black, a colleague at W.H.O., remembered him as a tireless advocate with the “biggest smile.” “The silence at the loss of his laughter is profound,” he said.