#MalaysiaAirlines, #MH370, #PrayForMH370
Lives, not numbers: Snapshots of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 passengers
Amid the void of information on their fates, it seems at times the passengers and crew of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 have been reduced to a number.
Two hundred and thirty-nine.
Yet, as their families
and others who love and miss them can attest through their anguish, they
are so much more. Hailing from at least a dozen nations, they represent
a vast gamut of humanity.
The youngest is 2, the oldest 76. Five passengers haven't seen their fifth birthdays.
They are engineers, an
artist and a stunt man, along with Buddhist pilgrims, vacationers and
commuters. To those who wait for them, they are fathers, mothers,
children, soulmates and the dearest of friends.
As could be said of any
large, random group, they are many things, individuals with 239 unique
backgrounds, idiosyncrasies and lives.
Here are a few of their stories:
Ju Kun
Ju's social media
account has been flooded with well-wishers praying for his safe return.
Many know the 35-year-old martial arts expert from his stand-ins as a
stunt man in films like "The Grandmaster" and "The Forbidden Kingdom."
The latter starred genre luminaries Jackie Chan and Jet Li. Ju was
slated to begin filming on the Netflix series, "Marco Polo" in coming
weeks.
Chinese actress Zhang
Ziyi wrote on Weibo that Ju "is a sincere, kind and hardworking man,"
while Netflix said he is "an integral part of our production team and a
tremendous talent."
Chandrika Sharma
K.S. Narendran
considered going to Kuala Lampur for more information on his wife, but
ultimately he didn't see the point. No information in Chennai, India, is
the same as no information in Kuala Lampur, so he'd prefer to be
"surrounded by family and friends."
Sharma, the executive
secretary of the International Collective in Support of Fishworkers, was
en route to Mongolia for a U.N.'s Food and Agriculture Organization
conference. Narendran says he's received little information from
authorities and, like most of the world, has relied on news reports,
which "thus far amounted to nothing," he said.
Paul Weeks
Weeks left his wedding
ring and watch at home when he took a mining job in Mongolia. The New
Zealander instructed his wife, Danica, to pass them on to his two sons
"should anything happen."
Danica clutched her husband's wedding ring
and fought back tears as she explained to CNN that her husband was
aboard Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, en route to Mongolia. She describes
him as "the most amazing husband and the most amazing father," who
always spends time with his boys. She says the hardest part is the cruel
mystery: not knowing what happened to the plane.
"He had strength,
character. He's just so much. He's my best friend and my soulmate, and I
just can't wait for him to come back. I hope. I hope."
Gu Naijun and Li Yuan
Gu, 31, uses her Weibo
account to keep her oft-traveling husband, Li, 32, apprised of the
goings-on of their two "princesses," whether the daughters are swimming,
playing on the slide, dressing in frilly costumes or just enjoying a
lunch outing, The Sydney Morning Herald reported.
The Chinese couple fell
in love in Sydney, Australia, and moved to its suburbs. They had
recently sold their Sylvania home and were spending most of their time
in China, the paper reported. Li, who went by Carlos, is a partner with
Beijing Landysoft Technology, where one longtime employee said he and
his coworkers were shocked. "He's a good boss, kind, and extremely
hard-working,'' the employee said.
Muktesh Mukherjee and Xiaomo Bai vacationed in Vietnam. |
Muktesh Mukherjee and Xiaomo Bai
Mukherjee, 42, is vice
president of China operations for Xcoal Energy & Resources. He and
his wife, Xiaomo Bai, 37, who broadcaster CTV identified as Canadians
who once lived in Montreal, left their two young boys with Bai's mom in
Beijing while they went on vacation in Vietnam, according to Bai's
Facebook page.
Matthew McConkey, a
friend of the couple's, said Mukherjee "was very much in love with" Bai,
and "as parents nothing was more important to them than those kids."
