Parents in Perth who lost three kids and their grandpa on flight MH17 have talked about how the birth of a daughter two years after the tragedy has helped them recover. Among the 298 persons on board the plane shot down over eastern Ukraine in July 2014 were the children of Anthony Maslin and Marite “Rin” Norris: Mo, 12. Evie, 10, and Otis, 8. The couple had their daughter, Violet May Maslin, in May 2016.
Yesterday on ABC’s Australian Story, Mr Maslin and Ms Norris broke their silence about their loss and sadness and shared how Violet had helped them find the love and joy in life again.
Soon after their world ended, Ms Norris and her husband discussed the prospect of ending their lives together, but came back to their senses and decided to have another child. “It was a little ray of hope that our life would not be continually and forever only grief,” she said.
Having successfully raised three children, the prospect of raising one kid after this catastrophe was terrifying. Three days after Mo turned 14 and four days before Evie turned 12, Violet entered the world.
After a lengthy period of turmoil, Ms Norris found solace in having Violet in her arms. “Well, some calm has returned to my life,” he said.
Mr Maslin considered himself a “fortunate person” to have four children. He added that Violet was like her siblings in specific ways, but she was also her personality.
She’s her little force of energy, he continued, and “she’s not Evie, and she’s certainly not the guys.” Every night I reassure her that my affection for her is equal to those of her brothers and sister.
The pair told Australian Story that their love for one another kept them going. They added that a “network of affection” from friends and neighbours had given them the fortitude to go on. The family of five was in Amsterdam, but the three kids had to return to Perth for school.
Flight 17 from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur on Malaysia Airlines was shot out of the sky over eastern Ukraine. The air jet was shot down by a Buk surface-to-air missile, built in Russia and likely launched by pro-Russian rebels, according to the results of an international inquiry. There were 298 fatalities, including 38 Australian nationals and residents.