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SQ
Special Part Two - Tragedy in Taipei There was no
visibility. Visibility was very poor, zero.
As the first bodies were taken off the plane and the injured rushed to hospital, the full of extent of the tragedy slowly unfolded. Nearly half of those on board died. For those who escaped physically unhurt, the trauma remains. John Diaz, an American, survived the crash. But he's had trouble sleeping since the accident, and is now seeking counseling. "I've never
understood counselling before. I'm getting a better grasp on that.
Just like I never understood how people could jump out of a building
when there was fire. I always said I'd never jump out of a building.
How do you do that? Now I know. If the plane was 30 000 feet off
the ground, I would have jumped out. The fire, the heat was so intense
in there and the horrific things I saw in there, are there with
me for the rest of my life. It wasn't a near death experience. It
was like, when that door opened up, it was like rebirth. Kind of
like getting out of there was like being born again," he said. For some, the wait was too much to bear. "I was distressed and started crying. But here was a stranger who put his arm around me and comforted me. Sure, I felt sad, but knowing that even a stranger cared, it was a good feeling," said Mr Tan, whose brother was. Tan Yin Leong's younger brother, Yip Thong had been travelling to Los Angeles with colleagues from Motorola for a training course. Visibly calmer when we visited him at home, Tan Yin Leong says his desperate need to know if his brother was dead or alive drove him to act the way he did. "Maybe
I went overboard. I just know I felt totally helpless. I don't know
if what I did was right or wrong," he said.
Nearly 3 years ago, Betty Soh lost her only daughter, Bonny Hicks when Silkair flight MI 185 plunged into the Musi river in Indonesia. Her body was never found and the cause of the crash is still being investigated. Said Betty Soh: "I calmed down yes. But since these few days, this airline crash again, these 4 and 5 days, I very bad. Last night I whole night no sleep. These days, Betty finds meaning in life by helping others. Twice a week, she helps out at this thrift shop at the Singapore Council of Women's Organization. Proceeds from the shop go towards a shelter for families in crisis. "Everybody from top to bottom, everybody very nice to me. So I have a lot of friends to support me. Anything lah, swimming, play mahjong, keep me busy," she added. But although her pain has eased, Betty says, it will never go away. |
The
first 2 weeks you really don't know what you're feeling. You
know life is so totally confusing. It's only after the first
week to second week or even a month that you really start to
talk to people. There's so much attention in your immediate
aftermath you don't have time to think. You don't have time
to really feel or think what you're feeling.