Ten years after the disappearance of flight MH370, the pain has not yet subsided for the passengers' relatives, but they no longer hope for their loved ones to return.
In 2014, VPR Nathan, a Malaysian air traffic controller, was assigned to the Beijing office of the International Civil Aviation Organization’s Asia-Pacific branch. The 57-year-old had not seen his wife for two months.
His wife, Anne, 56, wanted to spend a week with her husband, so she booked a ticket on flight MH370 on March 8, 2014, departing from Kuala Lumpur to the Chinese capital. The flight departed at 1am, so Nathan decided to go to bed after receiving a text message from his wife, informing her that she had arrived at Kuala Lumpur airport.
The next morning, he woke up and went to Beijing airport to pick up his wife, but flight information MH370 was not displayed on the notice board. He asked, but the Malaysia Airlines staff did not have any information about the time of the plane's landing.
"I was a little nervous, worried that something was wrong. I sat on the bench waiting, unable to control my emotions, because...", Mr. Nathan recalled, leaving his words unfinished due to being too choked up.
10 years have passed since MH370 disappeared in the Indian Ocean, becoming one of the greatest mysteries in the history of world aviation. Searches have so far yielded no results.
The flight was carrying 227 passengers and 12 crew members from 14 countries. Like Mr. Nathan, the pain of loss still haunts those who remained for the past 10 years.
Mr. Nathan, 67 years old, answers reporters at an airport. Photo: CNA
Many theories have been put forward about the disappearance of MH370, but they only add salt to the pain of losing her husband, 61-year-old Jacquita Gonzales. Her husband was Mr. Patrick Gomes, a crew member.
“People keep saying maybe this, maybe that, but nothing is certain,” said Ms. Gonzales.
On March 24, 2014, the Malaysian government announced that according to satellite signal analysis, MH370 flew south of the Indian Ocean, thousands of kilometers off its scheduled flight path, and ended its journey in the waters southwest of the Australian city of Perth.
In January 2015, Malaysia announced that flight MH370 had crashed, killing all 239 passengers and crew, but the plane's wreckage has never been found.
Australia led the largest multinational search in aviation history for months, covering 120,000 square kilometres of the Indian Ocean. The search ended in January 2017, with no results. The US ocean exploration company Ocean Infinity also joined the search for MH370 in 2018, but failed.
Ms. Gonzales and Mr. Nathan, like many other relatives of passengers, said governments should continue the search.
"It's all just hypothesis or speculation. Most of us have accepted the fact that no one can come back, but the important thing is to know what happened. Find the black box. It will be easier to accept if it was an accident," said Mr. Nathan.
Portrait of Mr. Patrick, husband of Mrs. Jacquita Gonzales, at the family's home. Photo: CNA
A decade has passed, what remains for the relatives of MH370 passengers is pain and happy memories.
"I don't think any of the family members will ever forget March 8, 2014, and the months that followed. To this day, it's still fresh in our minds when we think about that plane," Gonzales said. "It's been 10 years, and we're doing better, and we're no longer looking forward to their return."
For her, her current wish is to solve the mystery of MH370's disappearance. If she cannot solve it in the rest of her life, she still hopes that one day her children and grandchildren will know the truth, about "what happened to him, to their father".
"In the past 10 years, I have never held a memorial service for my husband, never entered the church with his portrait. I have not done that because nothing is clear," said Ms. Gonzales.
As for Nathan, MH370 leaves a huge void in his life now, when he should be enjoying retirement with his wife.
"Our retirement plan is to travel, once the kids have finished school. They will live on their own and we will have time together," Nathan said. "My wife also loves gardening, we were able to build a garden, with a fountain. But now the house is very empty."
Indian Ocean. Graphic: Google Maps
Ten years after her mother went missing, Grace Subathirai Nathan, a Malaysian, graduated from law school, got married, opened a law firm and had two children. She was happy with the progress in her life and career, but a part of her was "frozen" in time, after the day MH370 disappeared.
Like Ms. Gonzales, the 35-year-old lawyer did not hold a funeral for her mother. "I know I will probably never see her again, but I cannot fully accept this, there is still a void in my heart that cannot be filled, cannot be healed."
Li Eryou, a farmer in China, made a similar decision. He never held a funeral for his only son. He kept a board at home, counting the days since MH370 disappeared. Li used to be an engineer for a large company, but his bright career was ruined by the tragedy.
"For the past years, I have been wandering like a ghost," he said. "When I meet my relatives and friends, I force a smile. But when the silent night comes, I have to face my true feelings, tears fall without anyone knowing."
He became sensitive. Pain came easily, even seeing a flower could cause Li pain. Recently, he had to move in with his daughter because of his unstable mentality. "I believe my son is still around, maybe he is living on a desert island far away, like Robinson Crusoe."
Li and his wife are one of about 40 Chinese families who have refused compensation. They have sued five major organizations, including Malaysia Airlines, Boeing, and aircraft engine manufacturer Rolls-Royce. He has also written about 2,000 poems over the past 10 years, which has helped him cope with his loss.
"We shout to the earth: MH370! Mother earth roars, then silence. The plane is not here, not on the empty sea. Does the sea not see my son? Sweat is running down his high forehead. 10,000 complaints, restart the search, until when?", Li wrote in the poem.
Duc Trung (According to CNA, Washington Post )
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