Four months after the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 over the Indian Ocean, tragedy struck again with the downing of flight MH17 over eastern Ukraine on July 17, 2014. All 298 passengers and crew on board were killed, with victims from 17 countries, including 198 Dutch nationals, 43 Malaysians, 38 Australians, and 10 from the United Kingdom.

Ten years later, the families of those lost are gathering to commemorate the tragedy, while authorities continue to seek justice for their loved ones.

“The World’s Forgotten About Us”

MH17 pilot Captain Wan Amran bin Wan Hussin left behind two young sons. His eldest, 21-year-old Wan Uzair, is set to join Malaysia Airlines’ engineering team next month. The younger son, 19-year-old Wan Yusuf, aspires to follow in his father’s footsteps as a pilot. However, this dream remains financially out of reach for the family.

“It is my son’s dream to become a pilot like his father, but the fees are very expensive,” said Wan Amran’s widow, Mariam Yusof. She and her sons receive little outside assistance and none of the compensation Mariam believes Russia should provide to MH17 victims’ families.

“It Has Been 10 Years, But It Seems Like It Was Just Yesterday”

Convictions and Justice

In 2022, a Dutch court convicted three men of murder for their roles in the downing of MH17:

- Igor Girkin, who was commanding armed forces in the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic at the time of the attack.

- Sergey Dubinskiy, a deputy of Girkin, leading intelligence activities in the area.

- Leonid Kharchenko, leading a pro-Russian rebel unit in Donetsk.

While they were not accused of actually firing the missile, the court found they facilitated the missile launcher's transport into Ukraine. Russia refused to cooperate with the court and did not hand over the men, who were tried in absentia.

Life moves on and global attention shifts, but for those who lost loved ones on MH17, the pain remains a constant ache.

Source / Image Credit: de volkskrant, abc.net