MH17: A pain shared by the nation

She spoke calmly to the swarm of reporters that surrounded her, almost forming a deep human fence enclosure around her of which she could not escape.

She answered the questions one by one.

“My name is Datin Siti Dina.”

“My daughter’s name is Sherliza Zaini and she is 45 years old.”

“She lives in Melbourne with her husband and children.”

“She, her husband and three teenage children were coming back from their holiday in Europe.”

“I found out from watching the news on TV.”

Satisfied with her answers, the swarm of reporters opened up the ‘fence’ and allowed her to continue towards the family holding area that Malaysia Airlines had set up at KLIA.

As the cameras were still flashing, she walked towards the registration table. She was out of earshot and we couldn’t hear what the MAS official said to her.

But as soon as he was done speaking, Datin Siti Dina burst into tears and fell to the floor. Several counsellors reached to help her up and console her.

MH17: A pain shared by the nation

Family members in tears as they arrive at the holding area at KLIA.

Emotions ran high and Datin Siti Dina was not the only one who was facing this tough ordeal. Family members and friends of other passengers of MH17 were there too.

Another two elderly ladies whose sister was on the flight was sitting at a cafe in the airport quietly sobbing when reporters and photographers swarmed around them snapping away.

At first, they entertained the questions, but I guess it became too overwhelming and they stopped talking, tears streaming down their faces. But the picture-taking did not stop.

That’s when one of the ladies’ sons lost it and slammed his hand on the table right in front of a photographer’s lens as he was taking pictures of his mother’s face.

The message was received well and clear. The swarm of reporters and photographers all stopped and walked away, giving them their personal space.

MH17: A pain shared by the nation

A distraught family member being attended to by volunteers.

On another occasion, a group of people who seemed as if they were siblings or cousins walked out of the family holding area, most probably after being briefed by officials.

Obviously upset, a few of them were in tears and holding on to each other as they walked. Reporters and photographers swarmed them as they came out.

One of them in the group suddenly lost his temper and started screaming profanities at the swarm and shouting for them to go away and to leave them alone.

The feelings and emotions of the families and friends at KLIA surrounding the tragedy of MH17 have been intense and overwhelming. Their actions are understandable.

As journalists and observers with no direct relations to anyone on the plane, we cannot even begin to imagine what it must feel like to be in their shoes.

We do our best to tell the stories so the world will know what has happened. And what has happened is a terrible act of violence against Malaysia and against humanity.

But one thing is clear, although the heavier burden lies on the shoulders of the families and friends, the entire nation feels the pain that has been inflicted and we shed our tears together.