The Maslin family, whose three children were lost in the MH17 disaster, spoken out about their tragedy
Anthony Maslin and Marite Norris lost their children Mo, 12, Evie, 10, and Otis, 8, when they travelled on MH17 with the grandfather, Nick Norris.
The family also released a more recent photograph:
In addition to a statement, which reads:
A message to the soldiers in the Ukraine, the politicians, the media, our friends and family.
Our pain is intense and relentless. We live in a hell beyond hell.
Our babies are not here with us – we need to live with this act of horror, every day and every moment for the rest of our lives.
No one deserves what we are going through.
Not even the people who shot our whole family out of the sky.
No hate in the world is as strong as the love we have for our children, for Mo, for Evie, for Otis.
No hate in the world is as strong as the love we have for Grandad Nick.
No hate in the world is as strong as the love we have for each other.
This is a revelation that gives us some comfort.
We would ask everyone to remember this when you are making any decisions that affect us and the other victims of this horror.
So far, every moment since we arrived home, we’ve been surrounded by family and friends. We desperately pray that this continues, because this expression of love is what is keeping us alive. We want to continue to know about your lives, all the good and all the bad. We no longer have lives that we want to live by ourselves. So we’d like to take the chance to thank everyone, all our incredible friends, family and communities, and to tell you all that we love you very much.
We would also like to thank the people at DFAT; the local coordinator Claire and most sincerely, Diana and Adrian from The Hague, without whom we would not be here. We ask the media to respect the privacy of our family and friends – pain is not a story.
Yours truly
Anthony Maslin & Marite Norris.
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Top Comments
I watch with sadness and pain for Fatima's parents travelling to the Ukraine desperate to find their only daughter, their only child.
What strength Rin Norris and Anthony Maslin have to stand in front of a crowded football stadium on Thursday night - releasing three purple balloons as a tribute to their children.
My thoughts are with all the families who are now tying to make some sense of their life, tying to map a new life with such loss to contend with.
I cannot begin to even attempt to understand how the Maslin and Dyczynski and all the other families are coping - its a loss that is too great for me to comprehend.
But I will endeavour to every day realise that the kids messy rooms, the kids driving me crazy, that the hum drum of life is to be cherished.
We love you even though we don't know you. We hope this helps you to continue through your grief. Sometimes its easy to think the whole world is bad. We're sure there are more good than bad people and those good people are sending you love and strength. You are in our thoughts, your loss is unbearable and we are so very sorry. Words are never enough. Be strong.