MH17: Tragedy Again

Today I (and many others) woke up to terrible news. A Malaysian Airlines flight (MH17) went down in Ukraine. News reports claim that it was likely to have been shot down by surface-to-air missiles but it is currently unknown who fired them.

This is the second time in 6 months a Malaysian Airlines flight has been involved in an aviation catastrophe, the first being the MH370 incident (which still remains a mystery). I cannot help but feel sad for those who were affected by this tragic event. I read a post on Facebook about someone's sister being on the ill-fated MH17. I cannot imagine what he is going through and I really do feel bad for him even though I do not know him personally. To lose a loved one like this is just heartbreaking.

I have been scouring the Internet for the latest news on MH17 even though I have probably read all that there is about it so far. To be honest, I still cannot wrap my head around this tragedy. To shoot down a commercial airliner in this day and age? It is unthinkable. Yes, the aircraft was flying through troubled airspace but it was flying at 33000 feet in the air. Serious weaponry would be needed to take down an aircraft at that altitude. Previous incidents only involved low-flying aircraft and helicopters. That was why the airspace MH17 was flying through was declared safe by the International Civil Aviation Organisation. In fact, there are reports claiming that there were other commercial airliners in nearby areas when MH17 was allegedly shot down.

While nothing has been confirmed yet, fingers are being pointed and people are placing blame on others. This is perfectly understandable considering the sudden nature of the event. A knee-jerk reaction. Many are pointing their finger at pro-Russian militants due to several deleted posts on social media and an intercepted message. If it was truly a missile attack which caused this incident (many news websites seem to believe it and report it as fact), then it was an act of ill intent whether or not MH17 was the target.

Human acts of terrorism isn't new. One only needs to look as far as the Gaza strip. The fact that people humans are voluntarily choosing to commit these acts of terrorism is terrifying. I constantly question whether they have a conscience. They willingly choose to commit an act which results in the death of many innocent people. How can somebody sleep peacefully at night knowing that they are responsible for the death of a person? Is there a justification to them that dehumanises their victims? I may never know.

It is a truly tragic day. My condolences go out to all those who are affected by this incident. No one should have to go through this. No one.