Twenty years.
Jun. 23rd, 2005 06:07 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
brinshannaraSo many anniversaries this week, but none like this one.
Twenty years ago today, Air India Flight 182 (wikipedia entry) crashed into the Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of Ireland, as a result of a bomb exploding in the cargo hold.
307 passengers and 22 crew members died.
I knew three of the passengers. One was a four year old boy. One was a seven year old girl, with whom I went to school. The other was their mother, who was 37.
The investigation into the bombing of Air India Flight 182 was plagued with problems, and it culminated in the acquittal of the two main suspects, back on March 16th of this year. Ripudaman Singh Malik and Ajaib Singh Bagri were both found not guilty.
And so another anniversary of this day goes by without justice being served. If they are truly not guilty, who is guilty? If they are guilty, why are they not being punished?
Every year, I think back to 1985, and I remember the phone call telling us our friends were on that plane. I remember my mom crying and trying to explain to me what it all meant. I remember seeing television footage of twisted metal floating in the ocean. I remember seeing some of the 131 bodies that were recovered -- including the body of that precious four year old brother of my friend. He looked so peaceful, like he was sleeping.
They never found my friend.
This year, finally, the Canadian government is saying it is a Canadian tragedy. It only took 20 years for them to admit this. Upon news of the explosion, our Prime Minister, Brian Mulroney, phoned Rajiv Gandhi, then the Indian Prime Minister, to offer his condolences on the bombing. The majority of people on the plane may have been of Indian origin or descent, but 280 of the 329 were Canadian citizens.
June 23rd is now a national day of rememberence for victims of terrorism in Canada. Twenty years later. I am so disgusted with this entire affair. It's all too little, too late. And none of it will bring any of them back.
Sometimes, I think about where my friend would be today, if she hadn't been on the flight. I think about what she'd be doing with her life. Something creative, for sure. Something she'd really enjoy. She'd be 27 now, almost 28. Would she be married? Would she have children? Would she and I still be in touch? Would we still have been friends by the time we graduated from high school together?
When will the families and friends of the Flight 182 victims finally be able to achieve closure? When will we be able to go through a June 23rd and go "Well, at least we know who did it and they're being punished"? When will we receive justice for this horrific act that touched so many lives?
All these questions, and not a single answer.
Twenty years ago today, Air India Flight 182 (wikipedia entry) crashed into the Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of Ireland, as a result of a bomb exploding in the cargo hold.
307 passengers and 22 crew members died.
I knew three of the passengers. One was a four year old boy. One was a seven year old girl, with whom I went to school. The other was their mother, who was 37.
The investigation into the bombing of Air India Flight 182 was plagued with problems, and it culminated in the acquittal of the two main suspects, back on March 16th of this year. Ripudaman Singh Malik and Ajaib Singh Bagri were both found not guilty.
And so another anniversary of this day goes by without justice being served. If they are truly not guilty, who is guilty? If they are guilty, why are they not being punished?
Every year, I think back to 1985, and I remember the phone call telling us our friends were on that plane. I remember my mom crying and trying to explain to me what it all meant. I remember seeing television footage of twisted metal floating in the ocean. I remember seeing some of the 131 bodies that were recovered -- including the body of that precious four year old brother of my friend. He looked so peaceful, like he was sleeping.
They never found my friend.
This year, finally, the Canadian government is saying it is a Canadian tragedy. It only took 20 years for them to admit this. Upon news of the explosion, our Prime Minister, Brian Mulroney, phoned Rajiv Gandhi, then the Indian Prime Minister, to offer his condolences on the bombing. The majority of people on the plane may have been of Indian origin or descent, but 280 of the 329 were Canadian citizens.
June 23rd is now a national day of rememberence for victims of terrorism in Canada. Twenty years later. I am so disgusted with this entire affair. It's all too little, too late. And none of it will bring any of them back.
Sometimes, I think about where my friend would be today, if she hadn't been on the flight. I think about what she'd be doing with her life. Something creative, for sure. Something she'd really enjoy. She'd be 27 now, almost 28. Would she be married? Would she have children? Would she and I still be in touch? Would we still have been friends by the time we graduated from high school together?
When will the families and friends of the Flight 182 victims finally be able to achieve closure? When will we be able to go through a June 23rd and go "Well, at least we know who did it and they're being punished"? When will we receive justice for this horrific act that touched so many lives?
All these questions, and not a single answer.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2005-06-24 02:19 am (UTC)