9 years ago, we were living in The Netherlands when Russia shot the Malaysian civilian aircraft MH17 out of the sky. We found out when the phone started ringing from Australia. My wife’s uncle, who was staying with us, was due to take that flight the next day. Family were concerned that they may have had the day wrong, and that he may have been among the hundreds who were blown up, or who fell 10 kilometres to their deaths.
It was a signal for things to come. Putin had no regard for human life or international law. For him it is all about power and machinations and controlling and / or destroying others. Now he is doing it on a larger scale.
That is the only lesson to be learned. Dictators cannot be placated, they cannot be reasoned with, they cannot be allowed to get away with evil because we fear that if we stand up to them, they may do worse.
The note I wrote at the time is set out below.
…..
My wife’s phone rang at 3.19am. It confused me, because my alarm does not make that sound. Mostly asleep, I thought of the time when the noise would stop, and I could submerge myself completely. My wife was obviously also not conscious.
“What’s that?” I asked, innocently.
“My sister is trying to call me.”
“Oh.” With no sarcasm, I said “Maybe you should answer it”. I was being helpful. “Yeah, maybe you’re right.” Again, no sarcasm. Sleep is a type of drug.
I didn’t think, who has died?, the way I would back home. 3am is 11am there. Not a time when anyone should call us, but a safe time nonetheless. Then I kept hearing, oh no … oh no … oh no … And then, no, he’s here. He’s asleep. In the room next to us.
In a six week period, I flew the Amsterdam-Australia route with Malaysian Airlines three times. The first time, just before I boarded in Sydney, I heard the news that one of their planes was missing. I didn’t know what was happening, but that didn’t worry me at all. Air travel is safe. Statistically invalid though it is, if I reacted at all, it was only to think that if here had been a recent disaster, air travel was for the moment, even safer. Only at breakfast the next morning in Kuala Lumpur, reading a local paper, did I realise the extent of the tragedy, did the selfishness of my glib reaction sink in.
Nobody is looking 