"We Live in a Hell Beyond Hell": The Parents Who Lost Their Children in Malaysian Crash Break Their Silence

Teresa Neumann : Jul 24, 2014
Calla Wahlquist – Perth Now

"No one deserves what we are going through. Not even the people who shot our whole family out of the sky." -Anthony Malin and Marite Norris

(Australia) - By now, most have heard the heartbreaking story of how Australian parents Anthony Maslin and Marite "Rin" Norris lost their three precious children Mo, Evie, and Otis - and Marite's father Nick - on downed Malaysian flight MH17 last Thursday, after the couple planned to stay in Amsterdam for a few more days while the children's grandfather accompanied the young ones back to Perth from their European holiday in time for school. (Photo courtesy: Perth Now News)

Speaking for the first time about their inconceivable grief, Maslin and Norris released this statement:

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