Mao Tugui
Hu Xianquan last spoke
to her husband, Mao, a painter, March 2, as he was boarding a plane to
attend an exhibition for his work. Like Danica Weeks, she finds the
dearth of information frustrating, and her grief has morphed to
agonizing frustration.
Mohd Sofuan Ibrahim and Ch'ng Mei Ling
Hasif Nazri, 33, was
doubly sad upon learning of the plane's disappearance. Not only did he
live in the same dorm as the 33-year-old Ibrahim during their school
days in Malaysia, but Mei Ling, also 33, is another former classmate.
While Nazri acknowledges
losing hope as the days drag on, he has fond memories of his old
friends. Ibrahim, who posted a Facebook photo before boarding Malaysia
Airlines Flight 370, was traveling to Beijing to begin work for
Malaysia's Ministry of International Trade and Industry. A good student
and speaker, Ibrahim is also "a good, kind-hearted friend, very helpful,
cheerful and definitely no wallflower," Nazri said.
Nazri remembers Mei
Ling, meanwhile, as a funny woman with an infectious laugh. She's a
"very cheerful girl." Mei Ling works for Flexsys America LP, an
Ohio-based manufacturer of chemicals for the rubber industry, and has
lived in Pennsylvania since 2010. She "was very adaptable," Nazri
recalled from his days doing course work with her.
Huang Yi, and her daughter, Yuanyuan, 5. |
Huang Yi
Huang Lu, an elementary
school teacher in China's Guizhou province, hopes for "miracle" news of
her friend, Huang Yi, 30, who works for the Texas-based technology firm
Freescale Semiconductor, and was aboard the flight with 19 colleagues
when the plane disappeared.
Huang Lu and Huang Yi
have been friends since they were teens and have kept in touch online.
Huang Lu often spoke to her friend's daughter, Yuanyuan, 5, about family
and raising kids. "She's kind, lively and a good person to talk with,"
Huang Lu said of her pal. "Yi, please come back. Yuanyuan needs you."
Swawand Kolekar
In Mumbai, India, Archit
Joshi, 23, desperately sought information on his classmate, Kolekar,
whose family in Beijing was also desperate for any information on his
whereabouts.
Joshi described Kolekar
as "very reserved but very, very intelligent ... a bit of a techno-freak
and he made a lot of circuits and projects at engineering college."
"He didn't have many friends -- he was a bit of a loner -- but he had all the attributes a good friend should have."
Li Yan
Li's aunt, Zhang Guizhi,
traveled from central China to Beijing and was hoping to obtain a
passport to travel to wherever the plane is found. She wasn't sure how
to go about the process and began weeping when she explained Li, 31, had
traveled with her husband and four friends to Malaysia for vacation.
Philip Wood is an IBM executive. |
Philip Wood
The 51-year-old father
of two graduated from Oklahoma Christian University in 1985 with a
Bachelor of Science in math and computer science, said school
spokeswoman Risa Forrester. On the school's Facebook page, a man wrote that Wood, an IBM executive, is "gentle, kind, had great taste in music and was a wonderful artist."
"His word was gold," his
family said in a statement. "Incredibly generous, creative and
intelligent, Phil cared about people, his family, and above all,
Christ."
Mary and Rodney Burrows
Neighbors Mandy Watt and Don Stoke say the Burrowses
are the hard-working parents of three "successful, all happy" adult
children -- two daughters and a son. Rodney Burrows had planned his trip
to China after being laid off last year, the Australian Associated
Press reported.
Watt further said of the Middle Park, Australia, couple, "I hate to use the cliche, but they were soulmates."
Catherine and Robert Lawton
The Lawtons, a Springfield Lakes, Australia, couple, in their mid-50s, are passionate travelers, parents to three daughters and doting grandparents, according to the Australian Associated Press.
Robert's brother, David,
described him as a "very good father, such a good person." Robert's
sister-in-law said the Lawtons had planned their trip with their good
friends, the Burrowses. Cathy's last Facebook post before leaving was,
"Off to China."
No comments:
Post a Comment