Falling to pieces and piecing them back together somehow

Mid-morning today my Turkish colleague, who came to the Netherlands 17 years ago, had gotten wind of this accident through her own network; a flight from Istanbul to Amsterdam ceased flying as it came into land at Schiphol. It dropped out of the sky, breaking into 3 pieces on the runway. Nine died, and dozens are critically injured, some fighting for their lives.

These sorts of tragedies are so difficult to process. Only recently I learnt about the Bijlmer disaster, in 1992 in Amsterdam. A flight leaving from the Netherlands to Israel crashed into a block of flats near the airport. Many died, residents and passengers. There is a momument to the souls that passed, at the very site.

A famous architect (Rem Koolhaas) and an artist (whose name unfortunately escapes me now) were commissioned to create the right memorial. A tree had miraculously survived the crash, and it now is the centrepiece of the tribute. The coloured tiles are mini-mosaics and were made by the crash survivors and family members of those that did not; the artist facilitated the creation of these tiles and each carefully (re-)constructed coloured square declares unspoken words of love and hope and the dreams to those who died.

Hearing of disasters like this resonate louder with me because of the distance between me and those I care for and miss dearly - no matter where I am. Stories of mass human loss, think too, the ruthless fires back home in Victoria Australia that were marked by Black Saturday 7 February 2009, give pause for great reflection.

That we live the sort of life that demonstrates the value, love, hope and dreams we have for ourselves and for others, so that any such pieced-together tile might tell the story of a bright and vibrant life truly realised.

In memory of all those who have lost their lives due to circumstances beyond their control.